Background Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) have been major public health problems in low income countries primarily affecting school children. Previous studies in Ethiopia have shown high burden of intestinal parasitic infections in most children. In order to gain a deeper insight into the magnitude of the problem more information is needed from different localities where similar studies have not been conducted. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of IPIs and associated risk factors among school children in Jawi Primary School, Jawi town, north -west Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2017 to assess the prevalence of IPIs and associated risk factors among Jawi Primary School children, Ethiopia. A total of 422 children were selected using age-stratified systematic random sampling technique. Stool samples were examined microscopically using direct wet-mount and formal-ether concentration techniques. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information regarding the associated risk factors. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and p value < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. Results Of 406 students examined for IPIs, 235 (57.88%) were positive for one or more intestinal parasites. Single, double and triple infections were 41.9, 6.2 and 1.2%, respectively. Overall infection rate was slightly higher in males (51.85%) than in females (45.30%) though the difference was not significant. Higher prevalence rate (about 51–53%) was recorded among 6 to 18 years old children. Prevalence of Giardia lamblia was the highest (19.95%), followed by hookworm (13.8%), Schistosoma mansoni (10.3%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (5.9%), Hymenolepsis nana (4.2%), Taenia species (3%) and Ascaris lumbricoides (0.73%), in that order. Among the risk factors assessed, age, hand washing habit before meals, open field defecation habit, consistency of wearing shoes, habit of eating raw and unwashed vegetables, and finger nail cleanliness and trimming habit were found to be the most important predictors associated with high risk of IPIs ( p < 0.05). Conclusion High prevalence of IPIs among Jawi Primary school children demands improved health education on regular hand washing, latrine use, wearing shoes, cleaning finger nails, not crossing rivers with bare foot and avoiding eating raw vegetables. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-019-3971-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background. Human intestinal protozoan parasitic infections (HIPPIs) are a series of public health problems in developing countries like Ethiopia. The overall prevalence of HIPPIs in Ethiopia is not known. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis study is aimed at determining the overall prevalence of HIPPIs in Ethiopia. Methods. Articles written in English were searched from online public databases. Searching terms used were “prevalence,” “intestinal protozoan parasite,” “associated factors,” and “Ethiopia.” We used Stata version 14 for meta-analysis and Cochran’s Q test statistics and the I2 test for heterogeneity. Result. A total of 286 articles were reviewed, but only 45 of them fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of HIPPIs in Ethiopia was 25.01% (95% CI: 20.08%-29.95%) where Entamoeba histolytica/dispar is the most prevalent (14.09%, 95% CI: 11.03%-17.14%) followed by Giardia lamblia (10.03%, 95% CI: 7.69%-12.38%) and Cryptosporidium spp. (5.93%, 95% CI: 2.95%-8.91%). This meta-analysis showed that family size (OR: 3.7, 95% CI: 1.45-5.85), source of drinking water (OR: 3.33, 95% CI: 1.30-5.36), open field defecation (OR: 2.91, 95% CI: 1.60-4.21), handwashing habit (OR: 2.82, 95% CI: 2.01-3.63), playing with soil (OR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.01-3.29), the habit of eating raw vegetables (OR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.03-2.51), and fingernail trimming (OR: 1.70, 95% CI: 0.89-2.25) were strongly associated with the HIPPIs in Ethiopia. High heterogeneity on the prevalence of HIPPIs was observed among studies within and among regions (I2>99% and P≤0.01). Conclusion. The prevalence of HIPPIs was significantly high among the Ethiopian population. Family size, source of drinking water, open field defecation, handwashing habit, the habit of eating raw vegetables, and fingernail trimming habits were significantly associated with HIPPIs.

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The genus Thymus is one of the genera in the family Lamiaceae. In Ethiopia, it is represented by two endemic species namely Thymus serrulatus and Thymus schimperi. The aims of this study were to identify the types of species from six geographically distant localities in Ethiopia, assess the ethnobotanical and socioeconomic information of these species in these localities and gather information about the current status and threatening factors of these species in the six localities. The plant specimens from these localities were authenticated by experts in the National Herbarium of Addis Ababa University as Thymus serrulatus and Thymus schimperi. The plants were rated by local informants as treatments for ailments like blood pressure (30.7%), general pain syndrome (10%), influenza (10%), abdominal pain (10%), ascariasis (2.9%), and intestinal parasites (2.9%). The informants rated the economic value of these plants as animal forage (71.5%), bee forage (71.5%), condiments (68%), and washing and fumigation (46%). According to the informants, the status of Thymus species is declining from time to time due to overgrazing (80.7%), agricultural expansion (64.2%), overharvesting (48.57%), uprooting during harvesting (14.2%), and lack of recognition (13.6%)

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Introduction. Occupational injuries are occurrences arising out of, or in the course of, work which results in a fatal or nonfatal injury, e.g., a fall from a height or contact with moving machines. They pose psychological, behavioral, social, vocational, and economic problems. No previous studies have been conducted on the prevalence and associated risk factors of occupational injuries among workers in Bahir Dar Textile Share Company (SC). Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of occupational injury in Bahir Dar Textile SC, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among employees of Bahir Dar Textile SC in 2019. Three hundred (195 males and 105 females) employees were selected using proportional simple random sampling from the spinning, weaving, finishing, engineering, and administration sections. Results. The one-year and the two-week occupational injury prevalences were 42.7% and 6.7%, respectively. The one-year report from all the respondents shows that abrasion (10.7%) and eye injury (7.7%) were the two top injuries, hands (12.7%) and eyes (7.7%) were the top injured body parts, and machines (22.7%) and falling/slipping (6.3%) caused most injuries. Statistically significant differences in injuries (p<0.05) were observed due to variations in gender, job category, exposure to vibration, exposure to rays/welding sparks, and labor-intensive work. The weaving section was positively associated with occupational injuries at AOR = 4.497 and p=0.05. Conclusions. Occupational injuries prevalence is high over the last year. The major causes of injuries were machines and falling/slipping, while the major injuries were abrasions, eye injuries, sprains, and burns. The factors significantly associated with occupational injuries were male gender, job category, use of vibrating tools, high intensive work, and rays/welding sparks. Occupational safety and health training, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and shifting employees from intensive works are recommended.

Background. Emerging viral infections are among the major global public health concerns. The pandemic COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory and vascular disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). There are no medicines that can treat SARS-CoV-2 except the vaccines. Therefore, searching for plant-originated therapeutics for the treatment of COVID-19 is required. Consequently, reviewing medicinal plants used to treat different viral infections is mandatory. This review article aims to review the ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal plants traditionally used to treat different viral diseases by the Ethiopian people and suggests those plants as candidates to fight COVID-19. Methods. Articles written in English were searched from online public databases using searching terms like “Traditional Medicine,” “Ethnobotanical study,” “Active components,” “Antiviral activities,” and “Ethiopia.” Ethnobotanical data were analyzed using the Excel statistical software program. Result. From the 46 articles reviewed, a total of 111 plant species were claimed to treat viral infections. Fifty-six (50.4%) of the plant species had reported to have antiviral active components that are promising to treat COVID-19. Lycorine, gingerol shogaol, resveratrol, rhoifolin, oleanolic acid, kaempferol, rosmarinic acid, almond oil, ursolic acid, hederagenin, nigellidine, α-hederin, apigenin, nobiletin, tangeretin, chalcone, hesperidin, epigallocatechin gallate, allicin, diallyl trisulfide, ajoene, aloenin, artemisinin, glucobrassicin, curcumin, piperine, flavonoids, anthraquinone, hydroxychloroquine, and jensenone were some of them. Conclusion. The Ethiopian traditional knowledge applies a lot of medicinal plants to treat different viral infections. Reports of the chemical components of many of them confirm that they can be promising to fight COVID-19.

Background Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are common in low and middle income countries where there is lack of access to clean water and sanitation. Effective diagnosis and treatment are essential for the control of STH infections. However, among STH parasites, Strongyloides stercoralis is the most neglected species, both in diagnostics and control strategies. Diagnostic methods cover different approaches, each with different sensitivities and specificities, such as serology, molecular techniques and microscopy based techniques. Of the later, the Baermann technique is the most commonly used procedure. In the literature, several ways have been described to perform the Baermann method, which illustrates the overall lack of a ‘(gold) reference standard’ method for the diagnosis of S. stercoralis infection. In this study we have evaluated the performance of three Baermann techniques in order to improve the reference standard for the microscopic diagnosis of S. stercoralis infection thereby facilitating individual case detection, mapping of the disease and proper evaluation of treatment responses. Methods/Principal findings A community based cross sectional study was conducted at Zenzelima, Bahir Dar Zuria Ethiopia. A total of 437 stool samples were collected and analyzed by the following procedures: conventional Baermann (CB), modified Baermann (MB), and modified Baermann with charcoal pre-incubation (MBCI). The diagnostic sensitivity and Negative Predictive Value (NPV) of each technique was calculated using the combination of all the three techniques as a composite reference standard. Our result indicated that larvae of S. stercoralis were detected in 151 (34.6%) stool samples. The prevalence of S. stercoralis infection based on the three diagnostic methods was 9.6%, 8.0%, and 31.3% by CB, MB, and MBCI respectively. The sensitivity and NPV for CB, MB, and MBCI were 26.7% and 70.8%, 22.1% and 69.6%, and 87.0% and 93.2%, respectively. The MBCI showed significant difference (P- value = <0.001) in the sensitivity and NPV values when compared with CB and MB values. The agreement between CB, MB, and MBCI with the composite reference standard was 31.8%, 26.7%, 89.6%, respectively. Conclusion/Significance Our results suggest the superior performance of MBCI. It is relatively easy to implement, simple to perform and comparatively cheaper. The CB is by far the commonly used method in routine diagnostic although this technique significantly underestimates the true burden of the disease and thereby contributing to the exclusion of S. stercoralis from the control strategies. Therefore, MBCI is recommended as a routine microscopy-based diagnostic test for S. stercoralis infection, particularly in settings where molecular procedures are not available.