Background: Nowadays food safety is considered to be one of the most global public health concerns. Edible oil is one of the most popular types of food to be consumed in every Ethiopian house. Though, its safety is not emphasized. It is produced in Ethiopia from small scale production to large industry level and / or imported from other countries.Objective: To evaluate microbial and hygienic quality of edible oil. Methods:A six year retrospective study design was conducted from January 2010 to January 2015 on 125 edible oil samples which were examined at Ethiopian public health institute, food safety and public health microbiology research laboratory, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The data was extracted using developed format from a laboratory registration book. Edible oil samples were examined for the presence of yeast, mould, aerobic plate count, total coliforms, fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli (E.coli). Additionally, examination for the presence of pathogenic organisms like salmonella species, shigella species, and staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were also performed. Data was cleaned and entered to Microsoft XL and then exported to SPSS for statistical analysis and values of different parameters were expressed as the mean±standard error (±S.E).Results: One hundred twenty five edible oil samples were examined among which 62(48%) samples were containing a varying number of bacteria and/or Moulds. Results given in Table1 shows that the aerobic plate count was detected in 46(35.6%), moulds 32(24.8%), Yeasts 4(3.1%), total coliforms 6(4.5%) samples. Fecal coliforms, E.coli and S.aureus were found only in one sample. None of the examined edible oil samples contain salmonella and shigella organisms. Conclusion:Some isolated microorganism indicates unhygienic condition of the edible oil somewhere in its way from processing to packaging and market display. The average microbial load is not higher than 105cfu/ml for Aerobic mesophillic bacteria and 104cfu/ml for moulds. These concentrations may be able to cause health problems in individuals who consume without enough heat processing and also some of the food spoilage organisms, specially the moulds, can hasten the deterioration the edible oil.

Access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services is the most effective mechanism to reduce many infectious diseases. WASH in schools related to better educational outcomes although adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene services were unavailable to millions of school-age children in Ethiopia. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the level of WASH coverage and identify factors affecting access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene services. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 82 school facilities. A structured questionnaire and an observational checklist were used to gather the data. Water samples were taken from the schools' water storage. Descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the data. In this study, 74.7%, 61. 3% and 37.3% of the schools had access to basic drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services, respectively. Additionally, 21.3%, 29.4%, and 30.7% of the schools had access to limited drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services, respectively. However, 4%, 9.3%, and 32% of the schools lacked water, sanitation, and hygiene services, respectively. We discovered that schools with male heads were 7% less likely to have access to basic hygiene services (AOR = 0.07 with 95% CI 0.01–0.5) than those with female directors. In addition, schools with hygiene and environmental health clubs had an 11.8-fold higher access rate to basic hygiene services (AOR = 11.8 with 95% CI 1.35–104) than schools without such clubs. Besides, schools that conduct WASH lessons at least once a week were 8.63 times more likely to use basic hygiene services (AOR = 8.63; 95% CI 1.18–63.22) than schools that did not. This study offers scientific evidence that could be used for sound decisions to fill the school WASH gaps. This is a unique study in determining the level of WASH coverage and identifying factors affecting access to basic hygiene services. The investigation provides some insights into how access to WASH services can be improved at the grassroots level. Federal and regional governments should implement effective interventions that assist schools to attain Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030. School administrators and other partner organizations should take proactive measures to enhance and maintain the WASH services.

Reducing inequalities in all its forms is one of the key principles of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). However, the 2030 SDG Agenda has been a real challenge in addressing inequalities in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services. There is a disparity in the use of WASH services in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to identify demographic factors affecting the use of Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) ladders for WASH services. In this study, a total of 5350 households were included. Households having heads with vocational education levels were 2.9 times higher in use of basic drinking-water services ((Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.9 with 95% CI 1.6–5.1) than household having heads who could not read and write. Besides, households living in urban areas were 21.7 times more likely to use basic drinking-water services (AOR = 21.7 with 95% CI 16–30) than in rural parts. Further, households with merchants’ heads were 2.1 times higher to use basic sanitation services (AOR = 2.1 with 95% CI 1.5, 3.1) than households with farmers’ heads. Moreover, households having higher monthly income per head were 2.9 times higher in utilizing basic sanitation services (AOR = 2.9 with 95% CI 2.32–3.58) than the poorest households. Similarly, households with female heads were 1.5 times higher in using the JMP ladder for basic hygiene services (AOR = 1.5 with 95% CI 1.24–1.71) than households with male heads. Additionally, respondents who live in urban areas had 2.8 times higher use of basic hygiene services (AOR = 2.8 with 95% CI 2.26–3.54) than those in rural areas. Many demographic factors that influence the use of the JMP ladders for water, sanitation, and hygiene services were identified. The use of surface water, open defecation practice, unimproved sanitation, and no hygiene services were positively associated with illiteracy. The findings suggest that state authorities should initiate firm WASH policies and strategies to achieve the SDG 6 and 10. Additionally, the government should apply effective WASH interventions that consider demographic disparities.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of food poisoning resulting from the consumption of contaminated food with staphylococcal enterotoxins. Raw meat is a good medium for the survival and spread of drug-resistant S. aureus. Objective: To look for the prevalence of drug-resistant S. aureus in Addis Ababa abattoir enterprise. Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2013 to April 2014 in Addis Ababa abattoir enterprise. A total of 185 swab samples were collected from the carcasses of sheep, goat and slaughtering materials such as workers’ clothes, vehicles, knives and hands. Isolation and identification of S. aureus were conducted using the conventional culture methods and signatory tests. Antimicrobial sensitivity was conducted using standard methods. Results: The overall prevalence rate for S. aureus in the present study was 33%. The higher prevalence rates of S. aureus were recorded from sheep carcasses 36%, followed by 30% from the environment and 16% from goat carcasses. The variation in the prevalence of S. aureus between the carcasses and environment was not statically significant (p > 0.05). More than 90% of S. aureus strains were sensitive to vancomycin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin and kanamycin. While 86.9% S. aureus strains were resistant to penicillin G 80.3% resistant to ampicillin, 63.9% resistant to ceftriaxone, 62.3% resistant to oxacilin, and 62.3% resistant to cefoxitin respectively. Conclusion: The present study indicated that the quality of slaughtered sheep carcasses was more contaminated by S. aureus as compared to goat carcasses, during slaughtering, processing, handling and transportation. The presence of MDR strain in the carcasses demonstrates that there is a growing need to control antimicrobial resistance in sheep and goat carcasses.

Introduction Globally, food and waterborne diseases remain a critical public health problem, although the issue is severe in low and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia. This study aimed to identify factors associated with food safety practices and the drinking water quality of food establishments. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 160 food outlets were enrolled using a systematic random sampling method. A structured questionnaire and observational checklist were used to collect data. Descriptive, binary, and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted. Drinking water samples were taken from the food establishments' drinking-water storage and were bacteriologically and chemically tested. Heat-sterilized bottles of 250 ml capacity for bacteriological and 1000 ml plastic bottles for chemical parameters were used to collect drinking-water samples. Results In this study, food establishments with female managers were 3.7 times higher in good food safety practices than those with male managers (AOR = 3.7, with 95% CI 1.33–10.21). Moreover, food establishments that owned trained food handlers in sanitation and hygiene were 4.8 times more likely to be in good food safety practices than those that did not have trained food handlers (AOR = 4.8, with 95% CI 1.37–17.00). Besides, food outlets with large service were 9.6 times higher in good food safety practices than those with small service (AOR = 9.6, with 95% CI 2.2–42.1). On the other hand, food outlets which had married managers were 0.3 times less likely to be in good food safety practices than those food establishments which had single managers (AOR = 0.3, with 95% CI 0.11–0.93). In this study, only 51% of the food establishments had good food safety practices. Besides, 29.5%, 16.8%, and 7.4% of the food outlets’ drinking-water samples were positive for total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and E. coli, respectively. Conclusion Many vital factors influencing the food safety practice of food establishments were identified. Almost half of the food outlets had poor food safety practices. A significant number of drinking water samples from the food outlets' were contaminated. Therefore, food establishments should implement continuous monitoring and inspection systems to improve food safety practices. In addition, the government should implement an effective regulatory system to improve the food safety practices, water quality, sanitation, and hygiene services of the food outlets.