Prevalence and associated risk factors of Helicobacter pylori infection in East Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori is the main cause of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, lymphoma, and gastric cancer in humans. The prevalence and factors associated with H. pylori infection are varied across countries. Thus, a comprehensive review has not been done on prevalence and associated factors in East Africa. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence and identify factors associated with H. pylori infection in East Africa. METHODS: Articles written in English language were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct. Relevant articles were selected and screened using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Publication bias was assessed qualitatively and qualitatively using funnel plot symmetry and Egger's test, respectively. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 measure. Data were analyzed using Stata software, version 14, and the "metan" command. RESULTS: A total of 231 articles were retrieved from nineteen countries in East Africa. Of these, 70 articles were eligible for the review. The pooled prevalence of H. pylori in East Africa was 50.98% (95% CI: 45.05-56.90). The prevalence of H. pylori infection ranged from 7.7 to 94.5% in East African countries. The highest pooled prevalence was from Sudan (61.3%, 95% CI: 52.6-69.9), and the lowest prevalence was reported from Uganda (40.7%, 95% CI: 33-48.3). Persons with no formal education (OR: 2.03; 95% CI: 1.22-2.83), lack of hand washing habit after toilet (OR: 2.24; 95% CI: 1.45-3.02), having a history of dyspepsia (OR: 2.25; 95% CI: 1.31-3.18), living in rural areas (OR = 1.80; 95% CI: 0.38-3.23), and having unclean water source (OR = 1.5; 95% CI:0.45-3.45) were all associated with higher risk for H. pylori infection. CONCLUSION: More than half of the populations of East African countries were positive for H. pylori infection. Rural residence, source of water, and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with H. pylori infection. Therefore, healthcare workers could provide health education on the aforementioned risk factors, and the government and other stakeholders could improve the source of drinking water in East Africa.

Sero- and Feco-Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection and Its Associated Risk Factors among Adult Dyspeptic Patients Visiting the Outpatient Department of Adet Primary Hospital, Yilmana Densa District, Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: Most gastric cancers in the world are attributed to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections. The prevalence of H. pylori infection is influenced by socioeconomic status, hygiene, and lifestyle of the population. This study aimed to assess sero- and feco-prevalence of H. pylori infections and its associated risk factors among adult dyspeptic patients visiting the outpatient department of Adet Primary Hospital, Yilmana Densa District, northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 10, 2022 to April 10, 2022. The study participants were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. The data were collected by pretested questionnaires. Blood and stool specimens were collected from each patient for antibody and H. pylori antigen tests, respectively. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26.0. A logistic regression model was used to assess the strength of association between H. pylori positivity and risk factors. Results: The sero- and feco-prevalence of H. pylori infection was 62% and 51.1%, respectively. In those patients who had a positive result with either the antibody (Ab) or antigen (Ag) test, rural residence (AOR = 5.55; 95% CI: 2.34-13.14; p < 0.001), alcohol consumption (AOR = 12.34; 95% CI: 2.29-66.51; p=0.003), having no awareness about H. pylori transmission (AOR = 4.76; 95% CI: 1.86-12.15; p=0.001), using pond/river as a source of drinking water (AOR = 5.22; 95% CI: 1.91-14.27; p=0.001), and open field defecation (AOR = 4.19; 95% CI: 1.67-10.52; p=0.002) were the explanatory risk factors significantly associated with H. pylori infection. Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalence of H. pylori infection was very high. Most cases of gastric cancers are ascribed to H. pylori infection. Therefore, education should be given to communities so as to increase their awareness of the infection and the associated major explanatory risk factors identified in the present study.

Comparison of Ziehl Neelsen microscopy and geneXpert for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis among pulmonary tuberculosis-suspected patients in northwest Ethiopia.

In low-income countries, the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is most frequently achieved using Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) microscopy rather than the GeneXpert system. The performance of the former has not been evaluated against the latter in Ethiopia. A total of 180 PTB-suspected patients were enrolled in our study. Sputum specimens were tested both by ZN microscopy and geneXpert. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of ZN microscopy were 75%, 99.4%, 92.3%, and 97.6%, respectively. The Kappa value of agreement between the two diagnosis methods was 0.80. We concluded that there was a good agreement between ZN microscopy and the reference Xpert assay, which suggests that ZN microscopy is still a good diagnostic method in health care facilities that do not have the latter test.