Rabies research in Ethiopia: A systematic review.

Rabies is an important zoonosis in Ethiopia, where lack of research is cited as a constraint to implementation of the national rabies control strategy. We conducted a systematic review of publications and theses on rabies in Ethiopia, to document research gaps and areas of knowledge saturation in relation to geographic and species focus, methods and findings. We also examined funding sources and extent of local researcher participation. After screening titles and abstracts, the full text of 119 publications was included in data extraction. More than 40% of publications involved data collection in one region (Oromia); no publications reported findings from Benishangul-Gumuz, Dire Dawa or Gambella. Dogs and wildlife (especially Canis simensis) were the focus of research in 45% and 24% publications, respectively. Descriptive epidemiology (N = 39 publications), ethno-medicine/-pharmacology (N = 17) and knowledge, attitude, and practice surveys (KAP, N = 15) were amongst the most common study designs, while studies involving economic methods (N = 3) and experimental epidemiology to test interventions (N = 3) were under-represented. Incidence surveys (N = 9) commonly used post-exposure prophylaxis administration in humans as a proxy for exposure without laboratory confirmation of the rabies status of the animal. KAP surveys tended to highlight reasonable levels of knowledge of rabies and poor practices, including overreliance on medicinal plants. International researchers were the first or last (senior) author on 42% and 58% of publications, respectively, most of which were funded by international organizations (45/72 publications reporting funding source). Based on this systematic review, we suggest more applied research is needed to address gaps in laboratory surveillance (including in humans, domestic and wild animals); identify effective ways to overcome socio-cultural and other barriers to accessing effective rabies treatments; inform best approaches to incentivizing mass dog vaccination programs; and generate local estimates of the cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness of different control strategies to improve financing and political buy-in for rabies control in Ethiopia.

One hundred years of zoonoses research in the Horn of Africa: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: One Health is particularly relevant to the Horn of Africa where many people's livelihoods are highly dependent on livestock and their shared environment. In this context, zoonoses may have a dramatic impact on both human and animal health, but also on country economies. This scoping review aimed to characterise and evaluate the nature of zoonotic disease research in the Horn region. Specifically, it addressed the following questions: (i) what specific zoonotic diseases have been prioritised for research, (ii) what data have been reported (human, animal or environment), (iii) what methods have been applied, and (iv) who has been doing the research? METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used keyword combinations to search online databases for peer-reviewed papers and theses. Screening and data extraction (disease, country, domain and method) was performed using DistillerSR. A total of 2055 studies focusing on seven countries and over 60 zoonoses were included. Brucellosis attracted the highest attention in terms of research while anthrax, Q fever and leptospirosis have been comparatively under-studied. Research efforts did not always align with zoonoses priorities identified at national levels. Despite zoonoses being a clear target for 'One Health' research, a very limited proportion of studies report data on the three domains of human, animal and environment. Descriptive and observational epidemiological studies were dominant and only a low proportion of publications were multidisciplinary. Finally, we found that a minority of international collaborations were between Global South countries with a high proportion of authors having affiliations from outside the Horn of Africa. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: There is a growing interest in zoonoses research in the Horn of Africa. Recommendations arising from this scoping review include: (i) ensuring zoonoses research aligns with national and global research agendas; (ii) encouraging researchers to adopt a holistic, transdisciplinary One Health approach following high quality reporting standards (COHERE, PRISMA, etc.); and (iii) empowering local researchers supported by regional and international partnerships to engage in zoonoses research.

Throat carriage rate and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of group A Streptococci (GAS) in healthy Ethiopian school children.

BACKGROUND: Group A Streptococci (GAS) or Streptococcus pyogenes are the most frequent cause of pharyngitis and skin infection in children and lead to post infection complications including acute rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis. Pharyngeal carriage rates of GAS among healthy school children vary with geographical location and seasons. There is not much information on the screening of children for carriage of GAS in Ethiopia. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed at assessing the carriage rate of Group A Streptococci and antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates in healthy Ethiopian school children. METHODS: A total of 937 children residing in Addis Ababa (n=491), Gondar (n=265) and Dire-Dawa (n=181) were investigated during a period between November 2004 and January 2005. Throat specimens were collected and cultured using standard procedure. Beta haemolytic streptococci were serogrouped by agglutination tests using specific antisera. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolates was performed by diffusion method. RESULTS: The median and the mean ages of the study participants were 11 (range 6-14) years. Girls constituted 52% (486/937) of the study participants. A total of 167 (17.8%) beta haemolytic streptococci were recovered from 937 children investigated GAS accounted for 91/167 (54.5%) of beta hemolytic streptococcal isolates. The carrier rate for GAS was 9.7% (91/937) of the screened children followed by group G with 3.2% (30/937) and group C streptococci with 2.2% (21/937). All GAS isolates were sensitive to oxacillin, penicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole. Lower frequency of resistance was observed against tetracycline and vanocmycin. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that GAS was the most predominant beta-haemolytic streptococcus among healthy Ethiopian school children. Our results showed that pharyngeal carriage of GAS in school children should not be underestimated. Therefore it is recommended to conduct regular screening and GAS surveillance in schools, and maintain rational use of antibiotics to minimize GAS resistance.

Bacterial and fungal meningitis and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in Tikur Anbessa University Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Meningitis is usually caused by viral, bacterial or fungal pathogens. Bacterial meningitis is a medical emergency and if untreated has a high mortality rate. Even among those who survive the infection, some may develop permanent neurological disorders. OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to isolate and identify the bacterial and fungal etiologic agents of meningitis and to access the susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates. METHODS: During the period of November 2007 to June 2008, 340 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens were obtained from suspected cases of meningitis admitted to Tikur Anbessa University Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Microbiological analysis was performed on CSF specimens using standard procedures. RESULTS: Of the 340 patients investigated, 53.5% were males and 46.5% were females. Over half of the patients (51.2%) were children (1 month to 16 years) and the remaining 32.6% and 16.2% were neonates (below 1 month of age) and adults (above 16 yrs of age), respectively. Fever was the commonest clinical feature observed in all age groups. Of the 340 CSF specimens, 26 (7.6%) had a positive bacterial or fungal culture. Bacterial isolates accounted for 84.6% of the total isolates. Among the bacteria, Streptococcus pneumoniae accounted for 36.4% followed by Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Nessieria meningitidis (serogroup A and C) (13.6%) each. Cryptococcus neoformans was the only fungal isolate. All gram positive bacteria were sensitive to ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin and rifampicin and showed low level of resistance (< 60%) to penicillin, tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole. The gram-negative bacteria showed high level of resistance (> 80%) to tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole, intermediate level of resistance (60-80%) to ampicilin and low level of resistance (< 60%) to ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, chloramphenicol and rifampicin. Multiple resistance (resistance to two or more drugs) was observed in 18.2% and 100% gram positive and gram-negative bacteria, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the predominant pathogens of meningitis were S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and N. meningitidis. Ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin were the most effective drugs against these organisms. Continuous periodic surveillance is required to form a comprehensive and updated understanding of the etiologies and antimicrobial resistance pattern for appropriate management of meningitis cases in the country.

Identification of drug susceptibility pattern and mycobacterial species in sputum smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients with and without HIV co-infection in north west Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia is among the high-burden countries of tuberculosis (TB) in the world Since mycobacterial culture and susceptibility testing are not routinely performed in Ethiopia, recent data on susceptibility patterns and the mycobacterial species cultured from sputum smear positive patients are limited. OBJECTIVES: The aim was to determine first line anti-TB drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates obtained from consecutive newly diagnosed smear positive pulmonary TB patients in north west Ethiopia. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted using previously collected sputum samples (n=180) kept at the referral hospital of the University of Gondar at -20 degrees C. Sputum samples were cultured on Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) medium. Conventional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using RD4 primers to identify the M. tuberculosis complex was performed on cultured isolates. Ninety eight (84.4%) of the 116 isolates identified as M. tuberculosis were tested for their drug susceptibility pattern using the proportion method Clinical baseline data including body mass index, body temperature, clinical symptoms and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were obtained. RESULTS: The culture retrieval rate of previously frozen sputum samples was 64.4% (116/180). All the isolated mycobacterial species (n=116) were confirmed as belonging to the M. tuberculosis complex by PCR. Of 98 isolates for which the drug susceptibility test was done, 15.3% (15/98) were found to be resistant to one or more antimycobacterial drugs, and resistance to isoniazid and streptomycin was most common with 8.2% (8/98) and 6.1% (6/98) respectively. TB patients co infected with HIV had increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, higher age and lower sputum smear grade than HIV negative TB patients. CONCLUSIONS: No mycobacteria other than M. tuberculosis were detected in sputum smear positive TB-patients. Although no multi drug resistant strain was observed, relatively high rates of INH resistance were found in this region. Culture facilities are urgently needed in regional centers to increase diagnostic sensitivity and monitor developing trends of drug resistance in Ethiopia.

Bacteriological profile and resistant pattern of clinical isolates from pediatric patients, Gondar University Teaching Hospital, Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Infectious diseases are major causes of morbidity and mortality among children in the developing world Antibiotic resistance is increasing. Knowledge of pathogens causing infection in pediatrics patients is essential for devising management strategies. OBJECTIVES: To assess the bacteriologic profile and the resistance pattern of clinical isolates from pediatric patients in Gondar University Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis was done on different clinical specimens that were submitted and processed for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing during a period of September 2000 and October 2007. RESULTS: A total of 823 bacterial pathogens were isolated from 7886 different clinical specimens. The overall culture positivity rate was 10.4%. The three most frequent isolates were S. aureus (30%), E. coli (16.5%) and Shigella spp. (11.7%). All isolates showed intermediate level of resistance (60-80%) to ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole and tetracycline. Low level of resistance (< 60%) observed to chloramphenicol, gentamicin, penicillin, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin. Majority of the isolates (80.3%) showed multiple drug resistance (resistance to two or more drugs). In general ciprofloxacin and gentamicin were the most effective drugs against the tested gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. CONCLUSION: This study shows resistance to the commonly accessible and affordable drugs has been observed in most bacterial pathogens. The detection of multi drug resistant isolates may further limit therapeutic options. Timely microbiologic surveillance and assessment of antimicrobial resistance is important for dealing with pediatric infections.