Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Rural Communities Regarding Antimicrobial Resistance and Climate Change in Adadle District, Somali Region, Ethiopia: A Mixed-Methods Study.

There is an urgent need for interventions in addressing the rapid and disproportionate impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and climate change (CC) on low- and middle-income countries. Within this context, it is important to understand indigenous knowledge in rural communities, which are highly affected. This study examined knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) regarding AMR and CC in the Adadle district, Somali region, Ethiopia, utilizing mixed methods, including 362 surveys and 12 focus group discussions among rural communities. Findings showed that 39% and 63% of participants were familiar with AMR and CC, respectively. Of those surveyed, 57% attributed AMR to inappropriate antimicrobial use in animals and humans, while CC was often associated with Allah/God. Multivariable analysis indicated that males exhibited superior knowledge and a positive attitude towards AMR and CC. Additionally, individuals aged 26-35 and 36-45 years showed heightened awareness of AMR and CC, respectively. Moreover, participants who were government employees, pastoralists, and business owners showed better knowledge on CC compared to family caretaker. Religious education and households with more than six members were linked to lower AMR knowledge. This study underlines a greater awareness of CC than AMR and highlights gender-based disparities, recommending integrated educational AMR programs targeting different demographics through a One Health lens, actively involving females, and incorporating local beliefs and practices.

A community based seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Somali Region, Eastern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is life-threatening infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused a global pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 has been widely transmitted throughout Ethiopia, with over 501,060 cases confirmed and 7574 deaths until November 2023. This study assessed for the first time the seroprevalence SARS-CoV-2 in the general population of the Somali Region during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was conducted from May to June 2021 in 14 districts of Somali Region. Blood samples were collected in 820 participants in addition to administering a questionnaire that included sociodemographic characteristics and history of clinical symptoms of COVID-19. Blood samples were tested for the presence or absence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 using a commercial Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit (Euroimmun). RESULTS: Overall, 477 (58.2%) were male and 343 (41.8%) were female. The majority of the participants (N = 581; 70.9%) were between 18 and 34 years old and not vaccinated against COVID-19 (N = 793; 96.7%). The overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 41.7% (95% CI: 33.3%-47.6%). The highest prevalence was found in Goljano district (70%) and the lowest in Gunagado district (22.5%). Only age was found to be associated with COVID-19 seropositivity. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was the highest ever reported in Ethiopia, indicating that a large proportion of the population had been infected 14 months after the start of the outbreak in the country. Such studies are important to swiftly reassess and improve specific COVID-19 preventive and control measures to reduce transmissions within the community in a given setting.

Gut microbiomes of agropastoral children from the Adadle region of Ethiopia reflect their unique dietary habits.

The composition and function of the intestinal microbiota are major determinants of human health and are strongly influenced by diet, antibiotic treatment, lifestyle and geography. Nevertheless, we currently have only little data on microbiomes of non-westernized communities. We assess the stool microbiota composition in 59 children aged 2-5 years from the Adadle district of Ethiopia, Somali Regional State. Here, milk and starch-rich food are predominant components of the local diet, where the inhabitants live a remote, traditional agropastoral lifestyle. Microbiota composition, function and the resistome were characterized by both 16S rRNA gene amplicon and shotgun metagenomic sequencing and compared to 1471 publicly available datasets from children living in traditional, transitional, and industrial communities with different subsistence strategies. Samples from the Adadle district are low in Bacteroidaceae, and Prevotellaceae, the main bacterial representatives in the feces of children living in industrialized and non-industrialized communities, respectively. In contrast, they had a higher relative abundance in Streptococcaceae, Bifidobacteriaceae and Erysipelatoclostridiaceae. Further, genes involved in degradation pathways of lactose, D-galactose and simple carbohydrates were enriched. Overall, our study revealed a unique composition of the fecal microbiota of these agropastoral children, highlighting the need to further characterize the fecal bacterial composition of human populations living different lifestyles.