BackgroundGroup B streptococcus (GBS) has been implicated in adverse pregnancy outcomes. GBS recto-vaginal colonization rates significantly vary among different communities and geographic locations. Limited data is available on the prevalence and effects of GBS recto-vaginal colonization among pregnant mothers in developing countries like Ethiopia.ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of GBS recto-vaginal colonization among near term pregnant mothers and the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates.MethodsA cross sectional descriptive study was conducted on pregnant mothers at gestational age of 35–37 weeks attending Ante Natal Clinics at Ghandi Memorial (GMH) and Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) in Addis Ababa. Samples from lower genital tract and rectum were collected and cultured for GBS on CHROM agar Strep B.ResultsTwenty two of the 300 pregnant mothers (7.2%) studied were found to have positive GBS recto-vaginal culture. Twelve isolates (55%) were sensitive to penicillin while 20 (91%) were sensitive to ampicilline. All isolates except one were sensitive to Erythromycin.ConclusionThe study showed recto-vaginal GBS colonization among near term pregnant mothers is reasonably high in our community calling for the need to screen mothers near term and provide appropriate antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent potential adverse maternal and neonatal outcome.

Background Human papillomavirus is recognized as a major cause of cervical cancer. It is estimated that annually, 7,095 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,732 die from the disease in Ethiopia. Understanding that the screening practice is very poor and the coverage is very limited, this disease burden is one of the major public health agendas in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the burden and genotype distribution of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR HPV) infection and cervical cytology abnormalities at selected obstetrics and gynecology clinics of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was employed from June to October 2015. Cervical samples were collected from 366 participants based on inclusion criteria. HR HPV DNA was analyzed using an Abbott Real-Time PCR system, and cervical cytology screening was performed using the conventional Pap-smear technique. Data were entered in to Epi-data version 13 and analyzed using STATA version 11. Results The overall HR HPV burden and abnormal cytology were 13.7 and 13.1%, respectively. The majority of HR HPV types were other than types 16 and 18. Of the total abnormal cytology results, 81.3% were low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs), and 12.5 and 6.3% were atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs), respectively. Residence, occupation, and HIV serostatus were significantly associated with HR HPV infection. Among the variables, age, age at first marriage, and education were the only ones associated with cervical cytology abnormalities. The overall agreement between the real-time PCR and Pap cytology screening methods was 78.96% (Kappa value of 0.12, 95% CI (0.00–0.243), P = 0.01). Conclusions Non-16/18 HR HPV genotypes represented the largest proportion of HR HPV infections in this study. Women without cervical cytology abnormalities had the highest frequency of HR HPV infection. A large-scale community-based cohort study shall be designed and implemented to further identifying the persistent genotype and assessing the changes in cervical epithelial cell lines. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-019-5953-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.