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This study was conducted in Ayder comprehensive specialized Hospital, Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia, to determine the bacterial profiles and drug susceptibility pattern from body fluids. A total of 218 patients were investigated, of which 146 (67%) were males. The age of the study subjects ranged from 2 days to 80 years with 96(44%) in the age group of 15 years and above. The overall bacterial infection was 44 (20.2 %) of which gram positive bacteria were prevalent, 23 (52.3%) than gram negative bacteria 21 (47.7%). The predominantly isolated bacteria were S. pneumonia, followed by K.pneumoniae, S. aureus, and E coli. Multidrug resistance was observed in 12 (100%) of the isolated gram positive bacteria and in 6 (75%) of the isolated gram negative bacteria.

ObjectiveBacterial contamination of donated blood and blood components is a major public health problem globally. The aim of the study was to evaluate the rate and spectrum of bacterial contaminations and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of contaminants in stored blood and blood components.ResultsA total of 196 blood and blood components (concentrated red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and platelets) were included. Bacterial contamination was observed in 18 (9.2%) of the blood and blood components, of which 14 (77.8%) and 4 (22.2%) were gram positive and gram negative bacteria, respectively. The predominantly isolated bacteria were Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Bacillus spp., and Staphylococcus aureus. Majority of isolated gram-negative bacteria isolates showed resistance to tetracycline and doxycycline. Multidrug resistance was observed in 12 (66%) of the isolates.

Blood transfusion services are a vital and integral part of modern healthcare services. However, the risk of transfusion transmittable infections (TTI) has been a major handicap. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among blood donors. A retrospective study was conducted to collect data about the blood donors who consecutively donated blood from October 2011 to 2014. A three-year retrospective study was conducted in Mekelle Blood Bank. A data abstraction format was used to collect the sociodemographic and clinical data, and the prevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV was determined. Data were analyzed using STATA version 10 analytical software. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant in all the analyses. A total of 10 728 blood donors, median (interquartile range) of age 30 (23-45) years and 3750 (34.9%) males were enrolled in this study. Of the participants 407(3.79%), 143(1.33%), and 111(1.03%) blood donors were positive for HBV, HCV, and HIV, respectively. HBV-HIV coinfections were found 10 (1.93%) blood donors, followed by HBV-HCV and HIV-HCV. A significant association between sex and marital status with HBV and HIV infection was found. However, significant association of HCV was observed among sex ( X = 33.18, P< 0.001) and occupational ( X = 84.33, P< 0.001). A significant percentage of HBV, HCV, and HIV among blood donors was observed. To select a donor and collect safe blood risk factors exposing blood donor should be studied, and community-based prevalence studies on TTI are also required.

Background Although Ethiopia is endemic to viral hepatitis and HIV, data that could guide population-specific interventions are limited. In this study, we determined the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and assessed their associations with HIV-1 viral load suppression among HIV-1 infected patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) at Mekelle hospital in northern Ethiopia. Methods Between February and April 2020, blood samples were collected from 439 participants. Samples were screened for HBsAg and anti-HCV on the immunochromatographic test and confirmed using the Enzyme-Linked Immuno-sorbent assay (Beijing Wantai Co. China). HIV-1 viral load was quantified using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on the Abbott platform. Binary and multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify potential predictors. Results Overall, 10% (44/439) and 3.6% (16/439) of the participants were coinfected with HBV and HCV, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, being illiterate (AOR = 6.57; 95% CI 1.04–41.6), and having a history of sexually transmitted infections (AOR = 4.44; 95% CI 1.31–15.0) and multiple sexual partners (AOR = 29.9; 95% CI 7.82–114.8) were associated with HBV infection. On the other hand, participants with a history of chronic non-communicable diseases (AOR = 10.6, 95% CI 1.61–70.1), and those reporting a history of sexually transmitted infections (AOR = 5.21, 95% CI 1.39–19.5) were more likely to be infected with HCV. In further analysis, HCV infection status was significantly associated with decreased viral load suppression rate (AOR = 7.14; 95% CI 2.18–23.3) whereas no significant association was observed with the HBV infection. Conclusions The HBV coinfection rate in our study is high and, as per WHO's standard, corresponds to a hyperendemic level. The HCV coinfection rate is also substantially high and urges attention given its influence on the viral load suppression of HIV patients on ART at our study site. Our findings suggest the need to adopt universal screening and vaccination of people with HIV against HBV and screening for HCV at our study site and in Ethiopia at large, which contributes to Ethiopia's progress towards the 2030 global target of reducing the HBV infection.