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Nicholaus P Mnyambwa,1 Coline Mahende,1 Amani Wilfred,1 Erica Sandi,1 Nicodem Mgina,2 Clara Lubinza,1 Amos Kahwa,1 Pammla Petrucka,3,4 Sayoki Mfinanga,1,3,5 Esther Ngadaya,1 Godfather Kimaro1 1National Institute for Medical Research, Muhimbili Research Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; 2Central Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory (CTRL), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; 3School of Life Science and Bioengineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania; 4University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada; 5Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaCorrespondence: Nicholaus P MnyambwaNational Institute for Medical Research Muhimbili Research Centre, P. O. Box 447, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaEmail lodnicho@gmail.comIntroduction: Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats of modern public health. Although sub-Saharan Africa is highly burdened with infectious diseases, current data on antimicrobial resistance are sparse.Methods: A prospective study was conducted between October 2018 and September 2019 to assess the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of clinical bacterial isolates obtained from four referral hospitals in Tanzania. We used standard media and Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion methods as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) standards.Results: We processed a total of 2620 specimens of which 388 (14.8%) were culture-positive from patients with a median (IQR) age of 28 (12– 44) years. Of the positive cultures, 52.3% (203) were from females. Most collected specimens were ear pus 28.6% (111), urine 24.0% (93), wound pus 20.6% (80), stool 14.9% (58), and blood 8.3% (32). Predominant isolates were S. aureus 28.4% (110), E. coli 15.2% (59), P. aeruginosa 10.6% (41), P. mirabilis 7.0% (27), V. cholerae 01 Ogawa 6.2% (24), Klebsiella spp. 5.2% (20) and Streptococcus spp. 4.6% (18). Generally, the isolates exhibited a high level of resistance to commonly used antibiotics such as Ampicillin, Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid, Erythromycin, Gentamicin, Tetracycline, Trimethoprim, third-generation Cephalosporins (Ceftriaxone and Ceftazidime), and reserved drugs (Clindamycin and Meropenem). S. aureus isolates were resistant to most of the antibiotics tested; 66.7% were classified as MRSA infections.Conclusion: Antibiotic resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics was alarmingly high. Our findings emphasize the need for comprehensive national control programs to combat antibiotic resistance.Keywords: antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance, AMR, antibiotic susceptibility testing, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, bacterial isolates

Mekonnen Haftom,1 Pammla Petrucka,2 Kbrom Gemechu,1,3 Haftamu Mamo,3,4 Tesfay Tsegay,1,5 Embay Amare,4 Hayelom Kahsay,5 Alem Gebremariam4 1Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Adigrat University, Adigrat, Ethiopia; 2College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada; 3Department of Psychiatric Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Adigrat University, Adigrat, Ethiopia; 4School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Adigrat University, Adigrat, Ethiopia; 5School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Adigrat University, Adigrat, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Mekonnen Haftom Email haftommekonnen@gmail.comBackground: With the onset of any novel condition, it is the “first” case identified that brings attention and sets into motion the machinery to respond – so it began with a first novel pneumonia case of unknown origin in Wuhan, China. Currently, the World Health Organization has declared SARS-CoV-2 (more commonly known as COVID-19) a public health emergency of international concern. It is projected that the path of COVID-19 could kill 50– 80 million people and impacts the world’s economy in its devastating global sweep. The surge is increasing on global and national levels, causing rapid loss of life, joblessness, deterioration of the healthcare systems, and both national and global economies. In Ethiopia, the first COVID-19 case was reported in March. Since then, the government has been taking different measures to prevent its spread. Locking down all schools, declared social distancing and hand hygiene, and restricting large gatherings were some of the Ethiopian government’s actions.Objective: To determine knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 pandemic among quarantined adults in Tigrai region, Ethiopia.Methods: A total of 331 participants selected using a systematic random sampling method were included in the study. We used an interviewer-administered questionnaire. After describing the variables using frequencies, means, and standard deviations, multivariable logistic regression determined factors associated with knowledge and chi-squared tests for attitudes and practices towards COVID-19.Results: The study participants were primarily males (70%) and mean age 30.5 (SD=11) years. The mean knowledge score was 8.73 (SD=2.64), with less than half 42.9% (95% CI: 37.5– 48%) of the study participants were knowledgeable. Regarding the attitude questions, three-fourths of the participants believed that Ethiopia will control and win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly one-third of the participants replied that the Ethiopian government is handling this pandemic health crisis well. About half of the study participants reported that they had gone to crowded places in recent days, did not wear face mask when leaving home, and practiced preventive measures given by local health authorities. Knowledge score was statistically significantly associated with gender, age, and educational status of the study participants, whereas attitude and practices were significantly associated with educational status and knowledge of participants.Keywords: knowledge, attitude, practice, quarantine, COVID-19, Ethiopia