Background: Bacterial pathogens continued to be the major causes of foodborne gastroenteritis in humans and remained public health important pathogens across the globe. As regards, housemaids operating inside a kitchen could be the source of infection and may transmit disease-inflicting pathogens through infected hands. Profiles of bacteria isolates and their antimicrobial resistance patterns among housemaids employed in dwellings in Ethiopia; particularly in the study area haven’t been underexplored yet. Objective: A study aimed to assess the profiles of bacteria isolates and antimicrobial resistance patterns among housemaids working in communal living residences in Jimma City, Ethiopia. Methods: Laboratory-based cross-sectional study design was employed among 230 housemaids from April-June 2022. Hand swabs samples from the dominant hand of the study participants were collected under sterile conditions for the segregation of commensal microbes following standard operating procedures. Then in the laboratory, the swabs were inoculated aseptically using streak-plating methods on mannitol salt agar, MacConkey agar, Salmonella-shigella agar, and Eosin Methylene Blue Agar. Then inoculated samples were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours for bacterial isolation. In addition, a set of biochemical tests was applied to examine bacterial species. Data was entered into Epidata version 3.1. All statistics were performed using SPSS® statistics version 26. Descriptive analyses were summarized using frequency and percentage. Results: The response rate of respondents was 97.8%. The prevalence of bacterial contaminants in the hands of housemaids who tested positive was 72% (95%CI: 66.2-77.8%). The isolated bacterial were Staphylococcus aureus (31.8%), Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (0.9%), Escherichia coli (21.5%), Salmonella (1.3%), Shigella (6.7%), Klebsiella species (23.3%) and Proteus species (14.8%). The isolation rate of bacteria was significantly associated with the removal watch, ring, and bracelet during hand washing. Most isolated bacteria were sensitive to Chloramphenicol while the majority of them were resistant to Tetracycline, Gentamycin, Vancomycin, and Ceftazidime. Conclusions: Hands of housemaids are important potential sources of disease-causing bacterial pathogens that would result in the potential risk of foodborne diseases. Most isolated bacteria were resistant to tested antimicrobial drugs. Everybody responsible should work practice of good hand hygiene.

Background: Intestinal parasite infections are major global public health problems. The majority of persons infected reside in Sub-Saharan Africa with a high burden of the disease. Very few studies have been done in Ethiopia and none exist at Wachemo University, Southern Ethiopia. The present study aimed to investigate intestinal parasitic infections and associated factors among Wachemo University students’ cafeteria food handlers. Methods: Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 212 randomly selected food handlers from 15, February to 05, March/2019. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data and standard laboratory procedures were employed to collect stool and finger specimens and analyzed them for intestinal parasites. Data were edited, cleaned, entered, using EPI data 3.3.1, and analyzed by statistical package for social science version 20. A stepwise logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratios and 95% confidence interval for the different factors. Results: Of 212, the majority 63.7% were females and 48.1% attended grades 9 to 10. Of the stool and fingernail specimens examined, 29.7 % and 5.6% were positive for different parasites, respectively. The most prevalent parasite is Ascaris lumbricoides (12.7%) followed by Hookworm (6.6%), Giardia lamblia (4.7%), Taenia saginata (2.4%), and mixed infection (3.3%). Although several factors showed significant association with intestinal parasitosis, attending secondary level education 94.5% (AOR: 0.055; 95% CI [0.007-0.413]), fingernail status (AOR: 0.330; 95% CI [0.113-0.965]), and hand washing with soap and water after toilet use (AOR: 0.332; 95% CI [0.125-0.884]) were the significant variables in multivariable analysis ( P < .05). Conclusions: The results demonstrated intestinal parasite infections as a public health issue in Ethiopia that requires attention. Appropriate intervention programs like encouraging food handlers to practice good hygiene, routine hand washing at key times, and nail trimming should be implemented.

In this study, iron doped ZnO nanomaterial was synthesized by co-precipitation method and its surface properties were studied using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The characterization results confirmed that the synthesized Fe-ZnO nanoparticle exhibits good crystalline nature possessing wurtzite hexagonal phase and good optical properties. The synthesized Fe-ZnO nanomaterial modified glassy carbon electrode (Fe-ZnO/GCE) was used for the electrochemical determination of endrin pesticide in fruit juice samples. Compared to the bare glassy carbon electrode, the modified electrode, Fe-ZnO/GCE, showed remarkable electro-catalytic properties and an enhanced sensitivity for the determination of target analyte. It also exhibited a good linear response to endrin in the concentration ranging from 0.1 to 70 µM. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method were 0.019 µM and 0.065 µM, respectively. Moreover, Fe-ZnO/GCE was selective for endrin analysis. It has also showed long-term stability, good repeatability and within-lab reproducibility. The practical utility of Fe-ZnO/GCE was applied for the determination of endrin in mango and orange juice samples. The relative recoveries of the real samples were ranged from 91.4-106.5%. The developed method could be used as good candidate for monitoring of endrin pesticides in food samples and other similar matrixes.

Sustainable development goal seven aims to provide access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030, but its progress and energy stacking conditions have not been evaluated. This study aims to assess the urban household energy profile and link its state to sustainable development goals. This study employs a cross‐sectional study design on 265 households selected by systematic random sampling from a town called Jimma in Ethiopia and collects the data using interview‐based semi‐structured questionnaires. The study obtains information from all the selected households. The results show that more than 80% of the households have a grid electricity connection, but more than 85% of the households regularly use firewood and charcoal for cooking. On average, households use about 1236 kg of firewood and 630 kg of charcoal per year. Most households report power interruption, inability to afford electricity costs, and personal preferences for relying on biomass energy for cooking. Over 98% of the households use electricity for lighting, but few use it for appliances. This shows an inherent challenge attributed to the cooking energy services provided by biomass energy sources despite the accessibility of electricity. This shows the significant impacts of biomass energy stacking which connection to electricity alone cannot solve.

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