PLoS Negl Trop Dis
August 2025
Background: Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus and Coxiella burnetii infections are significant public health concerns in East Africa, causing recurring outbreaks. However, the prevalence of these pathogens among febrile patients in Ethiopia remains unknown. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of these infections among febrile patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cryptosporidium infection causes diarrhea that may lead to malnutrition, growth faltering, cognitive impairment, and mortality if left untreated. Cryptosporidiosis continues to be a significant public health issue in low-income countries, including Ethiopia. However, its epidemiology among children under five years of age remains understudied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis
June 2025
Cryptosporidiosis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoea during early childhood in low-income countries, including Ethiopia. Human infections can be anthroponotically or zoonotically transmitted. This study assesses the diversity and frequency of species and genotypes circulating in children and young livestock in eastern Ethiopia, with the aim of tracing the sources of infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobial ecosystems are fundamental to planetary and human health, yet human activities are accelerating their loss. Disruptions to microbial communities undermine environmental stability, biodiversity, and health. Urgent action is required to preserve microbial diversity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrob Resist Infect Control
December 2024
Background: The emergence and spread of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli pose significant challenges for treatment of infections globally. This challenge is exacerbated in sub-Saharan African countries, where the prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli is high.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, and Rift Valley fever virus are two under-researched zoonotic pathogens in Ethiopia. Potential outbreaks of these diseases, in light of the high dependency of nomadic pastoralists on their livestock, poses a risk to both human and animal health in addition to risking the pastoralists livelihoods. Our study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and associated risk factors for Q fever and Rift Valley fever in pastoral communities in the Afar region of north-eastern Ethiopia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPastoralists and national parks are key stakeholders in the management and conservation of natural and protected habitats. In Ethiopia, Afar pastoralists migrate seasonally with their livestock in search for grazing and water areas. Livestock are also a source of infectious diseases that can spread into wildlife populations when pastoralists encroach into unfenced national parks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: At the end of 2022, there were over 108 million forcibly displaced people globally, including refugees, asylum seekers (AS) and internally displaced people (IDPs). Forced migration increases the risk of infectious disease transmission, and zoonotic pathogens account for 61% of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Zoonoses create a high burden of disease and have the potential to cause large-scale outbreaks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is an urgent need for interventions in addressing the rapid and disproportionate impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and climate change (CC) on low- and middle-income countries. Within this context, it is important to understand indigenous knowledge in rural communities, which are highly affected. This study examined knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) regarding AMR and CC in the Adadle district, Somali region, Ethiopia, utilizing mixed methods, including 362 surveys and 12 focus group discussions among rural communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of healthcare providers (HCPs) regarding the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) challenges of Eritrean refugee women in Ethiopia.
Design: A qualitative exploratory design with the key informant approach.
Setting And Participants: The study was conducted in the Afar regional state, North East, Ethiopia.
Background: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating chronic disease of significant public health and clinical importance. It affects multiple systems in the body and has neuro-immunological characteristics. The disease is characterized by a prominent symptom called post-exertional malaise (PEM), as well as abnormalities in the immune-inflammatory pathways, mitochondrial dysfunctions and disturbances in neuroendocrine pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is life-threatening infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused a global pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 has been widely transmitted throughout Ethiopia, with over 501,060 cases confirmed and 7574 deaths until November 2023. This study assessed for the first time the seroprevalence SARS-CoV-2 in the general population of the Somali Region during the COVID-19 pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe composition and function of the intestinal microbiota are major determinants of human health and are strongly influenced by diet, antibiotic treatment, lifestyle and geography. Nevertheless, we currently have only little data on microbiomes of non-westernized communities. We assess the stool microbiota composition in 59 children aged 2-5 years from the Adadle district of Ethiopia, Somali Regional State.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pain is a major public health problem in the Global South, particularly among marginalized communities, such as Somali pastoralists. Yet, the topic of chronic pain has not yet been comprehensively studied in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in the Somali region of Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aims to explore the perceptions and notions of chronic pain among Somali pastoralists in this context.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntegrated approaches to health such as One Health are needed to tackle complex problems that cannot be solved by a single discipline or country, such as climate change, biodiversity loss or antimicrobial resistance. The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), one of the international pioneers in One Health with its African partners, the Institute of Global Health at the University of Geneva, which has also adopted One Health, and other activities in Berne and Zurich, make Switzerland a hub for One Health research and development worldwide. This article summarizes the development of the One Health approach in Switzerland, and uses examples to demonstrate its added value.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPain is one of the most neglected areas of care in sub-Saharan Africa. Access to adequate pain management is important, especially in marginalised populations, such as pastoralists. Little is known about health professionals' perceptions of pain-related care for Somali pastoralists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
July 2023
Background: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) can cause illness, morbidity, and occasional mortality in children. Agro-pastoralist and pastoralist children in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia (ESRS) are especially at risk for IPIs, as access to safe water, sanitation, and health services is lacking. Minimal data on the prevalence of IPIs and associated risk factors exists in this region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a disease with impact on dairy productivity, as well as having the potential for zoonotic transmission. Understanding the genetic diversity of the disease agent is important for identifying its routes of transmission. Here we investigated the level of genetic diversity of isolates and assessed the zoonotic potential in risk groups of people working in bTB-infected dairy farms in central Ethiopia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multi-factorial systemic chronic debilitating disease of poorly understood etiology and limited systematic evidence. The questionnaire and interview-based survey included 169 ME/CFS patients from the Swiss ME/CFS association. The majority of patients were females (72.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex chronic and debilitating multifactorial disease. Adequate patient care is challenged by poor knowledge among health care professionals and the historical misconception that the disease is psychological in nature. This study assessed the health-related challenges faced by patients with ME/CFS in Switzerland and examined whether they receive adequate health care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The emergence and rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a potentially lethal disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), is causing public health issues around the world. In resource-constrained nations, rapid Abbott SARS-CoV-2 antigen test kits are critical for addressing diagnostic gaps in health institutions and community screening. However, there is no evidence or proof of diagnostic performance in Ethiopia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Med (Lausanne)
October 2022
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in low-income countries like Ethiopia. However, because of the limited laboratory infrastructure there is a shortage of comprehensive data on the genotypes of clinical isolates of () complex (MTBC) in peripheral regions of Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to characterize MTBC isolates in the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia.
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