Sero-Prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care Services in Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus infection is a major public health problem worldwide and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection and associated factors among pregnant mothers in the Gedeo Zone, southern Ethiopia. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 479 pregnant women visiting governmental and private health facilities in the Gedeo zone from January to April 2019. We selected study participants using systematic random sampling techniques. The Eugene strip test was used to determine hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant mothers. We collected the status of HIV of the pregnant women from the records. Other variables were collected from the mothers using interviewer-administered questionnaires. We used binary and multivariable logistic regression for the analysis. An adjusted odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to determine the association between HBsAg sero-positivity and various factors. A P-value of less than .05 was considered significant. RESULTS: This study revealed that the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant mothers was 9.2% in Gedeo Zone. A previous history of blood transfusion [AOR = 5.2, 95% CI: 2.1, 12.5], a previous history of hospital admission [AOR = 3, 95% CI: 1.4, 6.6], a history of having an abortion [AOR = 4.1, 95 % CI: 1.5, 11.7], the age of the pregnant women [AOR = 5.1, 95 % CI: 1.5, 18.0], and their HIV status [AOR = 8.1, 95 % CI: 1.9, 36.0] had a statistically significant association with HBsAg sero-positivity. CONCLUSION: Hepatitis B virus infection was found to have higher endemicity (9.2%) in Gedeo Zone which is higher than the national pooled prevalence which was 4.75%. The health facilities must implement early initiation of antenatal care services which incorporate the prevention and control of HBV in the Gedeo Zone.

Estimation of rainwater harvesting potential for emergency water demand in the era of COVID-19. The case of Dilla town, Southern, Ethiopia.

Safe and adequate quantity of water is crucial for the implementation of infection prevention and control measures during the prevention of COVID-19. Rainwater harvesting could be an optional water source to fulfill or support the emergency water demand in areas where there is abundant rainfall. The study aimed to assess the rainwater harvesting potential and storage requirements for households and selected institutions and to determine its adequacy to satisfy the emergency water demand for the prevention of COVID-19 in Dilla town, Southern Ethiopia. Rainwater harvesting potential for households and selected institutions were quantified using 17 years' worth of rainfall data from the Ethiopian Meteorology Agency. To address the rainfall variability, we computed the confidence limits of monthly harvest-able rainwater potential using confidence intervals about the mean as well as confidence intervals using Coefficient of Variation (COV) of monthly rainfall. The storage requirements were also estimated by considering the driest and west seasons and months. The average annual rainfall in Dilla town was 1464 mm. Households with a roof area of 40 and 100 m2 have the potential to harvest 7.2-39.66 m3 and 19.11-105.35 m3 of rainwater respectively. Similarly, the rainwater harvesting potential for the selected institutions was in the range of 34524.5-190374.5, 4070.8-14964.8 , 1140.4-6288.6, 4561.7-25154.3, 5605.8-14152.8 , and 402.4-2219.1 m3 of rainwater for colleges, vocational schools, secondary schools, primary schools, Dilla University Referral Hospital and health centers respectively. These institutional rainwater harvesting potentials can address, 24-132.2, 222.4 -817.8, 59.4-327.3, 34.6-190.9, 94.5-238.5, and 28.2-155.7 % of the colleges, vocational schools, secondary schools, primary schools, Dilla University referral hospital, and, health centers emergency water demand respectively. Rainwater can be an alternative water source for the town in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Further applied researches must be conducted that can address the rainwater quality and treatment for ease of use.