Background Listeria monocytogenes (LM) has come to be a major public health issue of at-risk groups, causing high morbidity and mortality. Despite this data, studies are very limited in developing countries like Ethiopia. Thus, we aimed to isolate and characterize LM in terms of antibiogram and biofilm formation among pregnant women with fever, women with a history of spontaneous abortion, women with a history of fetal loss, and women with preterm delivery at Jimma University Medical Center (JUMC), southwest Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was done among 144 women from June to August 2019. Isolates were tested for antibiotic susceptibility and biofilm formation using disc diffusion and microtiter plate method, respectively. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, entered into Epidata 3.1 and logistic regression was done by SPSS v25.0. Results LM was isolated in 8 (5.56%) of 144 screened women. The isolation rate of LM was relatively higher among women with a history of fetal loss (9.7%), followed by women with preterm delivery (6.25%). One of the six cord blood was positive for LM, indicating that the transplacental transmission rate at JUMC was 16.7%. More than 2% of women with an ongoing pregnancy were found to have LM septicemia, which could hurt their fetus. All of the isolates tested were susceptible to Ampicillin. However, all of the isolates were resistant to Penicillin and Meropenem and were biofilm producers. Conclusions The high magnitude of pregnancy-related listeriosis in the current study setting appears that implementation of educational programs targeting risk reduction and more studies to identify sources of LM are warranted. The choice of antibiotics should be after susceptibility testing.

Typhoid fever continued to be the key cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries with poor hygienic practices and limited access to safe drinking water. The Widal card agglutination test is the main diagnostic tool in Ethiopia, which is limited in differentiating the overlapping symptoms with other acute febrile illnesses such as malaria and viral enteritis. This eventually leds to unnecessary antibiotic use and eventual drug resistance. Therefore this study wants to assess the burden and associated potential risk factors of typhoid fever among suspected cases using the typhoid rapid stool antigen test in Northeast Ethiopia. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Gaint and Meket Shediho primary hospitals from May to July 2021. A total of 255 patients clinically suspected of typhoid fever, and willing to grant informed consent were included systematically. The demographic and hygiene-related variables were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. The rapid stool antigenic test and xylose-lysine-deoxycholate agar (XLD) stool culture were evaluated for the level of agreement. The present study indicated that the prevalence of typhoid fever was 15.3%. This displayed that the human-restricted infectious disease, typhoid fever remained a challenge to Ethiopians. Washing hands with soap, history of typhoid fever, having previous history of hospitalization, and chronic underlying disease was the significant potential factor for typhoid fever. The higher agreement of the rapid stool antigenic test with the stool culture can indicate the factual burden of typhoid fever in the suspected population. This could minimize empiric treatment and the possible emergence of drug resistance. Thus, resource-poor settings may need to look for a rapid and reliable stool antigenic test.

Acinetobacter baumannii, an opportunistic gram negative bacterium, is known to emerge as a major health threat in Eastern Africa. Clinical isolates exhibit resistance to carbapenems and most or all available antibiotics. This review is intended to present concerns about resistance and therapeutic challenges of multi drug resistance Acinetobacter baumannii in Eastern Africa. Data was obtained from PubMed and Google scholar, and from free goggle access and web Medline for facts about Acinetobacter baumannii and its resistance pattern. Moreover, PreferredReporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flow chart was used to guide the selection of study materials. Total of 98 articles identified, 13 fit the criteria and were included for the final analysis. In East Africa the overall prevalence of Acinetobacter baumannii was 4.95%, while the overall rate of multi drug resistance, carbapenem and pan resistance was 87.3%, 64.8% and 25.2% respectively. Colistin resurges as potential therapeutic options to overcome the lack of new antibiotic treatment of Acinetobacter baumannii. There needs a collaborative effort in researches targeted for Acinetobacter baumannii treatment and respond for call of "Research and Development of new antibiotics" to control its damning impact.

Background: Neisseria meningitidis causes severe life-threatening meningococcal disease with a case fatality rate of 10-15% even with proper treatment. In Ethiopia, particularly in our study area, inadequate information is found on meningococcal disease. So, this study aimed to assess N. meningitidis carriage rate, antibiotic susceptibility profile, and associated factors among prisoners in Jimma Town, Southwestern Ethiopia. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in Jimma town, Southwest Ethiopia, from May to October 2019. A stratified sampling technique was used and proportional allocation was done. A total of 550 oropharyngeal swabs were collected, processed, isolated, and identified N. meningitidis using standard microbiological techniques. Antibiotics susceptibility test was done for isolates using the disk diffusion method. Data on demographic and associated factors for carriage were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were summarized using frequency, percentage, graph, and table. A logistic regression model was used to see the association between the dependent and independent variables. Variables with a p-value < 0.25 during bivariate analysis were included in multivariate analysis to identify factors significantly associated with the meningococcal carriage and, a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Result: Out of the 550 study participants, 76(13.8%) with (CI: 7.20-18.20) were found carriers of N meningitidis. The predominant isolates were non-serogroupable 26(34.2%) and serogroup W/Y 22(28.9%), respectively. N. meningitidis isolates showed highest sensitivity to chloramphenicol 74(97.4%). Meningococcal carriage rate was significantly associated with being age group of 16-20 years; having respiratory symptoms within 3 months and active cigarette smoking within 3 months. Conclusions:The majority of participants harbor most of the serogroups responsible for invasive cases of meningococcal disease. Respiratory symptoms, active cigarette smoking, and age group of 16-20 years increased the risk of N. meningitidis pharyngeal carriage rate. This study suggests providing better health education to control respiratory symptoms, smoking, and providing antibiotic prophylaxis for prisoners.