The findings of this study highlight the importance of food handlers in the transmission of pathogens to the customers (students and the general population). Screening of food handlers, training for food handling and hand hygiene practices, and regular monitoring of the food handling practices should be done in order to avoid diseases that can be acquired through improper food handling, like bacterial infections.

Introduction One of the top ten major public health problems in developing countries including Ethiopia is the intestinal parasitic infection. Most of the time, intestinal parasitic infections do not show clinical signs and symptoms and also have a number of potential carriers, such as food handlers, which makes it too difficult to eradicate and control. Objective The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and associated factors of intestinal parasitic infection among food handlers at prison, East and West Gojjam, Ethiopia, 2017. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study design was conducted at East and West Gojjam prison. A total of 416 study participants, with a response rate of 82.7%, were included in the study for both stool exam and questioner. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and the sample was collected and examined based on the standard parasitological procedure. Epi data Version 3.1 was used to enter data, and SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data. Results The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in the present study was 61.9%. The most prevalent parasite was A. lumbricoides (157 (45.6%)). Protozoan infection was higher than helminth infection. Multiple intestinal infections were identified; among study participants, 34.6% had double infection. The most significant associated factors of intestinal parasitic infections were fingernail status, residence, information about food contamination related to intestinal parasitic infection, income, and handwashing before having contact with food and after toilet with water only. Conclusions A high proportion of intestinal parasitic infection was detected among food handlers working at East and West Gojjam prison. Training must be given to the food handlers on personal hygienic conditions (finger trimming, handwashing after toilet and before having contact with food with water and soap, etc.).

Background Food handlers with untrimmed finger nails could contribute or serve as a vehicle for the transmission of food poisoning pathogens. Objectives This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of bacteria and intestinal parasites among food handlers and antibiotic susceptibility profile of the isolated bacteria in Debre Markos University, Ethiopia. Materials and Methods This laboratory-based cross-sectional study involved 220 food handlers working in food service establishments in Debre Markos University between 1st January 2015 to 31th June 2016. Subjects' finger nail specimens of both hands were examined microscopically for intestinal parasites. For bacterial isolation, samples were cultured and bacterial species were identified following standard laboratory procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed for all bacterial isolates by using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Results Of the total 220 subjects examined, 29.5% showed positive culture for different bacterial species from their fingernail contents. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus was the predominant bacteria species (12.3%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (5%), E. coli (2.7%), Klebsiella species (2.7%), Enterococcus species (1.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1.8%), Proteus species (1.4%), Citrobacter species (1.4%), and Serratia species (0.9%). None of the food handlers showed positive culture for Shigella and salmonella and parasites in respect of their finger nail specimens. Isolation of bacteria in finger nail has significant association with finger nail status (P=0.044) and inverse relation with service years (P=0.048). All Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species isolates were uniformly susceptible to vancomycin. Only one (9.1%) of Staphylococcus aureus isolates was resistant for methicillin. Conclusion To prevent the food poisoning pathogens, implementation and adherence to infection are the key practices, specially food handlers with long finger nail harbor food debris, microbial contaminations, and allergens.

Background. Antibiotic resistance is a global challenge in the public health sector and also a major challenge in Ethiopia. It is truly difficult to report bacterial antibiotic resistance pattern in Ethiopia due to the absence of a review which is done comprehensively. The aim of this systematic review was to provide an overview of the works of literature on the antibiotic resistance pattern of the specific bacterial isolates that can be obtained from different clinical samples in the context of Ethiopia. Materials and Methods. A web-based search using PubMed, Google Scholar, Hinari, Sci Hub, Scopus and the Directory of Open Access Journals was conducted from April to May 2018 for published studies without restriction in the year of publication. Works of literature potentially relevant to the study were identified by Boolean search technique using various keywords: Bacterial infection, antimicrobial resistance, antibiotic resistance, drug resistance, drug susceptibility, anti-bacterial resistance, Ethiopia. Study that perform susceptibility test from animal or healthy source using <10 isolates and methods other than prospective cross-sectional were excluded. Results. The database search delivered a total of 3459 studies. After amendment for duplicates and inclusion and exclusion criteria, 39 articles were found suitable for the systematic review. All studies were prospective cross-sectional in nature. The review encompasses 12 gram-positive and 15 gram-negative bacteria with their resistance pattern for around 12 antibiotics. It covers most of the regions which are found in Ethiopia. The resistance pattern of the isolates ranged from 0% up to 100%. The overall resistance of M. tuberculosis for antituberculosis drugs ranges from 0% up to 32.6%. The percentage of resistance increases among previously treated tuberculosis cases. Neisseria gonorrhea, S. typhimurium, S. Virchow, Group A Streptococci (GAS), and Group B Streptococci (GBS) were highly susceptible for most of the tested antibiotics. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus was highly resistant to most of the antibiotics with a slightly increased susceptibility to gentamycin. Conclusions. Total bacterial isolates obtained from a different source of sample and geographic areas were 28, including M. tuberculosis. Majority of the bacterial isolates were resistant to commonly used antibiotics. A continuous monitoring and studies on the multidrug-resistant bacterial isolates are important measures.

Background Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of a medically important Gram-positive bacteria, which can be harboured majorly in the nasal cavity. Risk of consequent infection in a person colonized with S. aureus as well as MRSA upsurges with time and remains insistently increased. Hence, the objective of this meta-analysis was to determine the prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA nasal colonization in Ethiopia at large. Methods PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, Hinari, Sci Hub, Scopus, and the Directory of Open Access Journals were searched and a total of 10 studies have been selected for meta-analysis. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used for the literature search strategy, selection of publications, data extraction, and the reporting of results for the review. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA version 11 software via random effects model. The pooled prevalence was presented in forest plots and figure with 95% CI. Results A total of ten studies with 2495 nasal swab samples were included in this meta-analysis, and the overall pooled estimated prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA nasal colonization in Ethiopia were 30.90% [95% CI 21.81–39.99%], 10.94% [95% CI 8.13–13.75%] respectively. Subgroup analysis was also noted in different regions of Ethiopia, henceforth Oromia region ranked first 21.28% [95% CI 8.22–34.35%], followed by Amhara region 6.78% [95% CI 3.02–10.54%], whereas relatively low magnitude of MRSA colonization was demonstrated from Tigray region 4.82% [95% CI 2.18–7.45%]. Conclusion The analysis showed that the overall prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA nasal colonization in Ethiopia were comparable with the global prevalence. But a huge variation between the regions, so the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia should design appropriate decolonization program that can address the specific regional groups as well as the national population.