Prevalence and associated risk factors for Hepatitis B and C viruses among refugees in Gambella, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is an increased flow of refugees into Ethiopia from neighboring countries. However, there are no post-arrival screening mechanisms for hepatitis B and C viruses which could be an additional burden for the local population. Hence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors for hepatitis B and C viruses among refugees in Gambella, Ethiopia. It also aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice concerning hepatitis B and C viruses among participants. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 453 refugees in Gambella, Ethiopia from January until May 2018. A questionnaire was used to collect data on refugees' socio-demographic, risk factors, and KAP of hepatitis B and C infections. Five milliliters of blood sample were collected from each participant and the serum was used for HBsAg and anti-HCV antibody screening rapid tests. Positive samples were further tested by ELISA method. Data were performed using SPSS version 20, and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HCV among refugees was 7.3% (33/453) and 2.0% (9/453) respectively. Of these, 6.8% (25/370) and 1.4% (5/370) of females were positive for HBsAg and anti-HCV, whereas 9.6% (8/83) and 4.8% (4/83) of males were positive for HBsAg and anti-HCV. The age group of 18-29 and 30-41 years old were related to HCV infection (P = 0.003 and P = 0.020). However, proposed risk factors were not related to HBV and HCV infections. Knowledge assessment showed that 86.5% (392/453) did not know how HBV and HCV infections are transmitted, and 86.8% (393/453) had no information about the availability of HBV vaccine. CONCLUSION: This study showed intermediate prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus in a large refugee camp in Ethiopia. The prevalence of hepatitis C virus was found to increase with age, but no other risk factor for either virus identified as significant. Refugees' understanding of hepatitis B and C was very limited. This indicates the need for screening policy to be implemented and integrated with other health services and awareness creation about the infection in all refugee camps of Gambella.

Skin diseases in rural Nyala, Sudan (in a rural hospital, in 12 orphanages, and in two refugee camps).

Skin diseases are considered to be common in Nyala, Sudan. This study was carried out to verify the prevalence of skin diseases in Nyala. This prospective observational study included skin examination of a total of 1802 people: 620 patients who were evaluated in the outpatient clinics (OC) and 1182 people from orphanages and refugee camps (ORC) in Nyala, Sudan. χ2 test was used. The total prevalence of skin disorders in the sample was 92.6% (1670/1802). One thousand and fifty of 1182 (88.8%) people from ORC had a skin disorder. The most common skin diseases in this community were: fungal infections (32.6%), dermatitis/eczema (10.5%), bacterial skin infections (10.3%), disorders of skin appendages (8.7%), parasitic infestations (7.7%), atrophic skin disorders (7.4%), disorders of pigmentation (7.4%), hypertrophic skin disorders (6.4%), viral infections (5.8), benign neoplasm (1.9%), dermatoses due to animal injury (0.4%), bullous dermatoses (0.1%), and malignant neoplasm (0.1%). Hypertrophic and atrophic disorders of the skin were mainly lesions of scarification (mostly atrophic) (5.7%) and keloids (5.6%). Fungal infection, bacterial infection, and parasitic infestation were more common in the ORC group, while dermatitis and eczema, disorders of skin appendages, hypertrophic and atrophic disorders of the skin, disorders of pigmentation, and benign neoplasm were more common in the OC group. The prevalence of skin diseases in the rural Nyala was more than our expectation and was dominated by infectious skin diseases. In addition, infectious skin diseases were more common in ORC rather than OC.

Health risk behaviours of Palestinian youth: findings from a representative survey.

BACKGROUND: There is little systematic information about health risk behaviours among youth in Middle Eastern countries, leaving public health authorities unprepared to deal with emerging public health threats at a time of major social change. AIM: The Palestinian Youth Health Risk study investigates patterns of risk behaviours among Palestinian youth, their perceptions of the risks and benefits of such behaviours, and the relationship of exposure to violence with mental health and engagement in risk behaviours. METHODS: We conducted a representative survey among 2500 individuals aged 15-24 years in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, permitting reliable comparison across sex and rural-urban divisions. A stratified 2-stage random sample was drawn from the 2007 population census, with strata formed by crossing the 12 governorates with urban, rural and refugee camp locations. Within strata, 208 survey clusters were sampled with probability proportional to size. Within each cluster, 14 households with youth of the appropriate age were sampled. RESULTS: Among youth aged 20-24 years, 22.4% of males and 11.6% of females reported trying alcohol; 10.5% of males and 4.3% of females reported trying drugs. Almost one quarter of unmarried youth aged 20-24 years reported any sexual experience. Tobacco use is high, even among younger youth (45.4% of males and 21.2% of females aged 15-19 smoke). Risk behaviours are higher among males, older youth and in urban areas and refugee camps. CONCLUSION: While smoking is of particular concern, prevention outreach for all behaviours should be directed at subgroups and areas identified as highest risk.

Magnitude and factors associated with adherence to Iron-folic acid supplementation among pregnant women in Eritrean refugee camps, northern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Globally, anemia is a public health problem affecting the life of more than two billion people. Pregnant women are at high risk of iron deficiency anemia due to increased nutrient requirement during pregnancy. Iron-folic acid supplementation is the main strategy for prevention and control of iron deficiency anemia and its effectiveness depends on adherence to Iron-Folic Acid tablets. In the refugee camps of Ethiopia, despite the efforts made to reduce iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy, information about adherence to iron-folic acid supplementation and its associated factors are lacking. The objective of this study was to assess magnitude and factors associated with adherence to iron-folic acid supplementation, among pregnant women, in Shire refugee camps. METHODS: Institution based cross-sectional study with mixed design (quantitative and qualitative) was carried out among pregnant women in Shire refugee camps from September to November 2015. For quantitative data, a sample of 320 pregnant women was systematically selected and data were collected via interview administered structured questionnaire. Quantitative data were coded and entered into Epi-info version 3.5.1 and exported into a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) Version 19.0 software for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were employed to identify the predictors at p-value < 0.2 and 0.05 respectively. For the qualitative part, six focus group discussions and three key informant interviews were conducted on purposely-selected individuals. Open-Code version 3.6.2.0 was used for analysis. Identified themes were arranged into coherent groupings and triangulated with quantitative findings. RESULTS: The adherence rate was found to be 64.7% [95% CI (59.7%, 70.0%)]. Women who were having lower knowledge about anemia [AOR; 0.23 95% CI (0.14, 0.38)] and not receiving information about importance of iron-folic acid supplementation [AOR; 0.43 95% CI (0.25, 0.74)] were negatively associated with adherence to iron and folic acid., Having four or more antenatal care visits [AOR; 2.83 95% CI (1.46, 5.48)] were positively significantly associated with adherence to iron-folic acid supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence rate of iron-folic acid supplementation during pregnancy in the study area is relatively low. Proper counseling and health promotion about Iron-Folic Acid tablet intake, promoting the benefits of early and frequent ANC visit, health promotion on anemia prevention and health benefits of the importance of iron-folic acid supplements are recommended to increase adherence with iron-folic acid supplementation.