Sanitary condition and its microbiological quality of improved water sources in the Southern Region of Ethiopia.

In the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia, improved water is the main source of water for household purposes. Access to improved water closer to their homes benefits the community in many ways. It improves their health status, saves their time and energy, and improves their productivity in jobs and education they are engaged in. However, due to natural and human activities, improved water sources do not always deliver good quality of water. It can be contaminated by different pathogenic microorganisms and chemicals. The result indicated that 44.7% and 50.9% of the samples were contaminated with Escherichia coli and enterococci respectively, and from the sanitary condition survey, 57.6% of the water sources exhibited from intermediate- to very high-risk level. And the risk priority matrix identifies 95 (27.9%) samples with high risk and 54 (15.9%) of the samples with very high risk. The main risks identified at those unsafe water sources were that the drainage canals were blocked with mud, grass, leaves, and stones; animals drinking the overflow water and grazing in the proximity of water sources and feces such as cow dung were observed; inadequate protection of water sources such as absence of fences and diversion ditches; and stagnant water near the source. The study conducted in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region has clearly indicated that people may be at risk of being exposed to pathogens in half of the improved water sources when used for drinking based on the microbial indicator data or the sanitary inspection risk score. Though no correlation resulted from water quality and sanitary condition of sources, the risk priority matrix did enable prioritization of 54 very high-risk-level water sources for urgent targeted interventions from a total of 340 improved drinking water sources. From this, targeted interventions, improving water management practices, identifying and implementing effective water treatment options, providing sustainable energy sources for the supply of continuous water, and implementing climate resilience water safety planning, are recommended.

Occurrence of Listeria spp. in retail meat and dairy products in the area of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Listeriosis, a bacterial disease in humans and animals, is mostly caused by ingestion of Listeria monocytogenes via contaminated food and/or water, or by a zoonotic infection. Globally, listeriosis has in general a low incidence but a high case fatality rate. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence, antimicrobial profiles, and genetic relatedness of L. monocytogenes from raw meat and dairy products (raw milk, cottage cheese, cream cake), collected from the capital and five neighboring towns in Ethiopia. METHODS: Two hundred forty food samples were purchased from July to December 2006 from food vendors, shops, and supermarkets, using a cross-sectional study design. L. monocytogenes were isolated and subjected to molecular serotyping. The genetic relatedness and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were investigated using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and minimum inhibitory concentration determinations. RESULTS: Of 240 food samples tested, 66 (27.5%) were positive for Listeria species. Of 59 viable isolates, 10 (4.1%) were L. monocytogenes. Nine were serotype 4b and one was 2b. Minimum inhibitory concentration determination and PFGE of the 10 L. monocytogenes isolates showed low occurrence of antimicrobial resistance among eight different PFGE types. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The findings in this study correspond to similar research undertaken in Ethiopia by detecting L. monocytogenes with similar prevalence rates. Public education is crucial as regards the nature of this organism and relevant prevention measures. Moreover, further research in clinical samples should be carried out to estimate the prevalence and carrier rate in humans, and future investigations on foodborne outbreaks must include L. monocytogenes.