Evaluation of quality and antimicrobial efficacy of locally manufactured alcohol-based hand sanitizers marketed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the era of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been rapidly spreading across the globe since the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the disease outbreak as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. Hand hygiene, via either regular handwashing with soap and water or using hand sanitizers, is among the various measures that need to be followed to control the outbreak of the disease. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS) are the "gold standard" for hand disinfection because of their broad antimicrobial spectrum of activity, easy availability, better safety profile, and general acceptability to users. This study aimed at evaluating the physicochemical quality and antimicrobial efficacy of the locally manufactured ABHS marketed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was used to collect ABHS from Addis Ababa marketplaces. A total of 25 sample products were randomly selected from different categories of hand sanitizer manufacturers. The physicochemical evaluation of the products was carried out as per the United States Pharmacopoeia and WHO standards. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., and Shigella spp clinical isolates were used for the antimicrobial efficacy test. RESULTS: The Fourier Transform Infrared result confirmed that all the test products met the identification test for ethanol. The majority (68%) of ABHS complied with the test for ethanol content (75-85% v/v). However, only 3 products fulfilled the hydrogen peroxide content (0.112-0.137% v/v). LPC307 showed the maximum zone of inhibition of 12 mm against Escherichia coli whereas MPC204 exhibited only 3 mm. LPC101 was found to be more sensitive to Shigella and Klebsiella Spp with minimum inhibitory concentration values of 20% and 10%, respectively. The sample product LPC101 showed a minimum bactericidal concentration of 20% against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella spp. CONCLUSION: One-third of the tested ABHS did not comply with the WHO ethanol content limit and the majority of the products failed to meet the label claim for hydrogen peroxide content. Besides, nearly all products proved that they have activity against all the tested pathogenic microorganisms at a minimum concentration from 10 to 80%; though, they did not show 99.9% bacteriostatic or bactericidal activities as claimed. The study findings suggested regular monitoring of the quality of marketed ABHS considering the current wide use of these products.

Intestinal parasitic infections and associated factors among street dwellers' in Dessie town, North-East Ethiopia: a cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Intestinal parasitic infections are among the major cause of diseases of public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ethiopia, epidemiological information on street dwellers is very limited. So, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of intestinal parasite among street dwellers' in Dessie town, North-East, Ethiopia. RESULTS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on street dwellers in Dessie town from November 2017 to February, 2018. Stool specimen was examined by direct wet mount, formol-ether concentration technique and modified Ziehl-Neelsen methods. Majority of study participants were males 220 (89.4%). The mean age of the study participants were 22.85 (SD = 4.78) years. The overall parasite prevalence was 108/246 (43.9%). Among the six different intestinal parasites detected, H. nana 33 (13.4) and E. histolytica 24 (9.8%) were dominant. Multivariate analysis showed, shoe wearing habit (P = 0.035), hand washing habit after toilet (P = 0.035), and history of animal contact (P = 0.016) had statistically significant association with intestinal parasitic infections after adjusting other variables. Although the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in this study was lower than previous studies conducted in similar study groups. The prevention and control strategies of intestinal parasites should address the poor segment of populations including street dwellers.