A Retrospective Study on the Burden of Malaria in Northeastern Ethiopia from 2015 to 2020: Implications for Pandemic Preparedness.

Background: Regardless of various prevention and control strategies, malaria continues to be a significant public health problem in Ethiopia. As there are few studies on malaria trend analysis in Northeastern Ethiopia, it hinders the evaluation of ongoing and prioritization of new malaria intervention strategies, particularly during the period of pandemics. Therefore, the present study investigated the trend of malaria prevalence in Northeastern Ethiopia from 2015 to 2020. Methods: An institution-based retrospective study was employed to assess the trend of malaria prevalence over a 6-year period (2015-2020) in three districts (Jile tumuga, Aruma fursi, and Dawachefa) of Northeastern Ethiopia. Data were extracted from clinical records of malaria cases by trained medical laboratory technologists. The associations between the prevalence of malaria and independent variables (age group, malaria transmission season, and districts) were assessed using chi-square test. P-values with a cut-off point of 0.05 were used to determine statistically significant associations. Results: In our study area, a total of 212,952 malaria suspected patients were diagnosed over the 6 years. Of these, 33,005 (15.5%) were confirmed malaria cases. The identified Plasmodium species were Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax, accounting for 66.4% and 33.6%, respectively. These with the age of >15 years old were the most affected (41.9%). The highest numbers of malaria cases (34.6%) were recorded during spring season (September to November). The prevalence of Plasmodium species showed a significant association with age (X2=9.7; p=0.002), districts (X2=13.5; p<0.001), and malaria transmission season (X2=16.5; p<0.001). Conclusion: In our study area, P. falciparum is the dominant species. We noted that malaria remains a public health concern and fluctuates throughout the years. Therefore, national, regional, zonal, and district health bureaus should strengthen the ongoing and devise appropriate prevention and control strategies even during the period of pandemics.

Occupational safety of janitors in Ethiopian University during COVID-19 pandemic: Results from observational study.

Introduction: Janitors are at high risk of COVID-19 infection, as they are among the frontline workers for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Poor occupational safety practices could contribute to loss of lives of janitors and the general public. However, there are no detailed investigations on occupational safety practices of janitors involved in different settings, such as universities where there are crowds of people. In addition, although observation is recognized as a better tool to investigate occupational safety practices, previous studies mainly employed self-administered questionnaires and/or face-to-face interviews as data collection mechanisms. Therefore, this study aimed to assess occupational safety practices to prevent COVID-19 transmission and associated factors among Ethiopian University janitors using an observation tool and a self-administered questionnaire. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 410 janitors of Bule Hora University (Ethiopia) from November to December, 2021. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the independent factors associated with occupational safety practices. Results: Occupational safety practices for COVID-19 were good only among 53.9% of the janitors. Training on COVID-19 prevention measures (AOR = 2.62; 95% CI: 1.57-4.37), availability of policy and protocol in the work place (AOR = 5.46; 95% CI: 3.57-8.36), and availability of soap/bleach (AOR = 2.71; 95% CI: 1.64-4.46) were found to significantly increase the likelihood of occupational safety of the janitors. Conclusion: A significant proportion of the janitors had poor occupational safety practices. Therefore, an adequate supply of PPE and regular training and awareness creation on COVID-19 should be strengthened. Close follow-up and regular supervision of safety procedures should also be conducted as controlling strategies.

Why Does COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Rate Remain Low Among Patients with Chronic Diseases? Evidences from Public Hospitals of Ethiopia.

Background: Elders and patients with chronic diseases are more vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. In Ethiopia, these groups of people are given vaccination priorities amongst others. However, there is limited information on the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among patients with chronic diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine and associated factors among patients with chronic diseases visiting public hospitals in West Guji zone (Ethiopia). Methods and Materials: Facility-based cross-sectional study was employed among 408 chronic disease patients visiting two public hospitals in Ethiopia from September to October 2021. Data was collected using structured questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression was computed to identify factors associated with acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine. Independent variables with p-value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significantly associated with the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine. Results: The acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among patients with chronic diseases was 39.5% (95% CI: 35-44). Factors positively associated with the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine were age ≥40 years (AOR = 2.84; 95% CI: 1.53-5.28), urban residence (AOR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.38-0.95), having upper respiratory tract infection (AOR = 1.32; 95% CI: 1.03-2.8), previous COVID-19 infection (AOR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.22-3.47), having health insurance (AOR = 2.55; 95% CI: 1.23-5.28), those not drinking alcohol (AOR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.24-3.06), those not chewing Khat (AOR = 2.01; 95% CI: 1.27-3.2), and having good knowledge (AOR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.03-2.87) and positive attitude (AOR = 2.05; 95% CI: 1.26-3.33) towards the vaccine. Conclusion: The overall proportion of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance is low among patients with chronic diseases. Therefore, to improve the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine, the government and health professionals should provide continuous health education.

Knowledge, attitude, practice towards COVID-19 pandemic and its prevalence among hospital visitors at Ataye district hospital, Northeast Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is currently a global health threat and public health emergency of international concern. Africa is the last continent to be hit by this pandemic and the population is still prone to misconceptions and may not take it seriously. In developing countries including Ethiopia, where trained human resources and equipment for the treatment of COVID-19 are scarce, working on prevention of the viral spread should be a priority as a feasible intervention strategy. The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP) towards COVID-19 and its prevalence among hospital visitors. METHODS: Health institution based cross sectional study was conducted among 513 hospital visitors who are recruited by using simple random sampling technique at Ataye district hospital, Northeast Ethiopia from June 3, 2020 to August 10, 2020. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to obtain information related to socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge (11 questions), attitude (9 questions) and practice (9 questions). Oro-pharyngeal specimen was collected by trained healthcare provider and processed in a molecular laboratory. After extraction of viral nucleic acid, the Real-time fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kit was used for detecting novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Data was analyzed using bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression model with 95% CI (confidence interval). From the bi-variable analysis, variables having a P-value <0.25 were retained into multivariable analysis. From the multivariable analysis, variables with a P-value <0.05 was declared as associated factors. RESULTS: Majority (72.9%) of the study participants were male; and most were urban dwellers. From the total study participants, 17 (3.3%) were found to be infected with the virus. The magnitude of low-level of knowledge was 4.9%; and of the analyzed risk factors, female gender, age (category less than 16 years and category between 16 and 65 years), and usual alcohol drinking habit had statistically significant association with low level knowledge. The proportion of study participants who had low level of practice was 75/513 (14.62%). Family size, age category between 16 and 65 years, and low-level knowledge were associated with low-level practice. CONCLUSION: Limited number of study participants had high-level knowledge and practice towards COVID-19; while majority of the study candidates demonstrated moderate level of knowledge and practice. Good knowledge, positive attitude and good practice can be a guarantee for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Hence, various measurements to combat the pandemic should be taken by different stakeholders including the community members, religious leader, health professionals and others.