ABSTRACT
Aims/Purpose: TB outbreaks emerge occasionally in long-term care facilities, including various educational establishments. This study was designed to determine the five years overall prevalence and trend of tuberculosis and associated factors among students at Adama Science and Technology University and Addis Ababa University 6 kilo campus.Methods: A five years retrospective study was conducted on students' medical records from TB Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) clinics. The overall prevalence and the trend of smear positive, smear negative and extra pulmonary TB cases were determined. Odds ratio with 95 percent C.I was calculated using the Logistic Regression model. Furthermore, an in-depth assessment of AFB sputum smear examination practices of the lab staffs were conducted using the WHO's standard checklist.Results: A total of 112 and 263 TB cases were recorded in Addis Ababa University (AAU), 6 kilo campus and Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU), respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in prevalence of TB among students in ASTU compared to that in AAU, 6 kilo campus [AOR: 2.881, 95% CI (1.76-4.71)]. An in-depth interview with the respective University Clinic lab chiefs indicated that the University labs were not linked with the national tuberculosis program and hence quality of sputum smear microscopy examination practices in both study Universities were found to be poor. Conclusions: The numbers of tuberculosis cases observed in this study were high. Governmental and Nongovernmental agencies involved in TB control must consider higher education institutions as focal points for prevention and elimination of tuberculosis in Ethiopia
Subject(s)
Directly Observed Therapy , Disease Outbreaks , Egypt , Students , Tuberculosis/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Background: Opportunistic intestinal parasitic infections cause severe diarrhoea specially in infants and in immunocompromised people world wide Objective: The objective of this study was to assess and determine the prevalence of opportunistic intestinal parasites in paediatric patients with and without diarrhoea in selected hospitals in Addis Ababa. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 222 children under five years of age who had diarrhoea and on 74 children who had no diarrhoea in selected Hospitals in Addis Ababa. Single stool specimens were collected and screened for intestinal parasitic infections by using direct and concentrated methods. The Modified Ziehl-Neelsen Staining and Modified Water-Ether Sendimentaion methods were used for detecting Coccidial parasites.Results: Of the 222 paediatric diarrhoeal patients, 61(27.5%) were found to be infected with a variety of intestinal parasites and out of 74 children without diarrhoea 11(14.9%) were found to be infected. Among the emerging opportunistic parasites detected in diarrhoeal children were Cryptosporidium parvum (8.1%), Isospora belli (2.3%) and Enterocytozoon bieneusi/ Encephalitozoon intestinalis (0.5%). Other common intestinal parasites detected were Ascaris lumbricoides (0.5%), Trichuris trichiura (0.9%), Giardia lamblia (6.3%), Entamoeba histolytica/ E. dispar (1.4%), Blastocystis hominis (5.9%) and Hymnolepis nana (0.5%). Opportunistic parasites were found to be significantly associated with diarrhoeal and non-breastfed children (p<0.001). C. parvum and I. belli respectively were isolated from 83.3% and 80% of diarrhoeal children aged less than 12 months. C. paravum and I. belli infections were also higher in male children, with a prevalence of 72.2% for C. paravum and 80% for I. belli.Conclusion: This study re-affirms and confirms the previously held view that opportunistic parasites can cause diarrhoea in paediatric patients and that it is more prevalent in male, non-breastfed children. The cause of diarrhoea in paediatrics in the absence of identifiable parasitic infections suggests that other infectious agents might be responsible for the diarrhoea