Background. Food safety practice is an important Public Health issue to prevent or control food-borne illnesses. Evidence shows that 10 to 20% of food-borne diseases outbreaks are because of contamination by food handlers in restaurants, butcher shops, markets, etc. However, the food safety practice and associated factors among mothers who are the food handlers at their homes are not well studied and understood. This study aimed to assess food safety practice and associated factors among mothers in Debarq town. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted during March and April, 2018. Four hundred and twenty-three study participants were included using simple random sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with food safety practice based on AOR with 95% CI and p < 0.05. Results. About 210 (49.6%) of study participants had good food safety practice. Food safety practice of mothers was significantly associated with their educational status; secondary educational status adjusted odds ratio, AOR 3.09, 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.54, 6.20; College and University education AOR 2.95, 95% CI: 1.22, 7.12; food safety knowledge AOR 2.49, 95% CI: 1.41, 4.40; and attitude towards food safety AOR 3.67, 95% CI: 2.27, 5.94. Conclusion. Half of the study subjects had a good level of self-reported food safety practice and the other half had a poor level. Educational status, food safety knowledge, and attitude towards food safety were the identified factors associated with food safety practice. Improving the knowledge and educational status of the mothers is important to enhance their food safety practices.

Background Soil erosion is one of the major environmental challenges and has a significant impact on potential land productivity and food security in many highland regions of Ethiopia. Quantifying and identifying the spatial patterns of soil erosion is important for management. The present study aims to estimate soil erosion by water in the Northern catchment of Lake Tana basin in the NW highlands of Ethiopia. The estimations are based on available data through the application of the Universal Soil Loss Equation integrated with Geographic Information System and remote sensing technologies. The study further explored the effects of land use and land cover, topography, soil erodibility, and drainage density on soil erosion rate in the catchment. Results The total estimated soil loss in the catchment was 1,705,370 tons per year and the mean erosion rate was 37.89 t ha−1 year−1, with a standard deviation of 59.2 t ha−1 year−1. The average annual soil erosion rare for the sub-catchments Derma, Megech, Gumara, Garno, and Gabi Kura were estimated at 46.8, 40.9, 30.9, 30.0, and 29.7 t ha−1 year−1, respectively. Based on estimated erosion rates in the catchment, the grid cells were divided into five different erosion severity classes: very low, low, moderate, high and extreme. The soil erosion severity map showed about 58.9% of the area was in very low erosion potential (0–1 t ha−1 year−1) that contributes only 1.1% of the total soil loss, while 12.4% of the areas (36,617 ha) were in high and extreme erosion potential with erosion rates of 10 t ha−1 year−1 or more that contributed about 82.1% of the total soil loss in the catchment which should be a high priority. Areas with high to extreme erosion severity classes were mostly found in Megech, Gumero and Garno sub-catchments. Results of Multiple linear regression analysis showed a relationship between soil erosion rate (A) and USLE factors that soil erosion rate was most sensitive to the topographic factor (LS) followed by the support practice (P), soil erodibility (K), crop management (C) and rainfall erosivity factor (R). Barenland showed the most severe erosion, followed by croplands and plantation forests in the catchment. Conclusions Use of the erosion severity classes coupled with various individual factors can help to understand the primary processes affecting erosion and spatial patterns in the catchment. This could be used for the site-specific implementation of effective soil conservation practices and land use plans targeted in erosion-prone locations to control soil erosion.

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.

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Background In Ethiopia, there is not enough information about indoor air bacterial pollution. Therefore, this study aimed to determine bacterial indoor air pollution and its associated risk factors among residences of Gondar town. Methods A cross-sectional survey of indoor air pollution was conducted on 259 selected houses from February to May 2019. Sociodemographic and housing characteristics were collected using a questionnaire and checklist. Passive settle plate method using blood culture media was employed to collect samples and identification of isolates done by both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Results A total of 259 houses were investigated, and 13 different types of bacterial species were isolated. Of these, Bacillus species 259 (100%) and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species 101 (34.4%), Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella species, Citrobacter diversus, Escherichia coli, and Pantoea species were isolates. Tetracycline and cotrimoxazole were ineffective, but ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone were efficient antibiotics. Educational status, presence of domestic animals within the house, and integrated toilets were significantly associated with indoor bacterial pollution ( p < 0.05). Conclusion Indoor air pollution was higher in this study than international quantification limit (5 colony-forming unit/4 h) of clean rooms. So, periodic surveillance of indoor air quality and assessing risk factors should be addressed to assess the burden and intervene accordingly.