Viral etiologies of lower respiratory tract infections in children < 5 years of age in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a prospective case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide and disproportionally affect Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the heaviest burden of LRIs in Ethiopia, to date, no published studies have reported a comprehensive viral etiology of LRTIs among children in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to determine and estimate the etiological contribution of respiratory viruses to LRTIs in < 5 years children in Ethiopia. METHODS: A prospective case-control study was conducted from September 2019 to May 2022 in two major governmental hospitals, St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College and ALERT Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal samples and socio-demographic and clinical information were collected from children under 5 years. A one-step Multiplex real-time PCR (Allplex™ Respiratory Panel Assays 1-3) was done to detect respiratory viruses. STATA software version 17 was used for the data analysis. We computed the odds ratio (OR), the attributable fraction among exposed (AFE) and the population attributable fraction (PAF) to measure the association of the detected viruses with LRTIs. RESULTS: Overall, 210 LRTIs cases and 210 non-LRTI controls were included in the study. The likelihood of detecting one or more viruses from NP/OP was higher among cases than controls (83.8% vs. 50.3%, p = 0.004). The multivariate logistic regression showed a significantly higher detection rate for RSV A (OR: 14.6, 95% CI 4.1-52.3), RSV B (OR: 8.1, 95% CI 2.3-29.1), influenza A virus (OR: 5.8, 95% CI 1.5-22.9), and PIV 1 (OR: 4.3, 95% CI 1.1-16.4), among cases when compared with controls. The overall AFE and PAF for RSV A were (93.2% and 17.3%), RSV B (87.7% and 10.4%) and Influenza A virus (82.8% and 6.3%), respectively. The mean CT values were significantly lower for only RSV B detected in the case groups as compared with the mean CT values of RSV B detected in the control group (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: RSV, Influenza A and PIV 1 viruses were significantly associated with LRTIs in < 5 years children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Therefore, we underscore the importance of developing prevention strategies for these viruses in Ethiopia and support the importance of developing and introducing an effective vaccine against these viruses.

Prevalence of Group B Streptococcus maternal colonization, serotype distribution, and antimicrobial resistance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Group B Streptococcus (GBS)-associated maternal, perinatal, and neonatal mortality and morbidity disproportionately affects Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to address the estimated prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility, and serotype distribution of GBS isolates in SSA. METHODS: This study was done according to PRISMA guidelines. MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase, SCOPUS, Web of Sciences databases, and Google Scholar were used to retrieve both published and unpublished articles. STATA software version 17 was used for data analysis. Forest plots using the random-effect model were used to present the findings. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochrane chi-square (I2) statistics, while the Egger intercept was used to assess publication bias. RESULTS: Fifty-eight studies that fulfilled the eligibility criteria were included for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of maternal rectovaginal colonization and vertical transmission of GBS were 16.06, 95% CI [13.94, 18.30] and 43.31%, 95% CI [30.75, 56.32], respectively. The highest pooled proportion of antibiotic resistance to GBS was observed in gentamicin (45.58%, 95% CI [4.12%, 91.23]), followed by erythromycin, (25.11%, 95% CI [16.70, 34.49]). The lowest antibiotic resistance was observed in vancomycin (3.84%, 95% CI [0.48, 9.22]). Our findings indicate that serotypes Ia/Ib/II/ III/and V cover almost 88.6% of serotypes in SSA. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated high prevalence and resistance to different antibiotic classes observed in GBS isolates from SSA suggests the need for implementation of effective intervention efforts.

Hematological and Clinical Features Associated with Initial Poor Treatment Outcomes in Visceral Leishmaniasis Patients with and without HIV Coinfection in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is among the countries with a high leishmaniasis burden. In this retrospective review, we aimed to determine hematological and clinical features associated with initial poor treatment outcomes of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients. The majority of VL cases in this study had leucopenia (94.3%), thrombocytopenia (87.1%), and anemia (85.9%). HIV coinfection was present in 7.0% (n = 23) of VL cases. At the center, VL patients without HIV coinfection were treated with sodium stibogluconate and paromomycin combination, whereas HIV coinfected cases were treated with AmBisome and miltefosine combination therapy. End-of-treatment cure rates among HIV-positive and HIV-negative visceral leishmaniasis cases, respectively, were 52.2% and 96.9%. Case fatality rates were 34.8% and 2.7% in HIV-positive and HIV-negative cases, respectively. Overall, non-survivors in this study were more likely to have HIV (55.0% vs. 4.1%, p < 0.001), sepsis (15.0% vs. 1.4%, p = 0.019), and dyspnea (40.0% vs. 2.7%, p < 0.001) at admission. In this regard, particular attention to the management of superimposed disease conditions at admission, including sepsis, HIV, and dyspnea, is needed to improve VL patients' treatment outcomes. The inadequacy of the current treatments, i.e., AmBisome and miltefosine combination therapy, for HIV coinfected visceral leishmaniasis patients requires further attention as it calls for new treatment modalities.

Burden of respiratory syncytial virus diseases among under 5 children in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) in young children. To design preventive efforts in sub-Saharan Africa, a better knowledge of the true role of RSV in pediatric ALRIs is required. Therefore we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies to estimate the etiological role of RSV to ALRIs in under 5 years children in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: This study was done according to PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Web of Sciences databases, and Google Scholar were used to retrieve articles. STATA software version 17 was used for data analysis. The results of all the included studies were standardized to odds ratios (ORs) with accompanying 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs) and the pooled estimates of ORs, attributable fraction among the exposed (AFE), and population attributable fraction (PAF) were reported. The heterogeneity was assessed using Cochrane chi-square (I 2) statistics. Result: A total of 6200 cases and 4986 controls from 14 articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included. The pooled prevalence of RSV among cases and controls was 23.52 % [95 % CI (20.68-26.47)] and 4.33 % [95 % CI (3.11-5.73)], respectively. The pooled OR is 7.04 [95 % CI (4.41-11.24)], which indicated a significant association between RSV and ALRI. Among ALRIs cases positive for RSV, the proportion of disease that was not attributable to the background rate (AFE) was 85.8 % [95 % CI (77.3-91.1)]. The fraction of ALRIs children that can be attributed to RSV (PAF) was 20.2 % [95 % CI (16-24.1)]. Conclusion: This study showed clear associations between RSV and ALRI hospitalization in young children in sub-Saharan Africa indicating the need for prophylactic measures against RSV in this age group.