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Background: Neonatal sepsis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in low- income countries. Neonatal sepsis is classified as early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) and late-onset neonatal sepsis (LONS). Etiologies responsible for EONS are mostly acquired vertically from the mother during or before birth with the possibility of prevention. The burden and etiology of neonatal sepsis is not uniform across the globe with huge disparities based on the income level of the countries. This study aimed to determine neonatal sepsis trends, prevalence, and etiologies at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialised Hospital (HUCSH)., Methods: A hospital-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among newborns aged 0 to 90 days who were admitted to the HUCSH from January 2019 to July 2023. Patient-related information and the culture results were obtained from HUCSH microbiology laboratory registration book. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25 software., Results: Out of 2364 newborns suspected of having sepsis, 56% (95% CI: 54-58%) had culture-confirmed sepsis. When excluding Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (CONS), the prevalence of culture-confirmed neonatal sepsis was 36.9%. The highest numbers of culture-confirmed cases was observed in 2021. The predominant bacteria identified were Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (CONS) (34.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (12.9%), and Enterococcus (10.6%). Among culture-confirmed neonatal sepsis, 59.9% and 40.1% of cases were EONS and LONS, respectively. Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus and Enterococcus were the major bacteria found in both EONS and LONS while. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the second most common bacteria among newborns with EONS following CONS., Conclusions: The prevalence of culture-confirmed neonatal sepsis was relatively high in the study area. Early-onset neonatal sepsis was consistently more prevalent than LONS. The predominant etiologies of neonatal sepsis excluding CONS were K. pneumoniae, Enterococcus, Enterobacter agglomerans, Acinetobacter species, and Staphylococcus aureus. Among newborns with EONS, the predominant bacteria were K. pneumoniae, Enterococcus, Enterobacter agglomerans, and Acinetobacter species., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval and consent to participate: The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Hawassa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences (reference number: IRB/395/15) with the issued date of 03/10/2023. As this study is retrospective, consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board of Hawassa University. The confidentiality of the study participants was maintained at each stage by using codes, and the information gathered was used only to achieve the stated objective of the study. All methods were conducted in compliance with the relevant guidelines and regulations outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex has an impact on public health and is responsible for over one million deaths per year. Substantial numbers of people infected with M. tuberculosis can develop tuberculosis lymphadenitis; however, there is a limited study in Adama, Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude of Tuberculosis lymphadenitis, its predictors, and rifampicin-resistance gene-positive M. tuberculosis. A total of 291 patients with enlarged lymph nodes were recruited from May 2022 to August 30 at Adama Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Medical College (ACSHMC). GeneXpert, Ziehl-Neelsen staining, and cytology were used for the diagnosis of TB lymphadenitis from the Fine Needle Aspirate (FNA) specimen. Rifampicin-resistant gene was detected using GeneXpert. For data entry and analysis, Epi Data version 3.0 and SPSS version 25 were used respectively. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of TB lymphadenitis. A p < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was taken as a cut point to determine the significant association between dependent and independent variables. The prevalence of TB lymphadenitis using GeneXpert, Ziehl-Neelsen staining, and cytology were 138 (47.4%) (95% CI 41.70-53.10), 100 (34.4%) (95% CI 28.94-39.85), and 123 (42.3%) (95% CI 36.63-47.00) respectively. Nine (3.1%) participants were infected with rifampicin-resistant gene-positive M. tuberculosis. Out of the total M. tuberculosis detected by GeneXpert (n = 138), 9 (6.5%) were positive for rifampicin resistance-gene. Participants with a chronic cough had 2 times odds of developing TB lymphadenitis (AOR: 2.001, 95% CI 1.142-3.508). Close to half of patients with enlarged lymph nodes were positive for M. tuberculosis by the GeneXpert method in the study area. Chronic cough was significantly associated with TB lymphadenitis. Rifampicin-resistant gene-positive M. tuberculosis was relatively prevalent among patients with enlarged lymph node in the study area., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and associated factors of urinary tract infection (UTI) among pregnant women attending Hargeisa Group Hospital (HGH), Hargeisa, Somaliland. A cross-sectional study was conducted at HGH, Hargeisa, Somaliland and participants were selected by systematic random sampling technique. Clean catch midstream urine samples were collected from 422 participants and cultured and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern was determined for the isolates. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were utilized to identify the independent risk factors for UTI. The prevalence of UTI was 16.4% (95% CI 13.3-19.9). The predominant bacteria isolate was E. coli (43.5%) followed by Coagulase negative staphylococcus (CoNS) 11(16%), S. aureus 9(13%), K. pneumonia 6(8.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 5(7.2%), Proteus mirabilis 4(5.8%), Citrobacter spp 3(4.4%) and M. morganii 1(1.5%) Gram negative bacilli were resistant to ampicillin (96%) and tetracycline (71.4%) and Gram-positive cocci were also resistant to ampicillin (90%), tetracycline (55%). Multidrug resistance was observed in 85.5% of bacterial isolated. No formal education participants, previous history of catheterization and previous history of UTI had 3.18, 3.22 and 3.73 times respectively more likely to develop UTI than their counterparts. Culture and susceptibility test is vital for appropriate management of UTI in the study area., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Leprosy is one of the neglected tropical diseases that affect skin and peripheral nervous system often results in severe, lifelong disabilities and deformities. Even though multidrug therapy was in place for more than 30 years to treat and prevent leprosy worldwide including Ethiopia, its epidemiology is not well studied in the West Arsi zone., Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) positivity rate and associated factors among leprosy suspected cases., Methods: A health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 leprosy suspected cases from August 2020 to December 2020. To detect AFB, skin slit specimens were collected and examined using the Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. Logistic regression was employed to determine predictors of AFB positivity rate., Results: Acid-fast bacilli were detected among 46 leprosy suspected cases which gives a prevalence of 10.9% with 95% CI (8.2‒15.6). Suspected leprosy cases with multibacillary type were 4 times more likely to be AFB positive ( p =0.021) than their counterparts. Study participants who had contact with known leprosy cases were 2 times more likely to be AFB positive ( p = 0.032) and those with no formal education were 2 times more likely to be AFB positive ( p = 0.03). Participants who had close contact with leprosy patients for ≥3 years were 8 times more likely to be AFB positive ( p = 0.02)., Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of AFB positivity rate in the era of multidrug therapy. Types of leprosy, close contact with known leprosy cases, educational status, and duration of closer contact with leprosy cases were significantly associated with AFB positivity rate., Competing Interests: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this work., (© 2021 Bekala et al.)

Background: Salmonellas enterica serovar Typhi (S.typhi) causes typhoid fever and is a global health problem, especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. But there is a little information about prevalence and factors association with S.typhi and its antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in Ethiopia especially in the study area. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of S.typhi infection, its associated factors and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern among patient with a febrile illness at Adare General Hospital, Hawassa, Southern Ethiopia., Methods: Hospital based cross sectional study was conducted among 422 febrile patients from May 23, 2018 to October 20, 2018. A 5 ml venous blood was collected from each febrile patient. Culture and biochemical test were performed for each isolate. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed for each isolate using modified Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion techniques., Result: In this study, the prevalence of S.typhi among febrile illness patients at Adare General Hospital was 1.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.5-2.9]. The age of the study subjects were ranged from 15 to 65 years (mean age 32 years). It was observed that participants who came from rural area had 8 times (AOR 8.27: 95% CI: 1.33, 51.55) more likely to had S. typhi infection when compared with urban dwellers. The microbial susceptibility testing revealed that all six of S.typhi isolates showed sensitive to Ceftriaxone and all 6 isolates showed resistant to nalidixic acid and Cefotaxime and 5(83.3%) susceptible to Chloramphenicol and Ciprofloxaciline. Multidrug resistance (resistance to three or more antibiotics) was observed among most of the isolates., Conclusion: S. typhi bacteraemia is an uncommon but important cause of febrile illness in our study population. Ceftriaxone therapy is a suitable empirical antibiotic for those that are unwell and suspected of having this illness. Further surveillance is required to monitor possible hanging antibiotic resistant patterns in Ethiopia.

Introduction: Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is the presence of bacteria in significant quantity in the absence of signs and symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI). ASB, if it occurs during pregnancy, can cause serious complications both among fetus and pregnant women., Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ASB, its associated factors, and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of bacterial isolates among pregnant women., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from July to September 2019 among 290 pregnant women at Saint Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Clean-catch midstream urine specimens were collected using sterile containers and cultured on MacConkey agar and sheep blood agar to isolate bacteria. Socio-demographic and obstetric data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 22. The association between ASB and risk factors was assessed using logistic regressions. A p- value ≤0.05 was considered as a cut point to determine the significant association., Results: From 290 study participants, 16.9% with 95 CI [13.1, 21.5] were positive for ASB. The predominant bacteria were Escherichia coli (43%) and Staphylococcus aureus (20%). Majority of E. coli (91.0%) were susceptible to nitrofurantoin and gentamycin; most of them were resistant to amoxicillin (86.4%) and cotrimoxazole (77.7%). The proportion of multi-drug resistance (MDR) isolates was 57.1%. Previous infection with UTI, previous history of catheterization, and natural abortion were significantly associated with ASB., Conclusion: In the study area, ASB is prevalent in the study area indicating the importance of screening of ASB and possible treatment to prevent its consequences., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2020 Wabe et al.)