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Smallholder farming communities face highly variable climatic conditions that threaten locally adapted, low-input agriculture. The benefits of modern crop breeding may fail to reach their fields when broadly adapted genetic materials do not address local requirements. To date, participatory methods only scratched the surface of the exploitability of farmers’ traditional knowledge in breeding. In this study, 30 smallholder farmers in each of two locations in Ethiopia provided quantitative evaluations of earliness, spike morphology, tillering capacity and overall quality on 400 wheat genotypes, mostly traditional varieties, yielding altogether 192,000 data points. Metric measurements of ten agronomic traits were simultaneously collected, allowing to systematically break down farmers’ preferences on quantitative phenotypes. Results showed that the relative importance of wheat traits differed by gender and location. Farmer traits were variously contributed by metric traits, and could only partially be explained by them. Eventually, farmer trait values were used to produce a ranking of the 400 wheat varieties identifying the trait combinations most desired by farmers. The study scale and methods lead to a better understanding of the quantitative basis of Ethiopian smallholder farmer preference in wheat, broadening the discussion for the future of local, sustainable breeding efforts accommodating farmers’ knowledge.

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Refereed/Peer-reviewed Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the rate of and risk factors for exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) among medical waste handlers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2014 to January 2015. A total of 152 medical waste handlers (MWH) and 82 non-medical waste handlers (NMWH) were studied. Serum samples were collected from participants and screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) and anti-HCV using rapid immunochromatography assay. MWH were also screened for hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs). Results:The respective prevalence of HBsAg, anti-HBc and anti-HCV was 1.3%, 39.4%, and 0.7% in MWH, compared to 2.4%, 17.1%, and 1.2%, respectively, in NMWH. Among MWH, 58.6% were susceptible to HBV infection. There was a significant difference in the rate of lifetime exposure to HBV in MWH compared with NMWH (odds ratio [OR], 3.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.64 to 6.13). However, there was no significant difference between participant groups with respect to current HBV infection (OR, 0.53; 95%CI, 0.07 to 3.86) or anti-HCV (OR, 0.54; 95%CI, 0.03 to 8.69). Age older than 40 years and working in a hospital laundry were independent predictors of lifetime exposure to HBV infection. Eleven (7.2%) respondents were vaccinated against HBV. Conclusions: Lifetime exposure to HBV infection was significantly higher in MWH than in NMWH. The majority of MWH was not vaccinated against HBV and thus remains susceptible to contracting the infection. Screening upon hire followed by vaccination of MWH is recommended to reduce the transmission of HBV.

Refereed/Peer-reviewed Objective: Although typhoid fever is a major public health problem in Ethiopia, data is not available in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence, clinical presentation at the time of diagnosis and associated factors of typhoid fever among febrile patients visiting Shashemene Referral Hospital, southern Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1, 2016, to October 30, 2016. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected using a structured questionnaire. A blood sample was collected and inoculated into Tryptic soy broth. Results: A total of 421 adult febrile patients suspected of typhoid fever were included in the study. Of these, the overall prevalence of culture-confirmed typhoid fever was 5.0% (21/421). The prevalence of typhoid fever was significantly associated with rural residence (8.4%). As compared to the urban resident, the rural resident was 3.6 times more likely found to have culture-confirmed typhoid fever. The prevalence of typhoid fever was significantly associated with those patients whose water source was spring 7 (12.3%) and river 7 (13.2%). All of those study participants who used treated water were culture negative. Fever for ≥ 5 days, abdominal pain, and skin rash independently predicted blood culture-confirmed typhoid fever.

Techalew Shimelis,1 Yayheyirad Tassachew,1 Agete Tadewos,1 Mesfin Worku Hordofa,1 Anteneh Amsalu,2 Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse,3 Endale Tadesse1 1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Medicine and Health Sciences Hawassa University, Hawassa, 2Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, 3Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are hepatotropic viruses of public health significance worldwide. Despite their severe clinical impact in HIV-infected patients, there is inadequate information regarding the epidemiology of hepatitis/HIV coinfections in Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of HBV and HCV infections among HIV-infected patients at a tertiary hospital in Southern Ethiopia. Methods: Stored sera, which were originally collected for the investigation of syphilis among HIV-infected clients, were analyzed in this study. Samples were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen using rapid diagnostic tests. Those samples that tested positive for HBsAg were further analyzed for hepatitis B e antigen. All sera were tested for antibody to HCV infection using rapid diagnostic test. Results: HBsAg was positive for 6.3% of the participants; of whom, 10% were positive for hepatitis B e antigen. The exposure rates to HBV (antibody to hepatitis B core antigen) and HCV (anti-HCV) infections were 22.4 and 3.1%, respectively. The rates of coinfections with HBV-syphilis, HCV-syphilis, and HBV-HCV were found to be 3.1, 0.6, and 1.3%, respectively. HBV exposure rate was significantly higher among participants in the age range 40–49 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.98; 95% CI, 1.01–3.88) and those who had a CD4+ T cell count

Background: Pediatric patients are at increased risk of nosocomial infections with multi-drug resistant pathogens which are more prevalent in the hospital environment. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of nosocomial infections, antibiotic resistance pattern of bacterial isolates and associated factors in pediatric patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from March to August, 2016. Data included sociodemographic and clinical variables in patients clinically suspected of having nosocomial infections and collected using a structured questionnaire. Bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test was done with standard microbiological methods. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 20 and p value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Out of 939 children admitted to the hospital, 384 patients (40.9%) were clinically suspected and had 462 nosocomial infections. Blood stream infection was the most common site of nosocomial infections. Culture confirmed nosocomial infections were reported in 82 patients (21.4%; 95% CI, 17.2-25.8%) with 88 isolates. Among the most frequently isolated bacteria, 21 (23.9%) were Klebsiella spp, and 16 (18.2%) were S. aureus, 62.5% of which were methicillin resistant. Among all bacterial pathogens, 88.9% were multi-drug resistant. Extremely high (97.9%) multi-drug resistance was associated with Gram negative bacteria. Among these, all isolates, except E. coli, were 100% multi-drug resistant. Long hospital stay and malnutrition were significantly associated with nosocomial infections. Conclusion: The high prevalence of nosocomial infections with multi-drug resistant bacteria suggests the need for proper implementation of the nosocomial infections prevention and control measures Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Background: Urogenital infection with Chlamydia trachomatis(CT) is one of the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) world-wide, especially in developing nations where routine laboratory diagnosis is unavailable. Little is known about the epidemiology of this infection in Ethiopia where other STIs are prevalent. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and associated factors of CT infection among women of reproductive age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 322 consecutive women aged between 15–49 years at Hawassa University Referral Hospital from November 2014 to April 2015. Data on socio-demography and potential risk factors for genital infection were collected using structured questionnaires. Moreover, endocervical swabs were collected from all participants, screened for CT antigen using rapid immunochromatography assay, and cultured following the standard bacteriological method to isolate Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Result: In this study, the overall prevalence of CT antigen and N. gonorrhoeae infection was 61(18.9%) and 1(0.31%), respectively. Women aged 15–24 years had the highest prevalence of CT infection (24.2%), followed by those aged 25–34 years (16.8%) and those aged 35–49 years (9.6%). CTinfection was associated with women who had unprotected sex within the last six months (aOR = 3.459; 95% CI = 1.459–8.222) and were sexually active for 6–10 years (aOR = 3.076; 95% CI = 1.152–8.209). None of the clinical symptoms and diagnoses was significantly associated with CT antigen positivity. Conclusions: The high prevalence of genital CT infection in this study highlights the need for further large-scale studies on the general population. Thus, screening of women regardless of their symptoms should be in place. Refereed/Peer-reviewed