RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Ethiopia has achieved considerable progresses in the prevention and control of malaria in the past decades; hitherto it is a formidable health concern and socio-economic impediment. This study aimed at assessing the magnitude, knowledge, attitudes and practices towards malaria among febrile patients attending Chagni health center, northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: Health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of malaria and KAP towards malaria among febrile patients at Chagni health center in Chagni Town during September 2017 to February 2018. In order to determine the magnitude of malaria, finger prick blood samples were collected and thick and thin smears were prepared and microscopically examined for the presence of malaria parasites. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was also applied to assess KAP of suspected malaria patients, attending the health center. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS: Prevalence of malaria among febrile patients, who visited the sampled health facility, was 7.3%. Of these, Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, and mixed infections accounted for 55, 44.3 and 0.7% of the cases, respectively. This study also revealed that 97% of the respondents had ever heard about malaria and recognized it as a serious health problem. Mosquito bite was identified as the main malaria transmission. Taking drug (86.3%), use of mosquito nets (73.3%), drain stagnated water (68%), and house spay with insecticides (66%) were mentioned as the main malaria prevention methods. Mosquito net coverage and utilizations in the prior night were 98 and 75%, respectively. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) coverage was 99%, of which 77.5% of study participants' houses have been sprayed in the last 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The current study revealed that prevalence of malaria among febrile illnesses in the study area was relatively low (7.3%) with a high proportion of P. falciparum. Besides, participants had adequate knowledge, encouraging attitudes, and good practices about prevention and control of malaria. However, some misconceptions on malaria disease, its transmission, and prevention have been noted that actually require due attention by the concerned stakeholders. The findings of this study could be used as important inputs for the implementation of effective malaria prevention and control methods, including community health education programs, and scaling up coverage of evidence-based interventions.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: In Ethiopia, malaria is a serious public health concern and has great impact on socio-economy. The trend analysis of malaria data from health facilities is useful for understanding its transmission dynamics and implementing evidence-based malaria control strategies. The aim of this study was to determine the trends of malaria infection in Guba district, western Ethiopia. METHODS: A retrospective study was undertaken at Mankush Health Centre, western Ethiopia. All malaria cases reported from 2014 to 2018 were carefully reviewed from the laboratory record books to determine the trends of malaria morbidity. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS: In total, 16,964 malaria suspects were diagnosed using microscopy over the last 5 years, of which 8658 (51.04%) were confirmed positive cases. Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, and mixed infection (both species) accounted for 75.2, 24.5 and 0.28% of the cases, respectively. Males patients were more affected (n = 5028, 58.1%) than female ones (n = 3630, 41.9%). Of the total confirmed cases, 60.4% were age group of subjects (≥ 15 years) followed by 22.6% of 5-14 years and 15.9% of under 5 years. High malaria prevalence was observed in spring (September to November) season, while the least was observed in autumn (March to May) with the prevalence of 45.6 and 11.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated that malaria is a public health concern, in which P. falciparum is the predominant species followed by P. vivax. Therefore, the district health bureau and other concerned stakeholders should strength evidence-based malaria control and prevention interventions to interrupt disease transmission and eventual reduction malaria of malaria cases in Guba district.
RESUMO
Coffee is among the most traded commodities and consumed beverages worldwide primarily for its stimulating effects. Moreover, coffee is known to contain various bioactive compounds with significant health benefits including antibacterial and antioxidant activities. However, Ethiopia as the origin of coffee and producer and exporter of varieties of Coffea arabica has made little study on the health aspects of this beverage. The aim of this study was to examine the antibacterial and antioxidant activities and content of coffee samples from different localities of Yorgacheffe and Jimma; and roasted, ground, and packed samples purchased from a coffee shop in Addis Ababa. Medium-roasted-boiled and lyophilized coffee extracts were tested on eight gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial strains. The agar-well diffusion method was used to test the extracts determining the minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations. For coffee antioxidant activity and content, light-roasted (both field and shop samples) and green coffee bean extracts were tested using the free radical 2.2-diphenyl-l-pict1hydrazyl (DPPH) IC50 percent inhibition protocol. The samples showed strong antibacterial and antioxidant activity and substantial antioxidant content. Significant variation was noted in the antibacterial activities of the different coffee samples. Moreover, the growth-inhibitory strength of each coffee sample was variable for different test bacteria. A coffee sample with the best antibacterial activity had also the highest antioxidant activity/content. The shop coffee had the lowest bioactivity. The observed variations in the antibacterial and antioxidant activities among the samples probably indicate the diversity of the Ethiopian coffee related, among other factors, to the coffee plant genetics and agroecology.