Prevalence of active trachoma and associated factors among children 1-9 years old at Arsi Negele Town, West Arsi Zone, Oromia Regional State, Southern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Trachoma is a public health issue in more than 50 nations worldwide, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where hundreds of millions of people are considered blind. Ethiopia is projected to have 30% of the global active trachoma burden. The frequency of Trachoma Folliculitis in children aged 1 to 9 years old is 30% in the Oromia Region. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of active trachoma and associated variables among children aged 1 to 9 years old in Arsi Negele Town, West Arsi Zone, Oromia Regional State, Southern Ethiopia, December 24-26, 2019. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Arsi Negele town community on December 24-26, 2019. A total of 178 study volunteers were recruited using a single population proportion formula and assigned to families in the town's three kebeles in proportion. A simple random selection procedure was used to choose study participants from the identified households. Madda Walabu University provided ethical approval, and different government structures provided letters of permission. Pre-tested structured questionnaires and binocular loupes X 2.5 were used to collect data from either mothers or fathers of eligible children for eye examination; torches with bottles of alcohol were used to gather data from either mothers or fathers of eligible children for eye examination. For analysis, data was entered into (IBM, SPSS) version 22. To assess factors associated with active trachoma, bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions were used. The crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to investigate the degree of association between the independent variables and active trachoma. Multivariate logistic regression was used to find connections between dependent and independent variables with a p≤ 0.05 confidence levels and a 95% confidence interval. RESULT: The prevalence of active trachoma was determined to be 21.91% TF among 178 children aged 1 to 9 years. Flies on children's faces (AOR = 3.427; 95 percent CI: 1.432-8.171), unclean children's faces (AOR = 3.99; 95 percent CI: 1.427-11.158), face washing habits (AOR = 3.064; 95 percent CI: 1.273-7.373), and not using soap while face washing (AOR = 4.564; 95 percent CI 1.561-13.342) were found to be statistically significant associated factors with the prevalence of active trachoma. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of active trachoma was found to be relatively high. Face washing practices and the lack of soap use while washing faces were found as associated factors requiring optimal interventions to prevent trachoma infection among children aged 1-9 years in Arsi Negele town.

Predictors of Intestinal Parasites among Food Handlers in Goba Town, Southeast Ethiopia, 2020.

Background: Globally, around 1.9 million people were dying due to food-borne diseases annually, and intestinal parasites infected one-third of the population, according to estimates and more prevalent in developing countries due to poverty. This study assessed predictors of intestinal parasites among food handlers working in Goba towns. Methods: A laboratory-based cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2020. Clean, dry, and leak-proof stool cups were used to collect the samples. The SPSS version 20 computer software was used to enter and clean the data, code it, and analyze it. The researchers performed binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses, with a p value of 0.05 considered significant. Result: A total of 98 (34%) of the 288 food workers tested positive for various intestinal parasites. Giardia lamblia was the most common parasite, with 42 (14.6%), followed by Entamoeba histolytica/dispar with 31 (10.8%), Ascaris lumbricoides with 8 (2.8%), Taenia species with 5 (1.7%), and E. vermicularis with 4 (1.4%). Six (2%) of the 98 positive food handlers had two infections. E. histolytica and G. lamblia were the most common parasites found in mixed infections. Hand washing with soap and water before handling food (AOR: 3.06, 95% CI: 1.16, 7.26) and untrimmed fingernail status (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.14, 4.34) were found to be strongly linked to intestinal parasite infection. Conclusion: In this investigation, intestinal parasite species were found in 34% of stool samples. Independent predictors of intestinal parasite infection were fingernail status and hand washing with water and soap use before food handling. To control intestinal parasite infection among food handlers in the research area, personal hygiene and ambient cleanliness should be improved.

Knowledge, attitude, and utilization of drugs toward COVID-19 pandemic among Bale Zone residents, Southeast Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which poses therapeutic dilemmas. Some suggestions for drug treatment seem problematic. Beliefs about the causes of health problems are determinants of treatment seeking decisions. Hence, one of the alternatives for the solution of health problems is employing traditional medicine to prevent coronavirus disease 19. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and utilization of drugs toward the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic among Bale zone residents. METHODS: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the Bale Zone population from May 30 to June 30, 2020. Eight hundred fifty-four participants were selected using a single population formula, and a multistage sampling technique was employed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Descriptive and binary logistic regression was used to analyze the outcomes. A p value ⩽ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Out of the total 854 respondents, about 534 (62.5%) got information about coronavirus disease 19 from TV/radio. More than two-thirds (71.9%) of the respondents have known that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has no curative drugs, and 65.4% had a more appropriate attitude toward overall drug use in coronavirus disease 19. Level of education and, attitude towards drug use were singnificantly associated with knowledge of drugs, source of information about coronavirus disease 19 and having good practice were significantly associated with atittude toward drug utilization. CONCLUSION: One out of two study participants have good knowledge regarding drugs to the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic. Illiterate people in the community were identified to have poor knowledge about drugs, hence community educuation program is important to improve the knowledge about drugs towards the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic.

Prevalence of active trachoma and associated risk factors among children of the pastoralist population in Madda Walabu rural district, Southeast Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: In developing countries particularly in sub-Saharan Africa trachoma is still a public health concern. Ethiopia is the most affected of all and bears the highest burden of active trachoma. In spite of this, the prevalence of active trachoma among the pastoralist population in Ethiopia not yet disclosed. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of active trachoma and associated risk factors among children in a pastoralist population in Madda Walabu rural district, Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among children in a pastoralist population in Madda Walabu rural district, from May 1 to 30, 2017. A systematic sampling technique was employed to select 409 children's. Simplified WHO classification scheme was used to assess trachoma. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: A total of 406 children aged 1-9 years have participated, 89 (22%) [95%CI: 18.0-25.6%] were positive for active trachoma. Of these cases, 75(84%) had TI alone in one or both eyes, 14(16%) had TF alone in one or both eyes, and none of the children had both TI and TF. The odds of having active trachoma among children from households using river/ponds, unprotected well/spring and rainwater as their source of drinking water were higher than those from households using water from piped or public tap water (AOR:13,95%CI: 2.9, 58.2), (AOR: 6.1, 95%CI:1.0,36.5) and (AOR: 4.8, 95%CI:1.3,17.8) respectively. Children's from households that lacked a latrine (AOR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.8, 5.3), children who did not wash their face by using soap (AOR: 4.3, 95% CI: 1.8, 10.6) and children from households within 16-30 min of water source (AOR: 8.7, 95% CI: 2.20, 34.2) were higher odds of having active trachoma. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study revealed that close to one-quarter of the total children screened for trachoma were positive for the disease. The finding implies that trachoma is still a major concern among children of the pastoralist community which demands further attention of the district health office. Again, intervention with the A, F and E components of SAFE strategy is strongly recommended.

Occupational Injury and Its Correlated Factors among Small-Scale Industry Workers in Towns of Bale Zone, Southeast Ethiopia.

Introduction: In developing countries, the laborer forces have managed many of the industrial works. As a result, the process of the work has put the health and lives of workers at risk. Thus, this study was designed to assess occupational injury and its correlated factors among small-scale industry workers in the towns of Bale Zone, Southeast Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed among five hundred ninety small-scale industries in towns of Bale zone, Southeast Ethiopia, in March to April 2016. Multistage sampling was applied to recruit the study subjects. Data were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires. A structured questionnaire addressing the objectives of the study was used. EpiData was used for data entry, and the data were exported to SPSS windows version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics like frequency and percentage were used for the prevalence, whereas binary and multiple logistic regressions were employed to identify the predictors of the outcome variable. Results: A total of 574 workers from different small-scale industries, including woodwork, metalwork, and concrete block construction, participated in the study with a response rate of 97.3%. In this study, among the total participants of the study, 43.2% (248), 30% (172), and 21.6% (124) of them had encountered lifetime, last one year, and six months occupational injury, respectively. Taking health and safety training, presence of any things on the floor that can cause accidents and occupational risk perception were independent predictors of occupational injury. The presence of any things on the floor that can cause accidents and having a low-risk perception increases occupational injury by 12.69 [AOR: 12.69, (1.67-96.13)] and 2.84 [AOR: 2.84, (1.80-4.49)], respectively. Conclusion: About one in three occupational injuries occurred among small-scale industry workers. Health and safety training should be provided for every worker in small-scale industries. Supportive supervision focusing awareness creation, economic stability, and health care from health office, social and labor affair office, and other concerned body is highly recommended. District or town health office should address the identified factors to promote the health of the workers.