Esayas Alemayehu

Incidence of Severe Malaria Syndromes and Status of Immune Responses among Khat Chewer Malaria Patients in Ethiopia.

Although more emphasis has been given to the genetic and environmental factors that determine host vulnerability to malaria, other factors that might have a crucial role in burdening the disease have not been evaluated yet. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the effect of khat chewing on the incidence of severe malaria syndromes and immune responses during malaria infection in an area where the two problems co-exist. Clinical, physical, demographic, hematological, biochemical and immunological data were collected from Plasmodium falciparum mono-infected malaria patients (age ≥ 10 years) seeking medication in Halaba Kulito and Jimma Health Centers. In addition, incidences of severe malaria symptoms were assessed. The data were analyzed using SPSS (version 20) software. Prevalence of current khat chewer malaria patients was 57.38% (95%CI =53-61.56%). Malaria symptoms such as hyperpyrexia, prostration and hyperparasitemia were significantly lower (P<0.05) among khat chewer malaria patients. However, relative risk to jaundice and renal failure were significantly higher (P<0.05) in khat chewers than in non-khat chewer malaria patients. Longer duration of khat use was positively associated with incidence of anemia. IgM and IgG antibody titers were significantly higher (P<0.05) among khat chewer malaria patients than among malaria positive non-chewers. Although levels of IgG subclasses in malaria patients did not show significant differences (P>0.05), IgG3 antibody was significantly higher (P<0.001) among khat chewer malaria patients. Moreover, IgM, IgG, IgG1and IgG3 antibodies had significant negative association (P<0.001) with parasite burden and clinical manifestations of severe malaria symptoms, but not with severe anemia and hypoglycemia. Additionally, a significant increment (P<0.05) in CD4+ T-lymphocyte population was observed among khat users. Khat might be an important risk factor for incidence of some severe malaria complications. Nevertheless, it can enhance induction of humoral immune response and CD4+ T-lymphocyte population during malaria infection. This calls for further investigation on the effect of khat on parasite or antigen-specifc protective malaria immunity and analysis of cytokines released upon malaria infection among khat chewers.

Efficiency of locally available filter media on fluoride and phosphate removal for household water treatment system

Since conventional water treatment is not affordable in developing countries, looking for locally available and alternative treatment options is mandatory. Removal of fluoride and phosphate can be achieved by designing appropriate filtration media from different materials such as sand, calcined clay, pumice, scoria and bone char. This study was designed to determine the removal efficiency of these locally available filter media with respect to detention time and pH. The filtration apparatuses (tank) were filled separately with stone, gravel with grain size 0.6–4.75 mm and 40 cm deep, sand (ES = 0.15–0.35 mm and UC = 1.5–3), calcined clay, pumice, scoria and bone char with grain size 0.25–0.5 inch. Water samples were prepared using glass bottles with fluoride concentrations of 6 and 8 mg/l and phosphate concentration of 4 mg/l. Laboratory analysis was carried out before and after filtration to determine the removal efficiency of each medium. It was found that the highest removal of fluoride was achieved by bone char (89.65%), followed by pumice (82.4%). However, bone char has rather increased the concentration of phosphate by 63.8%. Sand was the most efficient media to remove phosphate, managing to remove by 70%. Therefore, it is an attractive option to use these locally available, environmental friendly and appropriate technologies for efficient removal of both fluorine and phosphate at the household or community water treatment level.

Appropriate household water treatment methods in Ethiopia: household use and associated factors based on 2005, 2011, and 2016 EDHS data

BackgroundDiarrheal disease attributable to water and sanitation can be prevented using point-of-use water treatment. In Ethiopia, a small number of households treat water at point-of-use with appropriate methods. However, evidence on factors associated with household use of these treatment methods is scarce. Therefore, this study is intended to explore the household use of appropriate point-of-use water treatment and associated factors in Ethiopia.MethodsThe data of 2005, 2011, and 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health surveys were used for analysis. Households reportedly treating water with bleach, boiling, filtration, and solar disinfection in each survey are considered as treating with appropriate treatment methods. Household water treatment with these treatment methods and factors associated was assessed using bivariate and multivariable regression. In addition, a region level difference in the treatment use was assessed by using multilevel modeling.ResultsThe number of households that reported treating water with appropriate water treatment methods was 3.0%, 8.2%, and 6.5% respectively in 2005, 2011, and 2016. Household heads with higher education had 5.99 (95% CI = 3.48, 10.33), 3.61 (95% CI = 2.56, 5.07), and 3.43 (95% CI = 2.19, 6.37) times higher odds of using the treatment methods respectively in 2005, 2011, and 2016 compared to household heads who had no education. There was a significantly high number of households that used appropriate water treatment methods in 2011 (AOR = 2.78, 95% CI = 2.16, 3.57) and 2016 (AOR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.64, 3.89) compared to 2005 data. In pooled data analysis, the reported use of the treatment methods is associated with household head education, residency, drinking water sources, and owning radio and television. From a multilevel modeling, within-region variation is higher than between-region variations in the use of treatment methods in each survey.ConclusionsBelow 10% of households reportedly treating water at point-of-use in each survey attributable to different factors. Designing intervention strategies for wide-scale use of treatment methods at the country level is fundamental.

Identifying riparian vegetation as indicator of stream water quality in the Gilgel Gibe catchment, southwestern Ethiopia

Riparian land use has substantial effects on aquatic habitats and biological communities resulting in a dramatic loss of natural riparian vegetation and affecting the physicochemical properties of streams. The study investigates the relationships among indigenous riparian plants and water quality in the upper Gilgel Gibe catchment in southwestern Ethiopia. The floristic composition of the riparian vegetation and the water quality of streams were studied at selected sites, ranging from first to third order streams. We quantified relationships between disturbance level and both physicochemical characters and traits of riparian plant species during two sampling periods (December 2013 and April 2014). Data were collected from a priori designated three land use types (forest, plantation and agriculture) and ranked along nine streams. Ranks were based on surrounding land use characteristics and deforestation categories. We used analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Tukeys post-hoc test to conduct pair-wise comparisons among different land use types. Both species richness and diversity values of forest sites were significantly (p<0.001) higher than agricultural sites. Whereas, stream water quality deterioration indicator gradient such as total suspended solid (TSS), water turbidity, and orthophosphate were significantly (p<0.001) higher in agricultural sites than forest sites. We identified species such as Croton macrostachyus, Ficus sur, Maytenus arbutifolia, and Millettia ferruginea as indicator species of water quality (p<0.05). Our study is the first assessment of the role of indigenous plant species as indicator of highland stream water quality in the tropical area. The study contributes to the on-going discussion on the assessment and monitoring of stream ecosystems and for following stream restoration projects in tropical regions around the globe.

In vivo effect of chronic nicotine exposure on outcome of Plasmodium berghei ANKA malaria

Tsige Ketema, Ketema Bacha, Moti Yohannes, Esayas Alemayehu, Argaw Ambelu Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Technology, College of Health Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia Department of Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia Department of Microbiology and Veterinary Public Health, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia Asian Pac J Trop Dis 2017; 7(4): 211-219