Prevalence and determinants of active trachoma among preschool-aged children in Dembia District,Northwest Ethiopia

Background:Trachoma is an infectious eye disease caused by Chlamydia trachomatis,which is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide.In areas where trachoma is endemic,active trachoma is common among preschool-aged children,with varying magnitude.This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of active trachoma and associated risk factors among preschool-aged children in Dembia District,northwest Ethiopia.Methods:A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among preschool-aged children of northwest Ethiopia.Multistage systematic random sampling was used to select 695 subjects.Trained clinical optometrists subjected each child to an ocular examination and assessed the presence of active trachoma.Face to face interview using pretested and structured questionnaire were conducted to collect data on possible risk factors.Trachoma cases were graded following a World Health Organization simplified grading scheme.All statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS software version 20.Adjusted odds ratios(aORs)with 95%confidence intervals(CIs)were used to identify factors associated with active trachoma.Results:Of the 681 preschool-aged children studied,18%(95%CI:15.4%-21.1%)had a prevalence of active trachoma.Children who had clean faces(absence of nasal and ocular discharges)had a lower chance of having active trachoma[aOR=0.55,95%CI:0.37-0.82].The odds of having active trachoma decreased with an increase in the distance to a water point[aOR=0.51,95%CI:0.33-0.78].Similarly,no or poor utilization of liquid waste disposal in the child’s household was associated with an increased chance of having active trachoma[aOR=3.83,95%CI:1.26-11.61].Conclusion:The prevalence of active trachoma in these preschool-aged children was found to be high and needs special interventions that focus on educating families about proper face washing,liquid waste disposal,and improving safe water supply near the households.

Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths infections among preschool and school-age children in Ethiopia:a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:There is a lack of comprehensive national data on prevalence,geographical distribution of different species,and temporal trends in soil-helminthiasis(STHs).Therefore,this study aimed to provide a summary and location of the available data on STHs infection among preschool and school-age children in Ethiopia.Methods:The search was carried out in Medline via PubMed,Scopus,Science Direct,Web of Science,and Google Scholar on data published between 1997 to February 2020 for studies describing the rate of STHs infection among preschool and school-age in Ethiopian.We followed the Patient,Intervention,Comparison,and Outcome(PICO)approach to identify the studies.Meta-regression was performed to understand the trends and to summarize the prevalence using the“metaprop”command using STATA software version 14.0 Results:A total of 29,311 of the 61,690 children examined during the period under review were infected with one or more species of intestinal parasites yielding an overall prevalence of 48%(95%CI:43-53%).The overall pooled estimate of STHs was 33%(95%CI:28-38%).The prevalence was 44%(95%CI:31-58%)in SNNPR,34%(95%CI:28-41%)in Amhara region,31%(95%CI:19-43%)in Oromia region and 10%(95%CI:7-12%)in Tigray region.Soil-transmitted helminths infection rate has been decreasing from 44%(95%CI:30-57%)pre-Mass Drug Administration(MDA)era(1997-2012)to 30%(95%CI:25-34%)post-MDA(2013-2020),although statistically not significant(p=0.45).A lumbricoides was the predominant species with a prevalence of 17%.Conclusion:Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region,Amhara,and Oromia regions carry the highest-burden and are categorized to Moderate Risk Zones(MRZ)and therefore,requiring MDA once annually with Albendazole or Mebendazole.The prevalence of STHs decreased after MDA compared to before MDA,but the decline was not statistically significant.A.lumbricoides was the predominant species of STHs among preschool and school-age children in Ethiopia.The high prevalence of STHs observed in this review,underscores the need for better control and prevention strategies in Ethiopia.