Prevalence, Antimicrobial Drug Resistance and Associated Risk Factors of Streptococcus Pneumoniae Bacteria Infection Among Under-Five Children With Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection Attending Sheik Hassan Yebere Referral Hospital, Jig-Jiga, Ethiopia.

Background: Pneumonia is inflammation of the lung. The Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is commensal in the upper airway and can cause infection to under-five children. The bacteria is gram-positive diplococci, catalase negative, and optochin sensitive. The bacteria is the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia among under-five children. No similar data is reported from the current study area. Objective: To determine prevalence, antimicrobial drug resistance and associated factors of S. pneumoniae infection among under-five children with acute lower respiratory tract infection attending Sheck Hassan Yebere Referral Hospital from March 1 to April 30, 2021 Jig-Jiga, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 374 study participants selected by convenience sampling method. A structured questionnaire was used to collect child data. Nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swabs were collected and diagnosed to isolate S. pneumoniae by using culture then identified by biochemical examination. Later antimicrobial drug resistance testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. All data were entered on epi-data 3.1 then exported to SPSS version 22 to calculate analysis. Statistically significant value was found by calculating an adjusted odds ratio with p-value ≤ 0.05 in a multivariate logistic regression model. Results: Among 374 under-five children, 180 (48.1%) were males and 109 (29.2%) were from low income families. The overall prevalence of S. pneumoniae infection in the study was 18% (95% CI 14.4-22.2). No window (AOR=2.8 CI 1.1-7.6), no/non-exclusive breast-feeding (AOR= 2.1 CI 1.1-4.1), and previous URTI (AOR= 3.2 CI 1.7-6.1) were significantly associated with S. pneumoniae infection. The isolated organism showed drug resistance for Cotrimoxazole (35%), and Tetracycline (34%). Conclusion: The prevalence and antimicrobial resistance in this study were comparatively high. No window, non-exclusive breast-feeding and previous URTI were associated with S. pneumoniae infection. The isolated S. pneumoniae showed high drug resistance to cotrimoxazole and tetracycline.

Sequela of female genital mutilation on birth outcomes in Jijiga town, Ethiopian Somali region: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: In Ethiopia, female genital mutilation (FGM) remains a serious concern and has affected 23.8 million women and girls, with the highest prevalence in Somali regional state. Even though FGM is reported to be associated with a range of obstetric complications, little is known about its effects on childbirth in the region. Therefore, the objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that FGM is a contributing factor to the increased risk of complication during childbirth. METHODS: Facility based cohort study, involving 142 parturients with FGM and 139 parturients without FGM, was conducted in Jijiga town from October to December, 2014. The study participants were recruited by consecutive sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured interviewer administered questionnaire and observational checklists. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 and STATA version 11. RESULTS: The existence of FGM was significantly associated with perinealtear [RR = 2.52 (95% CI 1.26-5.02)], postpartum blood loss [RR = 3.14 (95% CI 1.27-7.78)], outlet obstruction [RR = 1.83 (95% CI 1.19-2.79)] and emergency caesarean section [RR = 1.52 (95% CI 1.04-2.22)]. FGM type I and FGM type II did not demonstrate any association with prolonged 2nd stage of labour, emergency caesarean section, postpartum blood loss, and APGAR score < 7. FGM type III however was significantly associated with prolonged 2nd stage of labour [RR = 2.47 (95% CI 1.06-5.76)], emergency caesarean section [RR = 3.60 (95% CI 1.65-7.86)], postpartum blood loss [RR = 6.37 (95% CI 2.11-19.20] and APGAR score < 7 [RR = 4.41 (95% CI, 1.84-10.60)]. FGM type II and type III were significantly associated with perinealtear [RR = 2.45(95% CI 1.03-5.83)], [RR = 4.91(95% CI 2.46-9.77)] and outlet obstruction [RR = 2.38(95% CI 1.39-4.08)], [RR = 2.94(95% CI 1.84-4.71)] respectively. CONCLUSION: Women with FGM are significantly more likely than those without FGM to have adverse obstetric outcomes. Risks seem to be greater with more extensive form of FGM. Adverse obstetric outcomes can therefore be added to the known harmful immediate and long-term effects of FGM.

Community knowledge, attitude, and practices towards tuberculosis in Shinile town, Somali regional state, eastern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Though tuberculosis (TB) is preventable and curable, its global burden remains enormous. Similarly, TB is one of the major public health problems in Ethiopia, particularly in geographically isolated areas like Shinile town. The people in Shinile town, Somali Regional State of Ethiopia, are underserved in all forms of health care and suffer from high burden of TB. Low level of knowledge about TB could affect the health-seeking behavior of patients and sustain the transmission of the disease within the community. Therefore, the current study was undertaken in Shinile town with the objective of assessing communities' knowledge, attitude and practices towards TB. METHODS: Community-based cross-sectional survey, involving 410 randomly selected individuals, was conducted in Shinile town from January to May, 2013. Data were analyzed using STATA V.11. Logistic regression technique was used to determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics and communities' knowledge of TB. RESULTS: While 94.9% of the respondents said that they ever heard about TB, only 22.9% knew that TB is caused by bacteria. Eighty percent have awareness that TB can be transmitted from a patient to another person and 79.3% know that transmission of TB can be preventable. Persistence cough (72.4%) was the most commonly stated symptom of TB and modern drugs used in health institutions (68.1%) was the preferred choice of treatment. Two hundred and ninety one respondents (71.0%) said that they would seek treatment at health facility if they realized that they had symptoms related to TB. Two hundred and twenty seven respondents (55.4%) considered TB as a very serious disease and 284 (69.3%) would experience fear if they themselves had TB. Individuals with educational level of grade 8 up to grade 12 had increased odds of having good level of overall TB knowledge compared to illiterate individuals (OR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2 to 4.6). CONCLUSION: The communities in Shinile town have basic awareness about TB which is not translated into the knowledge about the cause of the disease. Therefore, health education directed towards bringing a significant change in the knowledge of TB must be stepped-up within the TB control program.