COVID-19 knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices among government and private bank workers in Ethiopia.

Background: Bank workers are among the many service-sector employees who are at risk of COVID-19 infection. Individual's adherence to control measures is affected by their COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). Since KAP is an important cognitive key in public health prevention and promotion, this study aimed to identify COVID-19 KAP-related gaps among bank workers in Dessie City, Ethiopia and to guide banks and health authorities in taking corrective actions. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1st to 30th, 2021 among 413 bank workers. A binary logistic regression was applied to determine association of independent variables with outcome variables using three different models. Variables at 95% confidence interval (CI) with a p < 0.25 from bivariate analysis were transported to three different multivariable logistic regression models and then variables with a p-value of 0.05 from the multivariable analysis of each model were declared as significantly associated with the outcome variables. Results: The results of this study show that 84.7% [95% CI: 81.1-88.1] of bank workers had good knowledge, 50.4% positive attitude, and 50.6% [95% CI: 45.8-55.0] good practice towards prevention of COVID-19. The only variable significantly associated with knowledge in this study was positive attitude (AOR = 8.89; 95%CI: 3.34-23.64). Being ≥35 years old (AOR = 2.46; 95%CI: 1.25-4.84) and getting information on COVID-19 (AOR = 3.81; 95%CI: 1.84-7.91) were among factors significantly associated with attitude towards COVID-19 prevention, whereas being female and ≥ 35 years old (AOR = 2.56; 95%CI: 1.29-5.06) and (AOR = 2.73; 95% CI: 1.15-6.51), respectively were factors associated with good preventive practice towards COVID-19. Conclusion and recommendation: Considering those significant factors responsible for determining COVID-19 KAP level of respondents, health education program and information dissemination are recommended, including appropriate strategies by policy makers and bank managers to develop effective interventions for COVID-19 transmission in banks.

Drinking water contamination potential and associated factors among households with under-five children in rural areas of Dessie Zuria District, Northeast Ethiopia.

Objective: More than half of the 700 million people worldwide who lack access to a safe water supply live in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia. Globally, approximately 2 billion people use drinking water sources that are contaminated with fecal matter. However, little is known about the relationship between fecal coliforms and determinants in drinking water. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the potential for contamination of drinking water and its associated factors in households with children under 5 years of age in Dessie Zuria district in northeastern Ethiopia. Methods: The water laboratory was conducted based on the American Public Health Association guidelines for water and wastewater assessment using a membrane filtration technique. A structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used to identify factors associated with the potential for contamination of drinking water in 412 selected households. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with the presence or absence of fecal coliforms in drinking water, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a value of p ≤ 0.05. The overall goodness of the model was tested using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, and the model was fit. Results: A total of 241 (58.5%) households relied on unimproved water supply sources. In addition, approximately two-thirds 272 (66.0%) of the household water samples were positive for fecal coliform bacteria. Water storage duration ≥3 days (AOR = 4.632; 95% CI: 1.529-14.034), dipping method of water withdrawal from a water storage tank (AOR = 4.377; 95% CI: 1.382-7.171), uncovered water storage tank at control (AOR = 5.700; 95% CI: 2.017-31.189), lack of home-based water treatment (AOR = 4.822; 95% CI: 1.730-13.442), and unsafe household liquid waste disposal methods (AOR = 3.066; 95% CI: 1.706-8.735) were factors significantly associated with the presence of fecal contamination in drinking water. Conclusion: Fecal contamination of water was high. The duration of water storage, the method of water withdrawal from the storage container, covering of the water storage container, the presence of home-based water treatment, and the method of liquid waste disposal were factors for fecal contamination in drinking water. Therefore, health professionals should continuously educate the public on proper water use and water quality assessment.

Physicochemical and bacteriological quality of swimming pools water in Kombolcha Town, Northeastern Ethiopia.

Introduction: The use of swimming pool water for recreation, rehabilitation, and athletics is widespread around the world, especially in large Cities and Towns. However, poorly managed swimming pool water can facilitate the spread of illnesses connected to recreational water. Despite this, there is no evidence on quality of swimming pools water in Kombolcha Town. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of swimming pools water in Kombolcha Town. Methods: A laboratory-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to April, 2021 in Kombolcha Town. A total of 90 water samples were collected from the three outdoor swimming pools. The collected data of both physicochemical and bacteriological parameters were entered into Microsoft Excel 2010 and analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. One-way ANOVA was used to test whether there were statistically significant differences between different swimming pools. The level of significance was declared at a p-value of <0.05. Results: In this study, out of all the pool water samples that were examined, 37.8% had pH values between 7.2 and 7.8, 36.7% had temperatures between 21°C and 32°C, and 26.7% had turbidity values that were within the WHO standard. Furthermore, only 16.7% of the pool water samples showed residual chlorine levels of 2-3 mg/L. In addition, only 27.8, 35.6, and 32.2% of the samples, respectively, met the WHO criterion for total coliform, fecal coliform, and heterotrophic plate count. Conclusion: The result indicates that most pool water samples did not fulfill both the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of the WHO standard limit for swimming pools. Thus, it is crucial to clean and regularly check the pool water, apply pool safety requirements, and raise pool user's awareness about the danger of pool water pollution through training.

COVID-19 preventive practices and associated factors among high school and preparatory school students in Dessie City, Ethiopia.

Background: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, the most pretentious sector besides the economy is the education system. Ethiopia is not equipped with the infrastructure and facilities to provide online classes for students at all levels. Hence, all institutions were re-opened with mandatory infection prevention and control (IPC) protocols such as the use of face masks, physical distancing, shifts in classes, and routine hand washing practices with soap and water to restrict the spread of the virus. Nevertheless, there has been no monitoring and follow- up and there is no data on IPC compliance among school children in the country. The purpose of this study was to examine the COVID-19 preventive practices and their associated factors among high and preparatory school students in Dessie City, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out by using a pre-tested face-to-face applied structured questionnaire and direct observations from March 8 to March 20, 2021, in five high and preparatory schools in Dessie City. The sample size was proportionally allocated in each school based on the students' total number registered in the first academic semester, then stratified by grade level, and proportionally allocated to each grade and section. Finally, a simple random sampling method was used to select study participants. Variables with p-values < 0.25 in the bivariate logistic regression analysis were entered into the multivariate logistic regression model. Results: This study involved 422 students with a response rate of 98.8%. The level of good preventive practices was 43.7%. After adjusting for covariates, female, positive attitudes, received IPC training and clear accessible sharing of information and feedback with parents, students and teachers were identified as predictors of good precaution practices. Conclusion: The prevalence of good prevention practices for COVID-19 among students was relatively very low. Therefore, the Department of Health and Education of Dessie City and each school should implement environmental health programs and promote prevention practices in high schools and preparatory schools.

Prevalence, intensity of infection and associated risk factors of soil-transmitted helminth infections among school children at Tachgayint woreda, Northcentral Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are one of the most common infections affecting underprivileged populations in low- and middle-income countries. Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm are the three main species that infect people. School children are the most vulnerable groups for STH infections due to their practice of walking and playing barefoot, poor personal hygiene, and environmental sanitation. However, evidence is limited in the study area. So, this study aimed to assess the current prevalence, infection intensity, and associated risk factors of STHs among school children in Tachgayint woreda, Northcentral Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among school children of Tachgayint woreda from February to May 2021. The study participants were chosen via systematic random sampling. Stool samples were collected from 325 children and examined using the Kato-Katz technique. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify the potential associated factors for STHs. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to measure the magnitude of the association. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of STHs in this study was 36.0% (95% CI: 30.5-41.2%). Ascaris lumbricoides are the most prevalent species 89 (27.4%) followed by hookworm 14 (4.3%) and Trichuris trichiura 10 (3.1%). All of the infected school children had light-intensity of infections with the mean of eggs per gram (EPG) being 464.53. Lack of shoe wearing habit (AOR = 4.08, 95% CI: 1.29-12.88) and having untrimmed fingernail (AOR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.06-3.22) were identified as risk factors for STH infections. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-third of the school children were infected with at least one STH species and this indicates that STHs are still a health problem among school children in the study area. Therefore, periodic deworming, implementation of different prevention strategies, and health education programs should be regularly applied in the area.

Facemask-wearing behavior to prevent COVID-19 and associated factors among public and private bank workers in Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Given widespread vulnerability to COVID-19 infection in areas with low vaccination rates, facemask wearing is repeatedly emphasized for the general population including bank workers, who have contact with many customers each day. Over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, studies focused on facemask wearing among healthcare workers but not among bank workers, who are also at risk of COVID-19. To address this gap and to consider intervention measures that encourage the wearing of facemasks, this study was conducted to identify behaviors of facemask wearing and associated factors among bank workers in Dessie City, Ethiopia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 413 bank workers who were selected using a simple random sampling technique from January 1st to 30th, 2021 in Dessie City, Ethiopia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and on-the-spot observational checklist. The collected data were checked, coded and entered to EpiData version 4.6 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 for data cleaning and analysis. Data were analyzed using bivariable (crude odds ratio [COR]) and multivariable (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]) logistic regression model at 95% confidence interval (CI). Variables from the bivariable analysis with a p-value <0.25 were considered for multivariable analysis. Then, variables that had a p-value <0.05 were declared as factors significantly associated with behavior of facemask wearing. MAIN FINDINGS: In this study, the behavior of facemask wearing among bank workers was 50.4% [95%CI: 45.3-55.2%] with 21.1% always wearing a facemask, 72.4% sometimes, and 6.5% never. A majority of the bank workers 350 (84.7%) had good knowledge of COVID-19 and half of them 208 (50.4%) had a positive attitude towards taking precautions against COVID-19. Just over two-thirds of the respondents 284 (68.8%) preferred to wear a non-medical mask. Two hundred fifty-five (61.7%) said wearing a facemask interfered with communication and 259 (62.7%) felt that wearing a facemask was not comfortable. Facemask-wearing behavior was significantly associated with a high level of positive attitude towards taking precautions against COVID-19 (AOR = 3.27, 95% CI: 1.75-6.11), the perception that the consequences of getting COVID-19 could be serious (AOR = 4.87, 95% CI: 2.38-9.94), the presence of chronic illness (AOR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.07-4.48), sex being female (AOR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.06-3.32) and age being greater or equal to 35 years (AOR = 9.25, 95% CI: 4.79-17.88). CONCLUSION: The main finding of the study showed that the behavior of facemask wearing among bank workers was relatively low (50.4%) compared to other types of workers as found in other studies. To increase the behavior of facemask wearing among bank workers, health decision makers need to develop updated guidance for promotion of facemask wearing to increase the practical and appropriate use of facemasks among bank workers. Bank managers and concerned government bodies should enforce mask use to change behavior of these workers.

Prevalence and associated factors of needle stick and sharps injuries among healthcare workers in northwestern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Needle stick and sharp injuries (NSSIs) are a common problem among healthcare workers (HCWs). Although the factors related to NSSIs for HCWs are well documented by several studies in Ethiopia, no evidence has been reported about the magnitude of and factors related to NSSIs in hospitals in northwestern Ethiopia. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was carried out from January to March 2019 among 318 HCWs in three randomly-selected hospitals of the eight hospitals found in South Gondar Zone. Sample sizes were proportionally allocated to professional categories. Study participants were selected by systematic random sampling methods using the monthly salary payroll for each profession as the sampling frame. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The outcome of this study was the presence (injured) or absence of NSSIs during the 12 months prior to data collection. A binary logistic regression model with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used for data analysis. Variables from the bi-variable analysis with a p-value ≤ 0.25 were retained into the multivariable analysis. From the multivariable analysis, variables with a p-value less than 0.05 was declared as factors significantly associated with NSSIs. MAIN FINDINGS: The prevalence of NSSIs was 29.5% (95% CI: 24.2-35.5%) during the 12 months prior to the survey. Of these, 46.0% reported that their injuries were moderate, superficial (33.3%) or severe (20.7%). About 41.4% of the injuries were caused by a suture needle. Factors significantly associated with NSSIs were occupation as a nurse (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.65, 95% CI: 1.18-4.26), disposal of sharp materials in places other than in safety boxes (AOR = 3.93, 95% CI: 2.10-5.35), recapping of needles (AOR = 2.27, 95% CI: 1.13-4.56), and feeling sleepy at work (AOR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.14-4.41). CONCLUSION: This study showed that almost one-third of HCWs had sustained NSSIs, a proportion that is high. Factors significantly associated with NSSIs were occupation as a nurse, habit of needle recapping, disposal of sharp materials in places other than in safety boxes and feeling sleepy at work. Observing proper and regular universal precautions for nurses during daily clinical activities and providing safety boxes for the disposal of sharp materials, practicing mechanical needle recapping and preventing sleepiness by reducing work overload among HCWs may reduce the incidence of NSSIs.

COVID-19 Prevention Practices and Associated Factors among Diabetes and HIV/AIDS Clients in South-Wollo Zone, Ethiopia: A Health Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) is affecting many people. Chronic patients are highly vulnerable to contracting an infection. Most people recover within a week, but chronic patients can face severe illness or death. The increasing of cases, complications, and mortality demands compulsory preventive measures. Therefore, this study was designed to identify major preventive practices and associated factors. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was employed from November to December 2020 among diabetics and HIV/AIDS follow-up clients in Dessie referral hospital. Data were entered into EpiData manager 4.6.0 version and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25.0 for data cleaning and analysis. Logistic regression analysis was done and an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was used for determining the strength of association. RESULTS: Data were collected from 426 participants with a mean age of 46.54 years. The overall poor prevention practice rate of COVID-19 among diabetic and HIV/AIDS follow-up clients was 68.8% 95% CI (64.6-72.8%). Factors significantly associated with poor prevention practice were femaleness (AOR; 1.61; 95% CI; 1.03-2.51), illiterate [AOR; 2.59; 95% CI; 1.33-5.09]), family size greater than four (AOR; 2.06; 95% CI; 1.32-3.23), absence of health professional in the household (AOR; 1.79; 95% CI; 1.13-2.84), not having health insurance (AOR; 1.85; 95% CI; 1.18-2.89) and urban residence (AOR; 0.38; 95% CI; 0.18-0.79). CONCLUSION: The overall proportion of prevention practice towards COVID-19 among diabetic and HIV/AIDS follow-up clients was poor. Illiteracy, having a family size greater than four, not having health professionals in the household, not having health insurance and urban residency were associated with poor prevention practices. Therefore, continuous health educations about good preventive behavioral practice should be enhanced by the health professionals.

COVID-19 Prevention Practices and Associated Factors Among Farmers in Peri-Urban Areas of Northeastern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a global health threat due to its rapid spread and ability to kill millions of people. The majority of pandemic-fighting approaches rely on prevention activities, which can be influenced by a variety of factors. Farmers are more vulnerable to COVID-19, so evaluating existing prevention practices and associated factors is critical to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: To assess COVID-19 prevention practices and associated factors among farmers in peri-urban areas of Northeastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 409 selected farmers. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews and on-the-spot-observational checklist. Data were analyzed using bivariable logistic regression model at 95% CI (confidence interval). During the bivariable analysis (crude odds ratio [COR]), varibales having a p-value of less than 0.250 were included into the multivariable analysis (adjsuted odds ratio [AOR]). Factors associated with COVID-19 preventive practices were determined using a multivariable analysis at a p-value of 0.050. RESULTS: Of 409 participants, 206 (63.6%), 157 (38.4%), and 117 (28.6%) of them had satisfactory knowledge, positive attitude, and good prevention practices about COVID-19, respectively. Age of the farmers with greater than or equal to 45 years (AOR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.7-6.1), educational status of secondary school and above (AOR: 3.1; 95% CI: 1.4-6.6), and income level of having greater than or equal to 2,001.00 Ethiopian birr (ETB) (AOR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.1-3.4) were all found to be significantly associated with the COVID-19 prevention practices. CONCLUSION: Even though the majority of farmers had satisfactory knowledge, a considerable proportion of them had a negative attitude and poor COVID-19 prevention practices. Age, educational status, and income level are factors associated with COVID-19 prevention practices. Hence, health education should be given to improve the farmers' knowledge, attitudes and prevention practices to minimize the risk of COVID-19 among farmers in semi-urban areas of northestern Ethiopia.

Knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices towards COVID-19 and associated factors among adult hospital visitors in South Gondar Zone Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently the critical health problem of the globe, including Ethiopia. Visitors of healthcare facilities are the high-risk groups due to the presence of suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the healthcare setting. Increasing the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards COVID-19 prevention among hospital visitors are very important to prevent transmissions of the pandemic despite the lack of evidence remains a challenge in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the status of knowledge, attitude, and preventive practice towards COVID-19 and associated factors among hospital visitors in South Gondar Zone Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study design was employed during August 1 to 30, 2020 from randomly selected 404 adult hospital visitors in South Gondar Zone Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia. The data was collected using interviewer-administered questionnaire. The outcome of this study was good or poor knowledge, positive or negative attitude and good or poor preventive practice towards COVID-19. Three different binary logistic regression models with 95% CI (Confidence interval) was used for data analysis. For each mode, bivariable analysis (crude odds ratio [COR]) and multivariable analysis (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]) was used during data analysis. From the bivariable analysis, variables with a p-value <0.25 were retained into the multivariable logistic regression analysis. From the multivariable logistic regression analysis, variables with a significance level of p-value <0.05 were taken as factors independently associated with knowledge, attitude and preventive practices towards COVID-19. MAIN FINDINGS: About 69.3% of the respondents had good knowledge, 62.6% had a positive attitude, and 49.3% had good preventive practice towards the prevention of COVID-19. We found that factors significantly associated with good knowledge about COVID-19 were educational status who can read and write (AOR = 2.78; 95%CI: 1.18-6.56) and college and above (AOR = 6.15; 95%CI: 2.18-17.40), and use of social media (AOR = 2.96; 95%CI: 1.46-6.01). Furthermore, factors significantly associated with a positive attitude towards COVID-19 includes the presence of chronic illnesses (AOR = 5.00; 95%CI; 1.71-14.67), training on COVID-19 (AOR = 3.91; 95%CI: 1.96-7.70), and peer/family as a source of information (AOR = 2.45; 95%CI: 1.06-5.63). Being a student (AOR = 7.70; 95%CI: 1.15-15.86) and participants who had a good knowledge on COVID-19 (AOR = 4.49; 95%CI: 2.41-8.39) were factors significantly associated with good practice towards COVID-19. CONCLUSION: We found that knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices towards prevention of COVID-19 among adult hospital visitors were low. Therefore, we recommended that different intervention strategies for knowledge, attitude and preventive practices are urgently needed to control the transmission of COVID-19 among adult hospital visitors. Health education of those who could not read and write about COVID-19 knowledge issues and advocating use of social media that transmit messages about COVID-19 are highly encouraged to increase the good knowledge status of adult hospital visitors. Furthermore, providing training about COVID-19 prevention methods and using various sources of information about COVID-19 will help for improving positive attitude towards COVID-19 prevention, whereas for increasing the status of good preventive practices towards COVID-19, improving the good knowledge about COVID-19 of adult hospital visitors are essential.

Prevalence and associated factors of acute respiratory infection among street sweepers and door-to-door waste collectors in Dessie City, Ethiopia: A comparative cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory infections are rising in developing countries including Ethiopia. Lack of evidence for the prevalence and associated factors of acute respiratory infection among street sweepers and door-to-door waste collectors in Dessie City, Ethiopia is a challenge for the implementation of appropriate measures to control acute respiratory infection. Thus, this study was designed to address the gaps. METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 84 door-to-door waste collectors and 84 street sweepers from March to May 2018. A simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data were collected by trained data collectors using a pretested structured questionnaire and on-the-spot direct observation checklist. Data were analyzed using three different binary logistic regression models at 95% confidence interval (CI): the first model (Model I) was used to identify factors associated with acute respiratory infection among street sweepers, whereas the second model (Model II) was used to identify factors associated with acute respiratory infection among door-to-door waste collectors, and the third model (Model III) was used for pooled analysis to identify factors associated with acute respiratory infection among both street sweepers and door-to-door waste collectors. From each model multivariable logistic regression, variables with a p-value <0.05 were taken as factors significantly associated with acute respiratory infection. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of acute respiratory infection among studied population was 42.85% with 95% CI (35.1, 50.0%). The prevalence of acute respiratory infection among street sweepers was 48.80% (95% CI: 37.3, 64.8%) and among door-to-door waste collectors was 36.90% (95% CI: 27.4, 46.4%). There was no statistically significant difference between the prevalence of acute respiratory infection among the two groups due to the overlapping of the 95% CI. Among the street sweepers, we found that factors significantly associated with acute respiratory infection were not cleaning personal protective equipment after use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.15, 5.51) and use of coal/wood for cooking (AOR: 3.95; 95% CI: 1.52, 7.89), whereas among door-to-door waste collectors, were not using a nose/mouth mask while on duty (AOR: 5.57; 95% CI: 1.39, 9.32) and not receiving health and safety training (AOR: 3.82; 95% CI: 1.14-7.03) were factors significantly associated with acute respiratory infection among door-to-door-waste collectors. From the pooled analysis, we found that not using a nose/mouth mask while on duty (AOR: 2.19; 95% CI: 1.16, 4.53) and using coal/wood for cooking (AOR: 2.74; 95% CI: 1.18, 6.95) were factors significantly associated with acute respiratory infection for both street sweepers and door-to-door waste collectors. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of acute respiratory infection among street sweepers and door-to-door waste collectors has no statistically significant difference. For both groups, not using a nose/mouth mask while on duty and using coal/wood for cooking fuel factors associated with acute respiratory infection. The municipality should motivate and monitor workers use of personal protective equipment including masks and gloves. Workers should use a nose/mouth mask while on duty and should choose a clean energy source for cooking at home.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions and prevalence of intestinal parasitosis among primary school children in Dessie City, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal parasitosis is a major public health problem that affects the health of primary school children in low- and middle-income countries where water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions are deficient. Since there is a paucity of information on the prevalence and associated factors of this problem among primary school children in Dessie City in Ethiopia, this study was designed to address these gaps. METHODS: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 407 stratified-sampled primary school children in five primary schools at Dessie City from April to June 2018. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire, an observation checklist and laboratory analysis of stool samples. Stool specimen from each study participant was collected using clean, properly labeled and leak-proof stool cup. A portion of stool from each study participant collected sample was processed using saline wet mount technique and examined by microscope. The remaining specimens were preserved with 10% formalin and transported to Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital laboratory to be processed by using formol-ether concentration technique. Then, slide smears were prepared from each processed stool specimen and finally, it was microscopically examined with 10x as well as 40x objectives for the presence or absence of intestinal parasites. Factors significantly associated with intestinal parasitosis were determined using binary logistic regression model at 95% CI (confidence interval). Thus, bivariate (COR [crude odds ratio]) and multivariable (AOR [adjusted odds ratio]) logistic regression analyses were carried out. From the multivariable analysis, variables having a p-value of less than 0.05 were declared as factors significantly associated with intestinal parasitosis among primary school children. MAIN FINDINGS: The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitosis was found to be 16.0% (95% CI: 12.5-19.4%), of these, 50.8% were positive for protozoa, 32.2% for helminth infections and 16.9% for double co-infections. Entamoeba histolytica was the most prevalent parasite (29.2%), followed by Giardia lamblia (21.5%), Ascaris lumbricoides (18.5%), Hymenolepis nana (9.2%) and Enterobius vermicularis (4.6%). Prevalence rates were similar among government (16.3%) and private (15.7%) school children. Water consumption was less than 5 liters per capita per day in 4 of the 5 schools. Thirty-eight (9.3%) of primary school students reported that they practiced open defecation. About two-thirds (285, 70.0%) said they always washed their hands after defecation. Mother's education (illiterate) (AOR = 3.3; 95% CI: 1.20-9.37), father's education (illiterate) (AOR = 3.9; 95% CI: 1.40-10.82), fathers who could read and write (AOR = 3.3; 95% CI: 1.25-7.86), handwashing before meal (sometimes) (AOR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.11-4.17) and poor knowledge of WASH (AOR = 9.3; 95% CI: 2.17-16.70) were statistically associated with presence of intestinal parasitic infections. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the prevalence of intestinal parasitosis in the study area among Grades 4-8 primary school children had public health significance. Factors significantly associated with intestinal parasitosis among primary school children's were illiterate mothers and fathers, irregular handwashing of children before meals, and poor knowledge of WASH. Health education to improve students' WASH knowledge and mass deworming for parasites are recommended as preventive measures; and improvements to the quality of WASH facilities in primary schools are strongly recommended to support these measures.

Determinants of acute respiratory infection (ARI) among under-five children in rural areas of Legambo District, South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia: A matched case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) leads to morbidity and mortality among under-fivechildren in developing countries, especially in rural settings. ARI ranks among the top 10 diseases in under-five children in Legambo District, South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to evaluate determinant factors for ARI in Legambo District in 2019. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community-based matched case-control study was conducted, involving 139 cases and 278 controls under 5 years of age, from mid-January to mid-February 2019. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariable conditional logistic regression analyses were performed. From the multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis, variables with a significance level of p < 0.05 were taken as significantly associated with ARI among under-five children. RESULT: ARI among children under 5 years of age was significantly associated with age of the mother/caregiver being ≥35 years, occupation of mother/caregiver being housewife, the family being of medium wealth status, the type of stove used in the house, carrying the child while preparing food, absence of windows in the house, and nutritional status of the child. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of ARI could be reduced by improving economic status, stove use, and nutrition of children, and by increasing community awareness regarding indoor air pollution and ventilation.