PurposeHospital-acquired infection (HAI) is a major safety issue affecting the quality of care of hundreds of millions of patients every year, in both developed and developing countries, including Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, there is no comprehensive research that presents the whole picture of HAIs in hospitals. The objective of this study was to examine the nature and extent of HAIs in Ethiopia.MethodsA repeated cross-sectional study was conducted in two teaching hospitals. All eligible inpatients admitted for at least 48 hours on the day of the survey were included. The survey was conducted in dry and wet seasons of Ethiopia, that is, in March to April and July 2015. Physicians and nurses collected the data according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition of HAIs. Coded and cleaned data were transferred to SPSS 21 and STATA 13 for analysis. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to examine the prevalence of HAIs and relationship between explanatory and outcome variables.ResultsA total of 908 patients were included in this survey, the median age of the patients was 27 years (interquartile range: 16–40 years). A total of 650 (71.6%) patients received antimicrobials during the survey. There were 135 patients with HAI, with a mean prevalence of 14.9% (95% confidence interval 12.7–17.1). Culture results showed that Klebsiella spp. (22.44%) and Staphylococcus aureus (20.4%) were the most commonly isolated HAI-causing pathogens in these hospitals. The association of patient age and hospital type with the occurrence of HAI was statistically significant.ConclusionIt was observed that the prevalence of HAI was high in the teaching hospitals. Surgical site infections and pneumonia were the most common types of HAIs. Hospital management should give more attention to promoting infection prevention practice for better control of HAIs in teaching hospitals.

BackgroundHospital-acquired infection affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. It is a major global issue for patient safety. Understanding the potential risk factors is important to appreciate the local context. A matched case control study design, which is the first of its kind in the study region, was undertaken to identify risk factors in teaching hospitals of Amhara regional state, Ethiopia.MethodA matched case control study design matched with age and hospital type was used. The study was conducted in University of Gondar and Felege-Hiwot medical teaching hospital. Cases were patients who fulfilled the criteria based on CDC definition of hospital-acquired infection and controls were patients admitted to the hospital that stayed for more than 48 hours in the ward in the study period, but who did not develop infection. For one case, four controls were selected. Of 545 patients, 109 were cases and 436 were controls. Conditional logistic regression using STATA 13 was used for data analysis.ResultThe median length of stay for cases and controls was 7 and 8 days, respectively. Patients admitted in wards with the presence of medical waste container in the room had 82% less chance of developing hospital-acquired infection (AOR 0.18; 95% CI, 0.03–0.98). The odds of developing hospital-acquired infection among immune deficient patients were 2.34 times higher than their counterparts (95% CI; 1.17–4.69). Patients received antimicrobials, central vascular catheter and surgery since admission had 8.63, 6.91 and 2.35 higher odds of developing hospital-acquired infection, respectively.ConclusionHealth providers and mangers should consider the provision and availability of healthcare materials and facilities in all of the ward rooms, follow appropriate safe medical procedures for use of external devices on patients, and give attention to the immunocompromised patients for the prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections.

Access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is critical for preventing the spread of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) including leprosy. WASH-related transmission factors remain largely unexplored in the leprosy transmission cycle. The aim of this project is to better understand WASH exposures among leprosy cases through a case-control study in North Gondar, Ethiopia. We hypothesized that leprosy cases were more likely to have inadequate WASH access and were more likely to have concurrent schistosomiasis, as schistosomiasis immune consequences may facilitate leprosy infection. Forty leprosy cases (forty-one controls) were enrolled, tested for Schistosomamansoni, administered a demographic and WASH survey, and assigned a WASH index score. WASH factors significantly associated with leprosy on adjusted analyses included open defecation (aOR = 19.9, 95% CI 2.2, 176.3) and lack of access to soap (aOR = 7.3, 95% CI 1.1, 49.9). S. mansoni was detected in 26% of participants and in stratified analysis those with leprosy had a 3.6 (95% CI (0.8, 15.9)) greater odds of schistosomiasis in districts bordering the lake, compared to 0.33 lower odds of schistosomiasis in districts not bordering the lake (95% CI (0.09, 1.2)). Overall, results suggest that leprosy transmission may be related to WASH adequacy and access as well as to schistosomiasis co-infection.

Healthcare workers have good perception towards infection prevention, but there has been a poor practice towards it. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore barriers to practice of infection prevention and control practice in teaching hospitals in Amhara region. A phenomenological approach used to explore the lived experience of healthcare workers and management staffs towards infection prevention practice and control. The data was collected from ten in-depth interviews and 23 focus group discussion participants, by face to face interview using open ended interview performed in safe and quiet places. Data was managed using OpenCode software version 4.03 and contents were analyzed thematically. Totally ten different barriers were identified, such as availability of facilities, shortage of material supply, lack of maintenance of facilities and equipment, high patient flow, experience, emergency situation, healthcare worker behaviour and healthcare worker’s information about infection prevention, low awareness of patients and visitors and overflow of families and visitors to the hospital. For effective infection prevention practice implementation, barriers should be considered via identifying specific organizational, healthcare worker, patients and visitors as targets.

Background: The burden of bloodstream infection and antibiotic resistance in intensive care unit (ICU) is high when compared with other settings. The data on the changing antibiotic resistance trends are important for infection control activities. There is no sufficient data in the intensive care units of this hospital. Objective: The aims of this study were to assess the magnitude and risk factors of bacterial pathogens and their antibiotic resistance patterns of blood culture isolates from ICU patients at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February to May 2018.Blood specimen were collected from 384 patients and inoculated on appropriate culture media. Identification of bacterial pathogens and antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed using bacteriological standard methods. Presence of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase (ESBL) enzymes was confirmed by combined disk diffusion method. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Result: Of the total 384 study participants, 96(25%) were culture positive. Majority of bacteria isolates 67(69.8%) were Gram negative. The commonly isolated bacterial species were K.pneumoniae 18(18.8%), Coagulase negative Staphylococcus 13(13.5%), K.ozanae 10(10.4%), K.rhinose 8(8.3%) and E.coli, E.cloacae, Citrobacter species, S.aureus each accounts 7(7.3%). Gram negative isolates were found to be resistant to ampicillin 66(98%), amoxicillin/clavulanate 64(95%) and ceftriaxone 52(77.6%). However, amikacin 64(95.5%), meropenem 58(87%) and Ciprofloxacin 56(83.6%) were relatively effective drugs. Gram positive isolates were found to be resistant to Penicillin 28(96.5%), amoxicillin/clavulanate27 (93.1%) and erythromycin 26(90%). They were sensitive to ciprofloxacin 22(79%) and clindamycin 24(83%). Methicillin resistant S.aureus accounted 4(57.1%) and ESBL enzyme producing Gram negative isolates accounted 41(78.8%). Conclusion: Klebsiella species were the predominant bacterial isolates in ICU settings. Antibiotic resistance due to ESBL enzyme production is alarmingly high. This result might be a reflection of inappropriate use of antibiotics and poor infection prevention control practice in these settings. Key words: Antibiotic resistance, ICU, ESBL, Gondar Ethiopia.