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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable virus that continues to disrupt livelihoods, particularly those of low-income segments of society, around the world. In Ethiopia, more specifically in the capital city of Addis Ababa, a sudden increase in the number of confirmed positive cases in high-risk groups of the community has been observed over the last few weeks of the first case. Therefore, this study aims to assess knowledge, practice and associated factors that can contribute to the prevention of COVID-19 among high-risk groups in Addis Ababa. A cross-sectional in person survey (n = 6007) was conducted from 14-30 April, 2020 following a prioritization within high-risk groups in Addis Ababa. The study area targeted bus stations, public transport drivers, air transport infrastructure, health facilities, public and private pharmacies, hotels, government-owned and private banks, telecom centers, trade centers, orphanages, elderly centers, prison, prisons and selected slum areas where the people live in a crowded areas. A questionnaire comprised of four sections (demographics, knowledge, practice and reported symptoms) was used for data collection. The outcomes (knowledge on the transmission and prevention of COVID-19 and practice) were measured using four items. A multi variable logistic regression was applied with adjustment for potential confounding. About half (48%, 95% CI: 46-49) of the study participants had poor knowledge on the transmission mode of COVID-19 whereas six out of ten (60%, 95% CI: 58-61) had good knowledge on prevention methods for COVID-19. The practice of preventive measures towards COVID-19 was found to be low (49%, 95% CI: 48-50). Factors that influence knowledge on COVID-19 transmission mechanisms were female gender, older age, occupation (health care and grocery worker), lower income and the use of the 8335 free call centre. Older age, occupation (being a health worker), middle income, experience of respiratory illness and religion were significantly associated with being knowledgeable about the prevention methods for COVID-19. The study found that occupation, religion, income, knowledge on the transmission and prevention of COVID-19 were associated with the practice of precautionary measures towards COVID-19. The study highlighted that there was moderate knowledge about transmission modes and prevention mechanisms. Similarly, there was moderate practice of measures that contribute towards the prevention of COVID-19 among these priority and high-risk communities of Addis Ababa. There is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap in terms of transmission mode and prevention methods of COVID-19 to improve prevention practices and control the spread of COVID-19. Use of female public figures and religious leaders could support the effort towards the increase in awareness.

Intensive disease surveillance in an endangered population of Ethiopian wolves provided evidence of concurrent outbreaks of rabies and canine distemper viruses in 2019, including co-infection in an individual animal. Disease surveillance and intensive monitoring of wolf packs in Ethiopia were essential in detecting the concurrent outbreaks and enabled accurate assessment of disease from both pathogens. The study highlights the risk posed to endangered populations that are susceptible to, or live in areas with, reservoir hosts for canine distemper and rabies viruses. Instances of concurrent distemper and rabies outbreaks appear unusual in the existing literature; modeling for one disease might underestimate the risk for extinction. Concurrent outbreaks may have a larger effect than single-disease outbreaks, even in a population that has partial vaccination coverage. Researchers studying wildlife populations from a conservation perspective should be aware that both diseases can strike at once where susceptible populations exist.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and became pandemic after emerging in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Several studies have been conducted to understand the key features of COVID-19 and its public health impact. However, the prognostic factors of COVID-19 are not well studied in the African setting. In this study, we aim to determine the epidemiological and clinical features of COVID-19 cases, immunological and virological courses, interaction with nutritional status, and response to treatment for COVID-19 patients in Ethiopia. Methods A multi-center cohort study design will be performed. Patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection admitted to selected treatment centers will be enrolled irrespective of their symptoms and followed-up for 12 months. Baseline epidemiological, clinical, laboratory and imaging data will be collected from treatment records, interviews, physical measurements, and biological samples. Follow-up data collection involves treatment and prognostic outcomes to be measured using different biomarkers and clinical parameters. Data collection will be done electronically using the Open Data Kit (ODK) software package and then exported to STATA/SPSS for analysis. Both descriptive and multivariable analyses will be performed to assess the independent determinants of the treatment outcome and prognosis to generate relevant information for informed prevention and case management. The primary outcomes of this study are death/survival and viral shedding. Secondary outcomes include epidemiological characteristics, clinical features, genetic frequency shifts (genotypic variations), and nutritional status. Discussion This is the first large prospective cohort study of patients in hospitals with COVID-19 in Ethiopia. The results will enable us to better understand the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Africa. This study will also provide useful information for effective public health measures and future pandemic preparedness and in response to outbreaks. It will also support policymakers in managing the epidemic based on scientific evidence. Trial Registration: The Protocol prospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04584424) on 30 October, 2020.

Introduction: Zoonotic parasitic infections such as echinococcosis affect cattle, sheep and goats by lowering quality of meat and hides as well as decreasing milk production. The burden of such diseases among humans is usually underestimated as they are difficult to diagnose. We used abattoir data to estimate the prevalence of zoonotic parasitic infections in animals. Methodology: Data from 2005-2018 was used from the registry of an abattoir in Northwest Ethiopia. Frequencies, proportions and trends over time were analyzed. Meat inspection was conducted by visualization, palpation and incision. Results: A total of 58,787 animals were slaughtered in the abattoir during the study period. These included 51,956 (88 %) cattle, 5,890 (10%) sheep and 941 (2%) goats. The detected parasites included Echinococcus in 12,334/58,787 (21%) and Fasciola in 10,551/58,787 (18%) animals. Echinococcus infection was highest among goats (267/941, 28%), followed by cattle (11,591/51,956, 22%) and sheep (476/5,890, 8%). Fasciolosis was detected in 9,877/51,956 (19%) cattle and 178/941 (19%) goats. The number of animals slaughtered strongly decreased over time from 8,405 in 2006 to 1,605 in 2018. However, the proportion of parasitic infections remained high with some fluctuations over the study period. Conclusions: Echinococcosis and fasciolosis were very common with one out of five animals slaughtered infected. This is of public health concern and needs urgent multi-sectorial efforts from stakeholders at the national and regional level for control of these diseases. One health program approaches may warrant the control of transmission to humans.

In this study, the structural, electronic, optical, elastic, and thermodynamic properties of Ytterbium chalcogenides YbX (X = S, Se and Te) were computed within the first principles using generalized gradient approximation (GGA) as implemented in the pseudopotential plane wave approach. The equilibrium total energy for YbX (X = S, Se, and Te) was calculated as a function of the energy cutoff, k-point grid, and lattice parameter. An optimized lattice parameter of 5.6, 5.66, and 6.136 Å were calculated for YbS, YbSe, and YbTe, respectively. The energy band gaps of YbS, YbSe, and YbTe computed are 1.14, 1.32, and 1.48 eV, respectively. In addition, the low band gap (less than 3 eV) for ytterbium chalcogenides indicated that they may have potential applications in photovoltaic cells and laser diodes. Moreover, the negative dielectric function value for a certain frequency range indicates that these compounds are suitable for specific optical and microwave circuit applications. The result of elastic and thermodynamic property computation reveals that ytterbium chalcogenides are mechanically and thermodynamically stable, which can be useful in a variety of electronic device applications.

The effect of scandium doping on the structural, electronic, optical, and thermodynamic properties of scandium-doped zirconia (Zr0.875Sc0.125 O1.9375) was investigated by first-principles calculations. The results of electronic property calculation show that the incorporation of scandium (Sc3+) in ZrO2 has reduced its bandgap due to the formation of scandium 3d states in the conduction band. The analysis of optical properties shows that scandium doping in ZrO2 improves the real ε1 and imaginary dielectric functions ε2, extinction coefficient (k), refractive index (n), reflectivity (R), and absorption coefficient (α) properties thereby enhancing its photocatalytic and optical activities. The heat capacities of ZrO2 and Sc-ZrO2 calculated at temperature of 800 K are 74.27 and 77.98 J/K/Nmol, respectively. The result of thermodynamic properties calculations show that doping scandium in zirconia enhances its entropy and specific heat capacity thereby allowing it to be thermodynamically stable for a wide range of electronic applications.

The effect of scandium doping on the structural, electronic, optical, and thermodynamic properties of scandium‐doped zirconia (Zr 0.875 Sc 0.125 O 1.9375 ) was investigated by first‐principles calculations. The results of electronic property calculation show that the incorporation of scandium (Sc 3+ ) in ZrO 2 has reduced its bandgap due to the formation of scandium 3d states in the conduction band. The analysis of optical properties shows that scandium doping in ZrO 2 improves the real ( ε 1 ) and imaginary dielectric functions ( ε 2 ), extinction coefficient ( k ), refractive index ( n ), reflectivity ( R ), and absorption coefficient ( α ) properties thereby enhancing its photocatalytic and optical activities. The heat capacities of ZrO 2 and Sc‐ZrO 2 calculated at temperature of 800 K are 74.27 and 77.98 J/K/Nmol, respectively. The result of thermodynamic properties calculations show that doping scandium in zirconia enhances its entropy and specific heat capacity thereby allowing it to be thermodynamically stable for a wide range of electronic applications.

Background Diarrhea is a serious health problem in children under the age of five that is both preventable and treatable. In low-income countries like Ethiopia, children under the age five years frequently experience diarrhea. However, the burden and associated factors of these diarrheal diseases are understudied in Eastern Ethiopia, Thus, this study aimed to determine the factors associated with the prevalence of diarrheal diseases in Eastern Ethiopia from September 1–30, 2022. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on the total of 602 children aged 6 to 59 months in Oda Bultum district in eastern Ethiopia. A multistage sampling method was used. Three kebeles were selected from nine kebeles by the lottery method. Data was entered into Epi data 4.0.2 and exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. Descriptive analysis was used for frequency, mean, and standard deviations. In addition, bivariable, and multivariable Poisson regression model was used to identify predictors of diarrhea along with a 95% confidence interval. Finally, statistical significance was declared at a p-value of 0.05. Result A total of 602 children were included in this study. The prevalence of diarrhea 7.4% (47/602), 95% CI; 5.5–9.7%) among the children. Factors such as being unvaccinated for any vaccine (AOR = 10.82, 95%CI; 4.58–25.48) and born from a mother who had medium level of empowerment (AOR = 0.34, 95%CI; 0.11–0.88) in the household had statistically significant association with diarrhea among the children compared to their counterparts. Conclusion The study found that nearly one out of thirteen children aged 6 to 59 months had any form of diarrheal diseases in Oda Bultum District, Eastern Ethiopia. In addition, the study revealed that children who were vaccinated for their age developed diarrhea less likely compared to those who did not receive any form of vaccine for their age. Moreover, children with mothers who had a medium level of empowerment were less likely to get diarrhea than children with mothers who had a low level of empowerment.

Objective This quality improvement project is aimed to increase pain free hospital implementation from 21.7 to 80% at Wallaga University Referral Hospital (WURH) from January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023. Methods Hospital based interventional study was conducted at WURH. The Plan- Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle was used to test change ideas. A fishbone diagram and a driver diagram were used to identify root causes and address them. Major interventions included training of health professionals, initiation of pain as fifth vital sign, policy and protocol development, and conducting regular supportive supervision. Results Upon completion of the project, overall pain-free hospital implementation increased from baseline 21.7–88.7%. Implementation of pain as 5th the vital sign was increased from 15.4 to 92.3%. Regular audits of pain assessment and management increased from 27.3 to 81.8%. Two standardized treatment protocols or chronic and acute pains were developed from baseline zero. A focal person for Pain-free hospital implementation was assigned. More than 85% of healthcare providers were trained in pain assessment and management. Conclusion Compliance with pain-free hospital implementations was significantly improved in the study area. This was achieved through the application of multidimensional change ideas related to health professionals, standardized guidelines and protocols, supplies, and leadership. Therefore, we recommend providing regular technical updates & conducting a frequent clinical audit on pain management.

Rape is one of the sexual violence acts against women globally. Adolescent girls are vulnerable to this event and experience more severe and long-standing adverse effects. Thus, this study aimed to examine major depressive symptoms and associated factors and the level of sexually transmitted infection among female adolescents evaluated for rape cases at Jimma Medical Center. Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent girls assessed for rape cases in Jimma Medical Center. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and entered into Epi Data version 3.1 then exported to SPSS version 21.0 for analysis. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were carried out. A total of 174 raped adolescent females took part in the study. Of the total participants, 155 (89.1%) of these individuals had major depressive symptoms (95 CI %, 84.5-93.7%), while 85 (48.9%) of them had an STI (95% CI, 41.1-56.9%). From logistic regression, place of residence (AOR 14.65, 95%, (p=0.002)), attending school currently (AOR 9.01, 95%, p=0.004), raped by hitting (AOR 17.67, 95%, p<0.001) and unwanted pregnancy (AOR 14.68, 95%, p=0.001) were the variables associated with major depression. This study indicates that adolescents were suffering from several encumbrances like major depressive symptoms, sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy. It also indicated that place of residence, school attending, and unwanted pregnancy had an association with major depressive symptoms. Therefore, the need for a comprehensive approach while treating this vulnerable group is highly recommended.