Assessing the presence of sustainability education in the curriculum of medical students and surgical trainees in Africa: A cross-sectional study.

Background and Aims: Integrating sustainability principles into medical and surgical curricula raises awareness and empowers future healthcare professionals to adopt sustainable practices, reducing the environmental impact of surgical care. This study aims to assess the presence of sustainability education in African medical schools and surgical residency curricula to inform policymakers and educators in African healthcare systems. Methods: This cross-sectional study was undertaken through an online survey among medical students and surgical trainees in African countries to describe the presence of sustainability education in surgical training programs and medical curricula across Africa. The results of this survey were reported in accordance with the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES). Results: A total of 141 participants from 17 countries responded to our e-survey, primarily consisting of undergraduate medical students (92.2%, n = 130). Only 9.2% of participants reported familiarity with the concept of sustainability in surgical care, and 60.3% stated that they had yet to receive any education on sustainability. Waste management was the most commonly taught sustainability topic among those who confirmed the presence of sustainability education in their curricula. Additionally, 76% of participants reported not participating in sustainability-related projects during their training. Conclusion: This study highlights the urgent need for comprehensive integration of sustainability principles in surgical care and identifies barriers, such as a lack of awareness and resources to this integration. Addressing these gaps and implementing the suggested approaches can lead to more environmentally conscious and socially responsible surgical systems in Africa.

Dynamics and risk of transmission of bovine tuberculosis in the emerging dairy regions of Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian government has several initiatives to expand and intensify the dairy industry; however, the risk of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) spread is a challenge. To assess the rate of expansion and risk factors for transmission of bTB within-herds, we carried out a repeated cross-sectional survey at two time points, 2016/17 and 2018, in three regional cities, namely, Gondar, Hawassa and Mekelle, representing the emerging dairy belts of Ethiopia. The total number of herds involved was 128, comprising an average of 2303 cattle in each round. The Single Intradermal Comparative Cervical Tuberculin (SICCT) test was used to identify reactor status and data on herd-level risk factors were collected using a structured questionnaire. In the first survey, the apparent prevalence of bTB, as measured by the SICCT test, was 4.5% (95% CI 3.7-5.4%) at the individual animal-level and 24% (95% CI 17.5-32%) at the herd-level. There was no statistically significant change in the overall apparent prevalence or regional distribution at the second survey, consistent with the infection being endemic. The incidence rate was estimated at 3.6 (95% CI 2.8-4.5) and 6.6 (95% CI 3.0-12.6) cases/100 cattle (or herd)-years at the animal- and herd-levels, respectively. Risk factors significantly associated with the within-herd transmission of bTB were age group and within-herd apparent prevalence at the start of the observation period. We noted that farmers voluntarily took steps to remove reactor cattle from their herds as a consequence of the information shared after the first survey. Removal of reactors between surveys was associated with a reduced risk of transmission within these herds. However, with no regulatory barriers to the sale of reactor animals, such actions could potentially lead to further spread between herds. We therefore advocate the importance of setting up regulations and then establishing a systematic bTB surveillance programme to monitor the impact prior to implementing any control measures in Ethiopia.

Occult Hepatitis B virus infection among HIV negative and positive isolated anti-HBc individuals in eastern Ethiopia.

The absence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and the presence of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) in the blood of apparently healthy individuals may not indicate the absence of circulating hepatitis B virus (HBV) and might be infectious. Despite the risk of HBV transmission, there has been no report from Ethiopia examining this issue; therefore, this study determined occult HBV infection (OBI) among isolated anti-HBc (IAHBc) HIV negative and HIV positive individuals on ART in eastern Ethiopia. A total of 306 IAHBc individuals were included in this study. DNA was extracted, amplified, and detected from plasma using a commercially available RealTime PCR platform (Abbott m2000rt) following the manufacturer's instructions. Data were entered into EPI Data version 3.1, cleaned, and analyzed using Stata version 13. Descriptive analysis was used to calculate prevalence, summarize sociodemographic data and other factors. From the 306 IAHBc individuals (184 HIV positive and 122 HIV negative) included in the study, 183 (59.8%) were female of which 142 (77.6%) were within the reproductive age group. DNA extraction, amplified and detection was conducted in 224 individuals. The overall OBI prevalence was 5.8% (5.6% in HIV negative and 6% in HIV positive) among the IAHBc individuals. The HBV DNA concentration among the occult hepatitis B individuals was < 200 IU/mL, indicating a true occult. This study reported the burden of OBI, which pauses a significant public health problem due to the high burden of HBV infection in the country. OBI may cause substantial risk of HBV transmission from blood transfusion, organ transplantation as well as vertical transmission as screening is solely dependent on HBsAg testing.

Genotyping and molecular detection of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis among tuberculosis lymphadenitis cases in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has emerged as a major public health problem. Drug-resistance surveillance data show that 3.9% of new and 21% of previously treated TB cases were estimated to have had rifampicin/ multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) in 2015. This implies that the MDR-TB is increasing alarmingly. Hence, a better understanding of drug resistance mechanisms and genotypes associated with multidrug resistance in M. tuberculosis is crucial for improving diagnostic and therapeutic methods to treat individuals with MDR-TB. The aim of this study was to analyze molecular drug resistance mutations of MDR-TB isolates from the cases of TB-lymphadenitis in relation to its genetic lineages. A cross-sectional study was conducted on culture positive cases from July to October, 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Sixty isolates were included to analyze drug resistance mutated gene responsible for MDR-TB in relation to its molecular genotyping. Mycobacterial culture, GenoTypeMTBDR plus and Spoligotyping were used to undertake the study. Of 60 TBLN isolates, 8.3% were identified MDR-TB cases and one isolate was isoniazid mono-resistant. Eleven isolates in T3-ETH genetic sub lineage were sensitive to both RMP and INH, while only 2 isolates were MDR-TB. Most of the RMP- resistant isolates showed mutation in codon S531L and all isolates mutated in the katG gene conferring INH resistant strains had mutations in codon of S315T1. Screening for the rpoB and katG gene mutation of tuberculosis lymphadenitis is useful in Ethiopia for an early detection and treatment of MDR-TB. Besides, there is a drug resistance variation among different lineages of Tuberculosis lymphadenitis which has important consequences for the development of efficient control strategies.

Association of ESAT-6/CFP-10-induced IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-10 with clinical tuberculosis: evidence from cohorts of pulmonary tuberculosis patients, household contacts and community controls in an endemic setting.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) early secreted protein antigen 6 (ESAT-6) and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10) are among candidate vaccines against tuberculosis (TB). Results of experimental animal models show that these antigens are associated with induction of strong T cell immunity [interferon (IFN)-γ production], while others report that these proteins as virulent factors involved in pathogenicity of Mtb infection. However, the role of ESAT-6/CFP-10 during natural Mtb infections in humans has not been established. In this paper we present results of a longitudinal study from an Mtb-infected human population from an endemic setting. Whole blood assay was used to determine levels of IFN-γ, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-10 against rESAT-6/CFP-10 in TB patients, household contacts and community controls. The levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-10 against rESAT-6/CFP-10 at baseline were significantly higher in patients and community controls than in household contacts. In patients, no significant difference was observed in the level of these cytokines before and after chemotherapy whereas, in contacts, the level of these cytokines increased significantly and progressively over time. The study shows that the levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-10 against rESAT-6/CFP-10 are depressed during Mtb infection or exposure but are elevated during clinical TB. Our findings from a study of naturally infected human population suggest that IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-10 against rESAT-6/CFP-10 are markers for clinical TB but not for protective immunity.

Molecular typing of mycobacteria isolated from tuberculous lymphadenitis cases in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: In Ethiopia, one of the world's 22 high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries, one third of the tuberculosis (TB) cases are attributed to tuberculosis lymphadenitis (TBLN). However, information on the molecular type of the mycobacterial species and strains that cause TBLN in the country is scarce. OBJECTIVE: To identify the species and strains of mycobacteria that cause TBLN in Ethiopia. METHODS AND RESULTS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 206 presumed TBLN cases to characterise positive culture isolates. Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex species and strains were identified using region of difference 9 deletion and SITVIT WEB, respectively. Of the 206 fine-needle aspirate samples collected, 74 (36%) were culture-positive: 73 (98.6%) of the isolates were M. tuberculosis, and the remaining 1.4% were M. bovis. Further characterisation of the 73 M. tuberculosis isolates led to 26 distinct spoligotype international types (SITs) and 13 newly identified patterns. The most prevalent strains were SIT149, SIT53, SIT26 and SIT37 of sublineages T3-ETH, T1, CASI-DELHI and T3, respectively; these accounted for 52.6% of the total number of strains. CONCLUSION: TBLN was mainly caused by M. tuberculosis and highly clustered strains SIT149, SIT53, SIT26 and SIT37 of sublineages T3-ETH, T1, CASI-DELHI and T3, respectively.

Strain diversity of mycobacteria isolated from pulmonary tuberculosis patients at Debre Birhan Hospital, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia ranks seventh in the list of 22 high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries, with an incidence rate of 379 cases per 100,000 population for TB all forms. However, information on the genomic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Ethiopia is limited. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the molecular characteristics of M. tuberculosis strains implicated in pulmonary TB in the study area. METHODS AND RESULTS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using socio-demographic, clinical and culture data combined with molecular typing analysis. The proportion of TB and M. tuberculosis isolates was not associated with risk factors (P > 0.05). Of 99 sputum samples, 80.8% were culture-positive. Speciation of isolates showed that 88.8% were M. tuberculosis. Further characterisation led to the identification of 27 different spoligotype patterns of M. tuberculosis; the most dominant shared types were SIT149, SIT53 and SIT54. Of the 27 strains, three strains were new and were reported to the SITVIT database. More than two thirds of the strains belonged to the Euro-American lineage. CONCLUSION: This study shows the presence of several clusters and new strains of M. tuberculosis circulating in pulmonary TB patients in the study area, suggesting recent transmission. Nationwide studies are recommended to map the population structure of M. tuberculosis and set control measures.

Modern lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: implications for the tuberculosis control programe.

BACKGROUND: The genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains is important to have unique insights into the dissemination dynamics and evolutionary genetics of this pathogen and for TB control as it allows the detection of suspected outbreaks and the tracing of transmission chains. OBJECTIVE: To characterize M. tuberculois isolates collected from newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patients in Addis Ababa METHODS: One hundred and ninety two sputum samples were cultured on Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) slants and isolates were heat killed for molecular genotyping. The isolates were characterized using spoligotyping and were compared with the International SpoIDB4 database. RESULT: T genotype constitutes the most predominant in our study (95, 49.5%) followed by the CAS genotype (42, 21.9%). Other genotypes found were Haarlem (H) (24, 12.5%), the LAM (3, 1.5%), the Beijing genotype (1, 0.5%); four (2.1%) isolates were designated as Unknown. CONCLUSION: All the isolates belong to the modern lineage and there is high clustering in the genotype of isolates which indicated the presence of recent TB transmission. Therefore, the Tuberculosis Control Programme needs to do more in advocating and strengthening the health system for early detection and treatment of active TB cases as delay in treatment is the key factor in disease transmission.

Bovine Trypanosomosis in three districts of East Gojjam Zone bordering the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia

Background: Bovine trypanosomosis is a serious constraint to agricultural production in extensive areas of Ethiopia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of bovine infection with trypanosomes and to identify the prevailed trypanosome species in three districts of the East Gojjam zone bordering the Blue Nile River from March 2005 to February 2006. Cattle from 9 different localities were checked using microscopical examination of wet blood smears; thin and stained bloodsmears; and by blood centrifugation followed by the examination of the resultant buffy coats. Result: Of the total 3;360 cattle investigated; 8.2(3.5; 11.6and 9.4from Dejen; Machakel and Baso-Liben districts respectively) were found to be infected with trypanosomes. Of the total 275 positive animals; 249 (90.5) appeared to be infected with Trypanosoma vivax; 11 (4) were infected with T. congolense; and 15 (5.5) were infected with mixed infection of T. vivax and T. congolense. The prevalence of infection with T. vivax was significantly higher than that of T. congolense (P 0.001). Taking 24-46as normal PCV value; the mean PCV for the trypanosome-infected cattle (22.09) was lower than those for the trypanosome-negative animals (26.03). Conclusion: Trypanosomosis is a disease of considerable importance to the major economic districts bordering the Blue Nile River of the East Gojjam zone; Ethiopia; given the disease's potential to threaten the health and productivity of cattle in this region