Search

Nuhamin Melaku Gebremariam,1 Adane Bitew,2 Estifanos Tsige,3 Daniel Woldesenbet,4 Mekdes Alemu Tola5 1Ethiopian National Accreditation Office, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 3Department of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology National Reference Laboratory, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 4Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University ICAP in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 5Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Mekdes Alemu Tola, Email mekdesalemu1@gmail.comBackground: Gram-positive cocci are clinically important pathogens that cause infections and their development of antibiotic resistance continues to pose a severe threat to public health. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the level of antimicrobial resistance among Gram-positive cocci isolated from different clinical samples among patients referred to Arsho Advanced Medical Laboratory, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Methods: From January to April 2018, a cross-sectional study was conducted at Arsho Advanced Medical Laboratory. Seven hundred ninety-two (792) different clinical samples were obtained from 792 individuals and inoculated into blood culture bottles and Blood Agar base. Bacterial identification was done using the number, type, and morphology of colonies, as well as Gram staining, catalase testing, and coagulase test after isolation of pure growth on culture media using the standard operating procedure. VITEK 2 compact system was used for bacterial identification and drug susceptibility testing. The information entry and analysis were performed by using SPSS version 20.Results: Out of 792 clinical samples cultured, the prevalence of Gram-positive cocci was 12.6% (n=100/792). The most frequent one is S. aureus 54% (n=54/100) followed by coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species 42% (n=42/100), S. agalactiae 1% (n=1/100) and E. faeca

Adane Bitew,1 Nuhamen Zena,2 Abera Abdeta3 1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Department of Microbiology, St Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 3National Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology Reference Laboratory, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Abera Abdeta, National Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology Reference Laboratory, Ethiopian public health institute, P.O. Box:1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tel +251911566420, Email aberaabdeta4@gmail.comBackground: Urinary tract infection is a common infection in pediatrics. Understanding the common etiology of urinary tract infections, their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, and associated risk factors in a particular setting can provide evidence for the appropriate treatment of the cases.Purpose: The current study is aimed to determine the common etiology and prevalence of uropathogens associated with urinary tract infection, as well as the antibiotic susceptibility profile of bacterial isolates, and to identify risk factors associated with urinary tract infection among pediatric patients.Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College between October 2019 and July 2020. Urine was collected aseptically from patients, inoculated onto culture media, and incubated at 37 °C for 18– 48 hours. Bacteria and yeast were identified following standard procedures. Antibiotic susceptibility testing of bacterial pathogens was carried out by the Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Descriptive statistics and logistical regressions were used to estimate the crude ratio with a 95% confidence interval. P-value < 0.05 was considered significant.Results: Significant bacterial/fungal growth was observed in 65 samples giving a prevalence of 28.6% of which 75.4% (49/65) and 24.6% (16/65) were bacterial and fungal pathogens, res

Wondwossen Tsegaye,1 Adane Bitew,2 Addisu Gize3 1Department of Diagnostic Medical Laboratory and Radiology, Defense University, Bishoftu, Ethiopia; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 3Department of Microbiology, St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Addisu Gize, Email addisu.gize@sphmmc.edu.etBackground: Understanding the proportion of blood and blood products contamination during transfusion is important in developing infection control strategy in the health system. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine bacterial contamination and susceptibility patterns among blood and blood components at Armed Forces Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on blood and blood components collected with both diverging and none-diverging methods. Simple random sampling method was applied to select blood and blood product units from the record form and 10 mL of sample was drawn from each blood and blood product. Culturing from collected blood and blood products and antimicrobial sensitivity tests were done. The collected data were entered and analyzed by SPSS statistical software version 20. Binary and multiple logistic regression analysis were done to see different factors and p-values less than 0.05 were taken as statistically significant.Results: A total of three hundred seventy six (376) units of blood and blood product samples, 188 from non-diverging and 188 from diverging blood donor collection methods were included. Among different blood group types, O+ blood and the majority of components were stored from one to five days. The overall bacterial contamination among blood and blood components were n = 17 (4.5%). Among them, n = 14 (7.4%) and n = 3 (1.6%) were collected with a non-diverging and diverging method, respectively. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most dominant isolate.

Adane Bitew,1 Nuhamen Zena,2 Abera Abdeta3 1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Department of Microbiology, St Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 3National Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology Reference Laboratory, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Abera Abdeta, National Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology Reference Laboratory, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, P.O. Box:1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tel +251911566420, Email aberaabdeta4@gmail.com View the original paper by Dr Bitew and colleagues This is in response to the Letter to the Editor

Adane Bitew,1 Betelhem Yilma,2 Tomas Taye3 1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Saint Peter’s Specialized Tuberculosis Referral Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 3Rank Specialized Dermatology Clinic, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Adane Bitew, Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box: 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tel +251911039162, Email adane.bitew@aau.edu.etObjective: This work aimed to determine the magnitude of tinea capitis, the diversity and species composition of fungi, and the predominant dermatophytes implicated in causing tinea capitis.Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at a dermatology clinic. Scalp scrapings were collected and cultured, and dermatophyte and non-dermatophyte molds were identified.Results: Of 364 scalp scrapings, fungi were recovered from 301 (82.7%) clinical samples. About 60.7% of the samples were collected from women, while 39.3% were collected from male study subjects. The association between the magnitude of scalp ringworm and gender was not statistically significant (P = 0.105). Two hundred eighty study subjects were less than 15 years of age, of which 254 were culture positive. The association of tinea capitis and the age of patients was statistically significant (P = 0). Three hundred forty-nine fungal isolates were isolated, of which 54.2% were dermatophytes, while 45.8% were non-dermatophyte molds. The occurrence of dermatophytes in their decreasing order was T. violaceum (138; 73%), Trichophyton mentagrophytes (18; 9.5%), Trichophyton tonsurans (16; 8.5%), Trichophyton verrucosum (8; 4.5%), Microsporum audouinii (7; 3.7%), Trichophyton schoenleinii (1; 0.5%), and Trichophyton soudanense (1; 0.5%).Conclusion: A high prevalence rate of T. violaceum-induced tinea capitis was reported. The magnitude of scalp ringworm in adults was remarkably high. Therefore, conduct

Adane Bitew,1 Feruza Osman,2 Seid Yassin3 1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Saint Peter’s Specialized Tuberculosis Referral Hospital, Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa Administrative Region, Ethiopia; 3International Care and Treatment for HIV/AIDS Program, Emergency Operation Center, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Adane Bitew, Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O.Box: 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tel +251911039162, Email adane.bitew@aau.edu.etBackground: Onychomycosis is a common refractory fungal infection associated with significant morbidity. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of onychomycosis, and the diversity and species composition of fungal etiological agents.Materials and Methods: A clinic-based, prospective, non-randomized cross-sectional study was carried out between October 2018 and June 2019 at Rank Higher Specialized Dermatology Clinic, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Nail scrapings were collected aseptically from 200 patients clinically identified with nail disorders of fungal origin by dermatologists. Fungal etiological agents were identified microscopically and by culture method following standard procedures.Results: Among 200 nail scrapings, 161 (80.5%) samples were found out to be culture positive. Of these, 135 (83.9%) samples yielded single colonies while 26 (16.1%) mixed colonies gave a total of 190 isolates. Among the isolates, 25.8% were dermatophytes while 61.1% were non- dermatophytes molds, and 13.1% were yeasts. Females were more likely to present dystrophic nails than men. Patients in the middle age group were more affected. Trichophyton interdigitale, Aspergillus spp, and Candida albicans were the dominant species.Conclusion: The prevalence rate of onychomycosis in the present study was high. The isolation rate of non-dermatophyte molds was higher than dermatophytes and yeasts. Tricho