Background Malaria is more often considered a problem of the rural poor and the disease has been overlooked in urban settings for centuries due to the assumption that economic development in urban areas results in better life conditions, such as improved housing, drainage system and environmental changes that makes urban areas not conducive for breeding of the malaria vector. But, for many African countries, including Ethiopia, in most urban areas, although there are rapid developments, they are characterized by poor housing, lack of sanitation and drainage of surface water that would provide favourable conditions for vector breeding. Limited studies have been conducted as far as urban malaria is concerned in Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to assess the status of falciparum and vivax malaria transmission in Adama City, Eastern Shoa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Understanding the local epidemiology of malaria will help policy makers and other stakeholders to design and implement tailored cost effective and efficient intervention strategies targeting urban malaria. Methods The study was designed to analyse 5-year trends of malaria burden by two co-endemic species in Ethiopia ( Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax ) and its annual and seasonal transmission pattern in the city, by using retrospective data on malaria burden by species, malaria related inpatient department (IPD) and outpatient department (OPD) consultations from 2013/14 to 2017/18. Results OPD retrospective data analysis indicated that adolescents and adults (≥ 15 years of age) were most affected by P. vivax 43.5% (2986/6862) and P. falciparum 31.7% (2179/6862). Plasmodium vivax was found to be a predominant species in causing malaria burden in the city exhibiting less seasonal occurrence, and the relative burden of P. vivax is gradually increasing from year to year over P. falciparum. Conclusion Malaria is endemic to the city showing a public health problem. The productive group of the community, adolescents and adults, were most affected exacerbating poverty. Plasmodium vivax was found to be the highest malaria burden in the city and the observed epidemiological shift from P. falciparum to P. vivax calls for additional tailored intervention strategies to reduce the associated burden.

Background: One of the major challenges in developing an effective vaccine against asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum is genetic polymorphism within parasite population. Understanding the genetic polymorphism like block 2 region of merozoite surface protein (msp-1) genes of P. falciparum enlighten mechanisms underlining disease pathology, identification of the parasite clone profile from the isolates, transmission intensity and potential deficiencies of the ongoing malaria control and elimination effort in the locality. Detailed understanding of local genetic polymorphism is an input to pave the way for better management, control and elimination of malaria. The aim of this study was to detect the most frequent allelic variant of the merozoite surface protein (msp-1) gene of P. falciparum clinical isolates from selected health facilities in Adama town and its surroundings, Oromia, Ethiopia.Methods: A total of 139 clinical isolates were successfully amplified for msp-1 gene using specific sets of primer. Nested PCR amplification conducted, using specific primers targeting K1, MAD20, and R033 alleles followed by gel electrophoresis for fragment analysis. Based on the detection of a PCR fragment, infections were classified as monoclonal or multiple infections.Result: 19 different size polymorphism of msp-1 gene were identified in the study, with 67(48 %) MAD20, 18 (13 %) K-1 and 18 (13 %) RO33 allelic family. Whereas, the multiple infections were 21(15 %), 8(5.8 %), 4(2.9 %), 3(2.2 %) for MAD20+K-1, MAD20+RO33, K-1+ RO33, and MAD20+K-1, RO33, respectively. The overall Multiplicity of Infection (MOI) was 1.3 and the expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.58 indicating intermediate falciparum malaria transmission.Conclusion: The status of msp-1 allele size polymorphism, MOI and He observed in the study revealed an intermediate genetic diversity of P. falciparum clinical isolates, indicating that the ongoing malaria control and elimination effort should be intensified to effectively monitor the potential malaria resurgence in the study area. Moreover, deriving force that led to high predominance of MAD20 allelic variant revealed in such malaria declining region demands further research.

Background One of the major challenges in developing an effective vaccine against asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum is genetic polymorphism within parasite population. Understanding the genetic polymorphism like block 2 region of merozoite surface protein-1 (msp-1) gene of P. falciparum enlighten mechanisms underlining disease pathology, identification of the parasite clone profile from the isolates, transmission intensity and potential deficiencies of the ongoing malaria control and elimination efforts in the locality. Detailed understanding of local genetic polymorphism is an input to pave the way for better management, control and elimination of malaria. The aim of this study was to detect the most frequent allelic variant of the msp-1 gene of P. falciparum clinical isolates from selected health facilities in Adama town and its surroundings, Oromia, Ethiopia. Methods One hundred thirty-nine clinical isolates were successfully amplified for msp-1 gene using specific primers. Nested PCR amplification was conducted targeting K1, MAD20, and R033 alleles followed by gel electrophoresis for fragment analysis. Based on the detection of a PCR fragment, infections were classified as monoclonal or multiple infections. Results 19 different size polymorphism of msp-1 gene were identified in the study, with 67(48%) MAD20, 18 (13%) K-1 and 18 (13%) RO33 allelic family. Whereas, the multiple infections were 21(15%), 8 (5.8%), 4(2.9%), 3(2.2%) for MAD20 + K-1, MAD20 + RO33, K-1 + RO33, and MAD20 + K-1, RO33, respectively. The overall Multiplicity of infection (MOI) was 1.3 and the expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.39 indicating slightly low falciparum malaria transmission. Conclusion The status of msp-1 allele size polymorphism, MOI and He observed in the study revealed the presence of slightly low genetic diversity of P. falciparum clinical isolates. However, highly frequent MAD20 allelic variant was detected from clinical isolates in the study area. Moreover, the driving force that led to high predominance of MAD20 allelic variant revealed in such malaria declining region demands further research.

The distribution of malaria shows considerable spatial heterogeneity globally, regionally and locally. For the design of effective malaria control and elimination, and for its implementation in Ethiopia, urban malaria should be given due attention. Therefore, the present study was aimed to examine the status of urban malaria during the minor transmission season in Adama city. A total of 2590 febrile patients were screened using the gold standard microscopy-based blood test for malaria diagnosis from seven purposively selected health facilities found in Adama City from April to July 2018. Socio-demographic data were collected from malaria positive patients to correlate predisposing factors; like previous malaria history, settlement, travel history, age, and other associated risk factors with malaria incidence. Climatological data, such as temperature and relative humidity, recorded during the study period were also collected from the data base of Adama meteorology center for analysis. The microscopic data indicated that from a total of 2590 febrile patients screened for malaria during the study period 3.7% (97/2590) of them were confirmed malaria positive. Adolescents and adults (≥15 years of age) were found to be most affected by Plasmodium vivax (66%) and Plasmodium falciparum (20.5%), and mixed (6%). Analysis of the climatological data revealed a rise in environmental temperature and relative humidity during the study that coincides with the increase of malaria cases, since it creates favorable mosquito breeding for malaria transmission in the city. P. vivax was found as a predominant species in causing malaria burden indicating its public health problem in Adama city affecting the productive age group of the community, adolescents and adults, during the minor transmission season of malaria. In addition to its public health importance by causing morbidity and mortality such kind of scenario may also exacerbates poverty.

Background. Despite significant progress achieved globally in reducing malaria burden, still it is one of the major public health and economic problems in Ethiopia. Investigation of the local genetic polymorphism of P. falciparum, the most virulent and predominant malaria parasite primarily targeted in malaria control and elimination program, is paramount to assess intensity of parasite transmission. Analysis of the block 3 region of the msp-2 gene of P. falciparum provides strong molecular evidence to evaluate the real picture of malaria epidemiology to fine-tune the ongoing control and elimination programs in the region. Thus, this study was aimed at examining the status of such polymorphic gene and its implications in Adama and its surroundings. Methods. 148 isolates from patients with uncomplicated falciparum malaria were collected in the study from September 2019 to August 2020. Tween® 20 and the Chelex method were employed for parasite DNA extraction. msp-2 allelic families were genotyped by using nested polymerase chain reaction targeting its 3D7 and FC27 allelic variants followed by gel electrophoresis for fragment analysis. Results. Seventeen different polymorphic forms of msp-2 allelic fragments were detected in the study area. Moreover, 47 (31.8%) and 41(27.7%) were detected for 3D7 and FC27 allelic families, respectively. Furthermore, the multiclonal allele type accounted for 60 (40.5%). The mean MOI was 1.4, and the heterogeneity index (He) is 0.49 indicating nearly intermediate malaria transmission in the study area. Conclusions. The study revealed nearly intermediate genetic diversity and mean MOI of P. falciparum in the study area, demanding further scale up of the ongoing control and elimination efforts.

Background. The genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum has been studied to assess local malaria transmission genetic profile using evidence-based intervention measures. However, there are no known previous reports of P. falciparum polymorphism in Badewacho and Boset districts, Southern Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of the merozoite surface protein-1 and -2 (msp-1 and msp-2) allelic families in P. falciparum isolates from an asymptomatic populations. Methods. This study was conducted from finger-prick blood samples spotted on 3 mm Whatman filter paper collected during a community-based cross-sectional study. Nested polymerase chain reaction amplification was used to type the allelic variants of msp-1 and msp-2. Results. From 669 asymptomatic study participants, a total of 50 samples positive for P. falciparum were included for molecular analysis. Of 50 positive samples, 43 P. falciparum isolates were successfully amplified for the msp-1 and msp-2 allelic families. A total of twelve different allele sizes (75–250 bp) were identified within the three allelic families of msp-1, whereas ten different allele sizes (250–500 bp) were detected within the two allelic families of msp-2. MAD20 had a higher allelic proportion, 65% among allelic families of msp-1, whereas the 3D7 allelic family 90.7% was higher in msp-2. A slightly higher frequency of polyclonal infection 53.5% was found in msp-2 allelic family, whereas a low proportion polyclonal infection 46.5% was found in msp-1 allelic family. The overall mean multiplicity of infection (MOI) for msp-1 and msp-2 was identical (MOI = 1.56). Correspondingly, the expected heterozygosity (He) value for msp-1 (He = 0.23) and msp-2 (He = 0.22) was almost similar. Conclusions. The findings of this study revealed low genetic diversity of the msp-1 and msp-2 allelic families in P. falciparum isolates. However, continued monitoring status of the local genetic diversity profile in the P. falciparum population is required to support current malaria control and elimination strategies.

Background: Despite significant progress achieved globally in reducing malaria burden, still it is one of the major public health problems in Ethiopia. Furthermore, better understanding of genetic polymorphism of P. falciparum: the most virulent and predominant malaria parasite primarily targeted in malaria control and elimination program is paramount. Analysis of block 3 region of msp-2 gene of P. falciparum provides strong molecular evidence to evaluate the real picture of malaria epidemiology to fine-tune the ongoing control and elimination programs in the region.Thus, this study aimed to examine the status of such polymorphic gene and its implications in Adama and its surrounding.Methods: A total of 171 Dry Blood Spot (DBS) samples were collected from uncomplicated falciparum malaria patients from September 2019 to August 2020. Tween® 20 and Chelex method was employed for parasite DNA extraction. A total of 148 samples were successfully amplified by nested PCR targeting msp-2 alleles (IC/3D7 and FC27) followed by gel electrophoresis for fragment analysis. Results: Seventeen different polymorphic forms of msp-2 allelic fragments were detected in the study area. Moreover, a total of 47 (31.8%) and 41(27.7%) were detected for IC/3D7 and FC27 allelic family, respectively. Furthermore, the multi-clonal allele type accounted for 60(40.5%). The overall MOI was 1.4 and the expected heterozygosity is 0.49 indicating nearly intermediate malaria transmission in the study area.Conclusions: The study revealed nearly intermediate genetic diversity and polyclonal infection of P. falciparum in the study area, demanding further scale up of the ongoing control and elimination efforts.

Background Scientific evidence suggests that the total number and diversity of outbreaks and richness of Infectious Diseases (IDs) have increased significantly since the last few decades, resulting unpredictable loss of human life and economy. Understanding the driving factors for the emergence and re-emergence of such diverse human infectious diseases has become a focus of increased research in the field of human health.Methods Harzing's Publish or Perish Tarma software's search engine was used to obtain 1000 publications during a literature search using the keyword "Emerging Infectious Diseases." Of which the 55 most recent (publications in English from 2018 to 2023) were chosen, of which 30 papers were discovered to be legible for the review after removing the repeated, incomplete, and irrelevant publications from the software's search results. There were also 13 additional publications included in the study through manual search from PubMed. Following PRISMA 2020 checklist a total of 43 peer-reviewed publications meeting the inclusion criteria were used in this systematic review.Results The study revealed human induced ecological changes due to over-exploitation of the natural world, ecological degradation, climate change, urbanization, and the transnational movement are the major factors associated with the emergence and re-emergence of such diseases. Furthermore, environmental changes, inappropriate or misuse of antibiotics and Bioterrorism may account for EIDs. Understanding, the nature of wave of such diseases, timely forecasts of the onset and their potential re-emergence; save lives, money, and human productivity.Conclusions: Despite the significant impact of human life and economy due to EIDs at the global level, the available evidence indicates that identification of the major drivers of such diseases hasn’t received the attention it deserves for proactive preparedness and further research.