BackgroundIn Ethiopia, light microscopy is the gold standard for malaria diagnosis although it is not available in most peripheral health facilities. It is time consuming, requires trained personnel and needs careful preparation and application of reagents to ensure quality results. This study was aimed at testing the diagnostic performance of CareStart™ malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) with reference to light microscopy for the diagnosis of falciparum and vivax malaria in Ethiopia.MethodsBlood samples were collected from 254 patients suspected to have malaria at Kola Diba Health Center in the late malaria transmission peak season from November 2011 to December 2011. The samples were examined immediately by light microscopy and the RDT (CareStart™ Malaria HRP2/pLDH COMBO Test kit). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 16 and the JavaStat two-way contingency table analysis.ResultsThe overall sensitivity and specificity of CareStartTM RDT was found to be 95% (90–97.9%, 95% CI) and 94.2% (90.9–96%, 95% CI), respectively. The sensitivity of the CareStartTM RDT for Plasmodium falciparum or mixed infection was calculated to be 92.9% (82.5–98%, 95%CI) while a sensitivity of 90.9% (74.1–98.4%, 95%CI) was found for non-falciparum species. The specificity for P. falciparum or mixed infections was found to be 95.4% (92.5–96.8%, 95%CI) while it was 97.3% (94.8–98.4%, 95%CI) for non-falciparum species. There was an excellent agreement between the two tests with a kappa value of 0.918.ConclusionThe CareStartTM RDT test showed good sensitivity and specificity with an excellent agreement to the reference light microscopy. The RDT could therefore be used in place of light microscopy, which in poor set-ups cannot be used routinely.
A large number of pregnant women had acute/recent rubella virus infections at the time of data collection, indicating that the virus is endemic in the study area. More than a tenth of pregnant women were found to be susceptible to acquiring the infection in future pregnancies, with the possible risk of rubella-associated congenital anomalies. Hence screening of all women of child-bearing age before conception and during pregnancy might reduce the devastating effects of the virus on the developing fetus.
BackgroundUniversities tend to be highly congregate settings, both in the classroom and in residences, and thus provide special opportunities for large number of persons to be exposed to a person with tuberculosis (TB). Despite the high prevalence of TB in Ethiopia, the TB prevalence and the treatment outcome among students have never been studied. Therefore, this study was aimed at determining the prevalence and treatment outcome of TB among students at University of Gondar from January 2007 to December 2011.MethodsData on age, sex, TB type, category, and treatment outcome of students with TB was collected from medical records of University of Gondar Hospital, TB Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) clinic. All TB cases diagnosed with smear, culture, and/or radiography were included in the study.ResultsDuring the five year study period in the university, there were an average of 36 students with TB per year out of a mean of 10,036 enrolled students. Smear positive pulmonary TB, smear negative pulmonary TB, and extra pulmonary TB, respectively, were observed in 46 (25.4%), 81 (44.8%) and 54 (29.8%) of the cases. The prevalence of all forms of TB per 100,000 populations in the University ranged from 297.6 in 2009 to 404 in 2011, respectively. The prevalence of TB in the Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty was higher than the one observed in the Medical College. The overall treatment outcome was classified as cured in 36 (19.9%), completed in 91 (50.3%), defaulted in 9 (5%), failed in 3 (1.7%), died in 1 (0.6%), and transferred out in 41 (22.7%) of the cases. Treatment success rate (TSR) among students in University was generally low ranging from 58.1% in 2009 to 82.9% in 2011 with a mean TSR of 70.2%.ConclusionThe prevalence of TB is higher in comparison to the national figure among students in University of Gondar. Active surveillance systems could be important to get a clear picture of the TB situation in such settings. Assessing the factors associated with the high prevalence to gear the TB control strategy could also be essential.
Background Despite the undeniable significance of blood transfusion in saving a millions life in emergencies and medical treatment, the quality of blood faced challenges from transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), HBV (hepatitis B virus) and HCV (hepatitis C virus). This cross-sectional study was undertaken with the aim of determining the seroprevalence and risk factors of HIV, HBV, and HCV among blood donors. Methods An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted at Debre Tabor district hospital from January 2017 to February 2018. Blood samples from volunteer donors collected; serum separated and screened with ELISA tests for detection of anti-HIV, hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV. Fishers’ exact test was employed to see the association between variables as well logistic regression tests were applied to identify potential risk factors. P -value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result A total of 310 volunteer donors were included in the study. The proportion of blood donors having at least one viral-TTI was 12.6% while the magnitudes of HIV, HBV, and HCV were 2.6, 5.8 and 4.2%, respectively. Educational status and multiple sexual behaviors are significantly associated with HIV acquisition whilst marital status was significantly associated with HBsAg seropositivity. Conclusion Seroprevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections was high and alarming therefore proper screening of donated blood with test methods having better diagnostic performance should be employed. Also encouragement of blood donation from voluntary donors and creating awareness on the general public regarding HIV, HBsAg and HCV transmission and prevention should be strengthen.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.