Intestinal schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis are the major public health problems globally. Compared with any other age group, pre-school aged children and school-aged children are the most exposed. There are few studies showing the burden of intestinal schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis among pre-school aged children in Ethiopia. Hence, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of schistosoma mansoni and soil-transmitted helminths and associated risk factors among preschool aged children of Chuahit and surrounding Kebeles, Northwest Ethiopia. A community based cross sectional study was conducted from February 2 to March 27 2015. Four hundred one preschool-aged children were included in the study by using two stage cluster sampling technique. Pretested structured questionnaire was employed to collected data via face-to-face interview technique. A single stool specimen was collected, and a portion of the sample was processed by Kato Katz method. Of the total children, 141 (35.2 %) harbored one or more intestinal helminthes. Schistosoma mansoni was found in 45 (11.2 %) of preschool age children. Ascaris lumbricoides was the predominant isolate, 77 (19.2 %) followed by S. mansoni, 45 (11.2 %). The least parasites isolated were Tania species, 2 (0.5 %). After adjusting for other variables, being mothers who did not have the habit of washing hands after toilet (AOR = 7.3, 95%CI: 2.97–17.95), being occupationally housewife mothers (AOR = 8.9, 95%CI: 2.27–25.4), using protected spring water as a main family source of water (AOR = 3.9, 95%CI: 1.2–12.3) and child habit of not wearing shoe (AOR = 1.91, 95%CI: 1.01–3.64) were significantly associated with high prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthiasis among preschool-age children in Chuahit. The current study showed that relatively higher level of STH and S. mansoni among preschool-aged children in Chuahit. This finding calls for a need of public health education, promotion of women education and provision of safe water to reduce the burden of soil-transmitted intestinal helminthiasis and schistosomiaisis.

Background. Malaria during pregnancy remains a major public health concern in tropical and subtropical countries. Moreover, malaria is increasingly associated with unwanted pregnancy outcomes such as an increased risk of abortion, stillbirth, premature delivery, and low-birthweight infants. Since pregnant women are most vulnerable to malaria, implementation of the appropriate prevention and control measures among this group is very important. Therefore, the current review was designed to assess the prevalence of both symptomatic and asymptomatic malaria among pregnant women in Ethiopia.Method. In this systematic review and meta-analysis we have followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. The databases used were PubMed, Google Scholar, HINARI, and Science Direct literature. Search terms used were “prevalence”, “malaria”, “pregnant women”, and “Ethiopia”. Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-MAStARI) was used for critical appraisal of studies. The meta-analysis was conducted using STATA 14 software. The pooled meta-logistic regression was computed to present the pooled prevalence with a 95% confidence interval (CI).Result. Among a total of 10207 studies, seven studies were included in this analysis. The estimated pooled prevalence of malaria among pregnant women in Ethiopia was 12.72% (95% CI: 7.45, 17.98). In subgroup analysis, the prevalence of malaria showed a significant variation between asymptomatic and symptomatic cases, which was 7.83% (95% CI: 2.23, 13.43) and 17.97% (95% CI: 7.31, 28.92), respectively.Conclusion. The current systematic review and meta-analysis showed that the pooled prevalence of malaria among pregnant women was found to be relatively higher compared with the general population. Therefore, the existing prevention and control measures should be strengthen.

Background. Schistosomiasis is among the most widespread chronic infections in the world. The magnitude of the infection may show variations across different areas with respect to time. Praziquantel is a first line drug of choice for the treatment of schistosomiasis although its low cure rate has been reported in different parts of the world. Thus, an assessment of the magnitude of the diseases, the efficacy of currently available drugs, and reinfection rates is crucial. Objective. Our principal objective is to determine the prevalence and reinfection rates of Schistosoma mansoni and to evaluate the efficacy of PZQ against Schistosoma mansoni. Method. A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted on Sanja Elementary Schools, Sanja town, northwest Ethiopia. Stool specimens were examined using Kato-Katz method. Schoolchildren who tested positive for intestinal schistosomiasis and fulfilled the inclusion criteria took part in the efficacy and reinfection study. Positive participants were treated with 40 mg/kg of Praziquantel. Cure and egg reduction rates were evaluated three weeks after treatment. The intensity of infection was determined following the WHO’s guideline. Moreover, the reinfection rate of those who were cured was evaluated after a six-month posttreatment period. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results. At baseline, 130 (35%) of the 372 schoolchildren were found infected with Schistosoma mansoni. Out of the 130 infected schoolchildren, 112 (86.2%) had moderate infection intensity. Among the S. mansoni positive schoolchildren, 80 were included as study participants for the evaluation of PZQ efficacy, based on the inclusion criteria established by WHO. The cure and egg reduction rates were found to be 90% (72/80) and 99.5%, respectively. Of the seventy-two schoolchildren considered for the determination of reinfection rate, after 6 months of posttreatment, 13.9% were found to be reinfected. Conclusion. The schoolchildren in the three primary schools of Sanja are at moderate risk of the infection caused by S. mansoni. Although the therapeutic potency of PZQ at 40 mg/kg was efficient against S. mansoni, a high rate of reinfection was reported in the study site, suggesting the need for integrated schistosomiasis control measures.

Background. Malaria is one of the most public health important and life-threatening parasitic infections caused by the protozoan parasite. Since children are immunologically naive to the malaria parasite, they are the main vulnerable groups. During malaria infection, they might have a complication of anemia, cerebral malaria, coma, respiratory distress, and a decrease in cognitive and behavioral improvement. Therefore, this review was aimed at determining the pooled prevalence of malaria among children in Ethiopia. Methods. The current systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted based on the guideline of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement guideline. Electronic bibliographic databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct were used for searching relevant literature. Besides, the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-MAStARI) was used for critical appraisal of studies. Using the STATA 14 software, the pooled Meta logistic regression was computed to present the pooled prevalence with a 95 confidence interval (CI). Result. The overall estimated pooled prevalence of malaria among children in Ethiopia was 9.07 (95 CI: 6.32, 11.82). Subgroup analysis based on malaria signs and symptoms showed that the pooled prevalence of malaria among asymptomatic and symptomatic children was 6.67 (95 CI: 0.36, 12.98) and 27.17 (95 CI: 18.59, 35.76), respectively. Conclusion. The findings revealed a high prevalence of malaria among children in Ethiopia. As a result, still there is a need of improving and rechecking the existing malaria prevention and control measures of the country.

Background. Malaria is a severe parasitic disease that can progress to complications of the nervous system, respiratory distress, renal problems, metabolic acidosis, and hypoglycemia which can result in death in case of delay or absence of appropriate treatment. Even though health service facilities and vector control strategy in the community are implemented as control measures, variations in temperature and rainfall that can affect the life cycle of parasite are among the factors of malaria prevalence over the years. The aim of this trend analysis was to assess the prevalence and the impact of malaria over the seasons and years. Methods. A cross-sectional study using retrospective information was conducted at two health centers Gorgora and Chuahit in Dembia district. The data was collected from lab logbooks routinely diagnosed and registered for seven years. A systematic sampling technique was used by taking patient results from lab logbooks during the first ten days of every month. Data were entered directly into the EpiData Entry software version 3.1 and analysed with the SPSS software version 20. Moreover, a chi-square test with a level of significance set at less than 5% was used. Results. From a total of 11,879 clients that participated, 56.6% were males. The overall malaria prevalence in the last seven years was 21.8%, and the dominant parasite was P. falciparum which accounted for 15.6% of the participants which was threefold higher than P. vivax in the seven-year trend. Moreover, at Gorgora health center, the prevalence which was 15% at the beginning of the study (2012) rose to 33.9% and 30.5% in 2017 and 2018, respectively. In the analysis of the seven years, October and September in which the prevalence of malaria was 32.6% and 27.2%, respectively, constituted the peak months. High malaria prevalence was observed in autumn (September to November) season, and the least was observed in spring (March to May) with the prevalence of (17.8%) (p≤0.001). Malaria attack showed significant variability among different age groups, and the age group 15-29 and males were the most affected (p≤0.001). Conclusion. In this study, malaria transmission remained high, which affected males more than females. Thus, appropriate season-based bed net use, health education, immediate patient treatment, and stagnant water drainage methods are needed to alleviate the problem.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by an obligatory intracellular coccidian protozoan organism, Toxoplasma gondii. It has a worldwide distribution, affecting one-third of the world population. Psychiatric patients have a higher risk of exposure to Toxoplasma gondii infection due to lack of good personal hygiene. The burden of toxoplasmosis among psychiatric patients in Ethiopia has not been studied extensively. Thus, the study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and associated risk factors among psychiatric outpatients at the University of Gondar Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital Psychiatric clinic. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital from February to May 2018. Venous blood was collected from 304 study participants (152 psychiatric outpatients and 152 control groups). Anti-toxoplasma antibodies were determined using Onsite Toxo immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) Rapid Test. A Chi-square test was carried out to compare the two groups and a logistic regression analysis was conducted to check the association between variables. P-value less than 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. The seroprevalence rate of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies was 33.6, and 16.4% in the psychiatric outpatients and the control samples, respectively. Anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM sero-prevalence was 1.3% in the former patients and 3.9% in the latter group. Owing cat (AOR = 2.862 95% CI = 1.445–5.666 P = 0.003), cleaning cat excreta (AOR = 2.966 95% CI = 1.317–2.652 P = 0.007), and farming (AOR = 2.058 95% CI = 1.018–4.163 P = 0.045) were found to be significantly associated with the sero-prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody. This study highlighted that, the prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies was significantly higher in psychiatric outpatients than the control group (p = 0.001). Cat ownership, cleaning of cat excreta, and farming were found to be statistically significantly associated with the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody.