Introduction Toxoplasmosis is a life-threatening disease in pregnant women, having social and economic impacts due to congenital toxoplasmosis. However, in Ethiopia, it is neglected zoonotic disease, which requires screening and identifying risk factors in pregnant women to plan a public health intervention. Methods This institutional-based cross-sectional study was employed from March to April 2019 to estimate the seropositivity and assess potential risk factors for T. gondii among pregnant women attending antenatal care in four public hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia. Four hundred and one pregnant women were recruited to collect serum samples. Toxoplasma gondii antibodies were tested using Toxo-Latex slide agglutination test. Results Thus, the overall seropositivity for T. gondii was found 70.8% (95% CI: 66.3–75.5). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the average monthly income, occupational status, habits of handwashing practices after handling raw meat, water sources for drinking and agroclimatic situations revealed significant ( p < 0.05) effects on seropositivity for T. gondii in pregnant women. Conclusion This survey showed high seropositivity for T. gondii among pregnant women in Northwest Ethiopia. Therefore, further studies on bioassay, isolation and genotype of the pathogen are crucial. It also requires action to prevent and control the infection with T. gondii in pregnant women, which poses a potential threat to a foetus.

Introduction Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, RNA family. It has continued to spread across the world after its first outbreak in China in 2019. On 11 March 2020 the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic given its global public health and economic impacts. Objective To assess knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) on lifestyle, public health measures practiced by society and their impact to contain COVID-19 transmission in the Afar community, Afar Region, Ethiopia. Methods Community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from May to July, 2020, on purposively selected districts and the Peasant Association (PA). Simple random sampling was applied to select households and study participants. Structured and semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from study participants. The collected data were entered into Microsoft Excel and transferred to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Both descriptive and analytical analysis was provided and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results Of the total (266) study participants, most of them had no formal education (61.7%) and were aged from 35–40 (34.2%). More than half, 67.7% and 56.8%, of participants did not know chewing chat and smoking cigarettes as a risk factor for COVID-19, respectively. Almost half, 49.6%, of participants live in a house which is non-partitioned and without ventilation. The participants were took part in public gatherings such as funerals (27.1%), weddings (13.9%), meetings (13.5%) and went to a market (9%) during the pandemic. Nearly half (47.7%) of the study participants did not wear facemasks. Of the total, 27.4% and 71.4% participants lost their daily income more than and less than half, respectively. Conclusion This study revealed knowledge, attitude and practice of the community in the area to contain COVID-19 spread were minimal. Therefore, more improvement of public health measures will be required.

This study investigated the seropositivity, isolation and virulence of Toxoplasma gondii in slaughtered domestic ruminants in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia. MethodsThree hundred thirty-ve blood samples (135 sheep, 50 goats and 150 cattle) were collected from slaughterhouses. Antibodies against T. gondii were assayed using a commercial Toxo-Latex agglutination test. Tissue digestion was also conducted on 39 heart muscles of seropositive animals using the pepsin enzyme, and isolation of viable T. gondii, from seropositive ruminants, was also performed in white albino mice. ResultsThe overall occurrence of T. gondii infection was 55.8%. The occurrence of T. gondii antibodies in cattle, goats and sheep was 59.3%, 58%, and 51.1%, respectively. Toxoplasma gondii antibodies prevalence was signi cantly higher in females (χ2 = 4.55, p < 0.033) and adults of sheep (χ2 = 7.57, p < 0.006). Similarly, in cattle, old groups (χ2 = 7.81, p < 0.005) and cross-breeds (χ2 = 6.30, p < 0.012) have presented association with presence of T. gondii antibodies. However, in goats, no association was observed either with sex or age groups. In bioassayed mice, the overall viable T. gondii isolates were 38.5% and the parasites were isolated from samples of sheep (8/16), cattle (3/14) and goats (4/9), and most of these isolates (87.2%) were avirulent. ConclusionThe high occurrence of T. gondii antibodies and a high proportion of viable T. gondii observed in this study indicated the prevalent nature of the parasite and its zoonotic importance in the study areas, where slaughtered domestic ruminants serve as an important human protein source. Education of the public about routes of T. gondii transmission and control methods is imperative to prevent T. gondii transmission.

This study investigated the seropositivity, isolation and virulence of Toxoplasma gondii in slaughtered domestic ruminants in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia. Three hundred thirty-five blood samples (135 sheep, 50 goats and 150 cattle) were collected from slaughterhouses. Antibodies against T. gondii were assayed using a commercial Toxo-Latex agglutination test. Tissue digestion was also conducted on 39 heart muscles of seropositive animals using the pepsin enzyme. The isolation of viable T. gondii from seropositive ruminants was also performed in white albino mice. The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was found to be 55.8%. The species-wise prevalence of T. gondii seropositivity in cattle, goats and sheep was 59.3%, 58%, and 51.1%, respectively. From observed risk factors, sex (p < 0.033) and age of the sheep (p < 0.006) showed a significant association with T. gondii seropositivity. Similarly, in cattle, age (p < 0.005) and breed (p < 0.012) showed a statistically significant association with seropositivity of anti-T. gondii antibodies. In bioassayed mice, the overall viable T. gondii isolates were 38.5% and most of these isolates (87.18%) were avirulent. In conclusion, the high prevalence of T. gondii antibody and a high proportion of viable T. gondii observed in this study indicated the prevalent nature of the parasite and its zoonotic importance in the study areas where slaughtered domestic ruminants serve as an important human protein source. Education of the public about routes of T. gondii transmission and control methods is imperative to prevent T. gondii transmission.

Purpose This study investigated the seropositivity, isolation and virulence of Toxoplasma gondii in slaughtered domestic ruminants in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods Three hundred thirty-five blood samples (135 sheep, 50 goats and 150 cattle) were collected from slaughterhouses. Antibodies against T. gondii were assayed using a commercial Toxo-Latex agglutination test. Tissue digestion was also conducted on 39 heart muscles of seropositive animals using the pepsin enzyme, and isolation of viable T. gondii, from seropositive ruminants, was also performed in white albino mice. Results The overall occurrence of T. gondii infection was 55.8%. The occurrence of T. gondii antibodies in cattle, goats and sheep was 59.3%, 58%, and 51.1%, respectively. Toxoplasma gondii antibodies prevalence was significantly higher in females (χ2 = 4.55, p < 0.033) and adults of sheep (χ2 = 7.57, p < 0.006). Similarly, in cattle, old groups (χ2 = 7.81, p < 0.005) and cross-breeds (χ2 = 6.30, p < 0.012) have presented association with presence of T. gondii antibodies. However, in goats, no association was observed either with sex or age groups. In bioassayed mice, the overall viable T. gondii isolates were 38.5% and the parasites were isolated from samples of sheep (8/16), cattle (3/14) and goats (4/9), and most of these isolates (87.2%) were avirulent. Conclusion The high occurrence of T. gondii antibodies and a high proportion of viable T. gondii observed in this study indicated the prevalent nature of the parasite and its zoonotic importance in the study areas, where slaughtered domestic ruminants serve as an important human protein source. Education of the public about routes of T. gondii transmission and control methods is imperative to prevent T. gondii transmission.