Estimates of Stillbirths, Neonatal Mortality, and Medically Vulnerable Live Births in Amhara, Ethiopia.

Importance: Data on birth outcomes and early mortality are scarce, especially in settings with limited resources. Total births, both stillbirths and live births, are often not counted, yet such data are critical to allocate resources and target interventions to improve survival.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, and medically vulnerable phenotypes, such as preterm births, small-for-gestational-age (SGA), large-for-gestational-age (LGA), and low-birth-weight (LBW) births, in a setting where these key indicators remain largely unknown.

Birhan maternal and child health cohort: a study protocol.

Introduction: Reliable estimates on maternal and child morbidity and mortality are essential for health programmes and policies. Data are needed in populations, which have the highest burden of disease but also have the least evidence and research, to design and evaluate health interventions to prevent illnesses and deaths that occur worldwide each year.

Methods And Analysis: The Birhan Maternal and Child Health cohort is an open prospective pregnancy and birth cohort nested within the Birhan Health and Demographic Surveillance System.

Recent trends of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Alert Hospital, Addis Ababa.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic to many parts of the world and has re-emerged in a number of endemic countries in recent years. Environmental changes, immune status of the host and treatment failure are the three most important risk factors associated with the re-emerging and spread of Leishmaniasis. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) ranges from localized, self-healing type to the disfiguring mucocutaneous and diffuse cutaneous type.

The pattern of bacterial isolates and drug sensitivities of infected ulcers in patients with leprosy in ALERT, Kuyera and Gambo hospitals, Ethiopia.

Introduction: Leprosy remains a public health problem, mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Leprosy has many complications that include leprosy reactions, development of plantar and hand ulcerations, lagophthalomus and corneal anesthesia.

Objectives: In Ethiopia there is scarce information on the pattern of bacterial isolates and drug sensitivities of infected ulcers in patients with leprosy.

Peripheral nerves and nerve function in highland Ethiopians.

Introduction: In Ethiopia, where leprosy has been one of the commonest causes of peripheral nerve enlargement and dysfunction, nerve functions are assessed by a battery of "physical" tests. Voluntary Muscle Test (VMT) and Graded Sensory Skin Test (STG) are standard tests used for persons with leprosy. Normal values for nerve function tests (NFT) in Highland Ethiopians have not previously been determined, but have been taken from standard textbooks.

Health profile of highland Ethiopians in a small town in the south-western part of the country.

Background: In conjunction with an investigation of nerve function tests of highland Ethiopians in an area of low endemicity of leprosy for 25-30 years, a comprehensive health survey was performed.

Methods: We assessed 236 subjects, 118 females and 118 males, 177 students and 59 adults (Others) aged 10-75 years from Chencha woreda. We used a detailed medical, personal and social history, anthropomorphic measurements and complete physical examination.

Facial burning in women with leprosy, physiological or pathological?

Introduction: Eight peri-menopausal women, five with borderline lepromatous leprosy and three with borderline tuberculoid leprosy, self-referred complaining of 'burning of the face. Four were seen in 1993, three having been treated as 'menopausal'without betterment and four were seen in 1997.

Methods: Eight peri-menopausal women who self-referred because of facial burning', and seven women who self-referred for other problems had a careful review of clinical records and were assessed fully for leprosy including graded sensory skin testing of the face, and standard nerve function tests.

Thermal threshold tester, a useful tool for detection of very early nerve damage--determination of normal values in a healthy population unexposed to Mycobacterium leprae and its application in the A9 study.

Introduction: In Ethiopia, a large percentage of leprosy patients present with established nerve damage. Present techniques for measuring nerve function impairment show no abnormality until 30% of nerve axons are destroyed. Nerve damage in leprosy occurs first in small diameter unmyelinated fibres, then in small myelinated fibres, and much later in large myelinated fibres.

Growth and development of children of mothers with leprosy and healthy controls.

Introduction: In the pre-sulphone and early sulphone years children of leprous parents had been followed in a few prospective studies to observe the development of leprosy. No studies were made of the growth and development of these children.

Methods: A prospective, open-ended, cohort study began in 1975 with follow-up of both mothers and their children until 2003.

Leishmania aethiopica: strain identification and characterization of superoxide dismutase-B genes.

This study was performed to characterize the genes that code for superoxide dismutase (SOD) in Leishmania aethiopica. It involved three main steps: specimen collection and parasite isolation, species identification, and molecular characterization of the SOD genes. Out of 20 skin slit specimens cultured and processed from suspected cutaneous leishmaniasis patients enrolled in the study, five (25%) were found to be positive for motile promastigotes.

Isolation of Leishmania tropica from an Ethiopian cutaneous leishmaniasis patient.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the Old World is caused mainly by three species of Leishmania: L. major, L. tropica and L.