Background: Ethiopia is within the meningitis belt and experiences local meningitis epidemics alm... more Background: Ethiopia is within the meningitis belt and experiences local meningitis epidemics almost yearly. Most of the causes of meningococcal meningitis outbreak in the country is due to serogroup A. On 01 May 2013 Hababu Guduru District of Oromia region reported a suspected meningitis outbreak to the Federal Public Health Emergency Management Center. Investigated was launched to identify the etiological agent, risk factors and to implement control measures. Methods: A suspected case was defined as any person with a history of sudden onset of fever and one of the following signs neck stiffness, altered consciousness or other meningeal signs. A descriptive study was done than followed by an unmatched case-control study from 01-28 May 2013. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 57 cases and 57 controls. Controls were any person in the village without sign or symptoms of meningitis. Results: The descriptive study reviled a total of 244 suspected meningitis cases a...
Introduction; Rubella is an acute contagious infection caused by the Rubella virus. It presents f... more Introduction; Rubella is an acute contagious infection caused by the Rubella virus. It presents fever with maculopapular rash similar to Measles. Rubella is usually mild in children. When woman contracts rubella early in pregnancy, serious consequences may occur including birth defects known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Little is known about rubella epidemiology and the incidence of CRS in Africa. At present Rubella vaccine is not included in any vaccination program in Ethiopia. In November 2013, Miyo Woreda of Borena zone, Oromia - Ethiopia reported suspected Rubella cases and we investigated to confirm the etiology, identify potential risk factors and suggest control measures. Methods: We defined a confirmed Rubella case as an illness characterized by acute onset of generalized maculopapular rash, fever, arthralgia, arthritis, lymphadenopathy, conjunctivitis with positive serologic test for rubella immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody in the blood specimen. We collected ten bl...
IntroductionDespite unrelenting efforts to contain its spread, COVID-19 is still causing unpreced... more IntroductionDespite unrelenting efforts to contain its spread, COVID-19 is still causing unprecedented global crises. Ethiopia reported its first case on 13 March 2020 but has an accelerated case load and geographical distribution recently. In this article, we described the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Oromia Region, the largest and most populous region in Ethiopia, during the early months of the outbreak.MethodsWe analysed data from the COVID-19 surveillance database of the Oromia Regional Health Bureau. We included all reverse transcription-PCR-confirmed cases reported from the region between 13 March and 13 September 2020.ResultsCOVID-19 was confirmed in 8955 (5.5%) of 164 206 tested individuals. The test positivity rate increased from an average of 1.0% in the first 3 months to 6.3% in August and September. About 70% (6230) of the cases were men; the mean age was 30.0 years (SD=13.3), and 90.5% were <50 years of age. Only 64 (0.7%) of the cases had symptoms at diagnosis. Cough...
Background: Despite unrelenting global efforts to contain its spread, Coronavirus disease 2019 (C... more Background: Despite unrelenting global efforts to contain its spread, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still causing unprecedented crises globally with no proven vaccine or cure so far. Ethiopia reported its first case on 13 March 2020 but has an accelerated increase in caseload and geographic distribution since recently. We now describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Oromia Regional State, the largest and most populous region in Ethiopia, during the early months of the outbreak.Methods: We analyzed data from the COVID-19 surveillance database of the Oromia Regional Health Bureau. We included RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases diagnosed at healthcare facilities across the region during the period of 13 March to 13 September 2020.Findings: COVID-19 was confirmed in 8955 (5·5%) of 164206 individuals tested during the surveillance period. The test positivity rate increased from an average of 1·0% in the first three months to 6·3% in August and September. About 70% (6230) of the cases were male;the mean age was 30·0 years (SD=13·3) and 87·8% were between 10 and 49 years of age. Only 64 (0·7%) of the cases had symptoms at diagnosis. Among symptomatic cases, cough was the most common, reported in 48 (75·0%) and fever the least common, reported in 11 (17·2%) of cases. Moreover, only 6 (0·1%) cases presented with severe disease. Overall, 4346 (48·5%) have recovered from the virus and a total of 52 deaths were reported with a case fatality rate of 1·2%. However, the reported case fatality rate should be interpreted cautiously since in 44 (84·6%) of those reported as COVID-19 death, the virus was detected from a dead body.Interpretation: The COVID-19 infection rate in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia is surging six months after the onset of the pandemic in the country. So far, the proportion of symptomatic cases and severe diseases besides the fatality rate are lower than reports from most other developing and developed countries. This epidemiologic profile might have prevented the anticipated health system crisis to date, but it can hinder efforts to contain the outbreak.Funding: NoneDeclaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.Ethics Approval Statement: The authors have obtained authorization to use the surveillance data from Oromia Regional Health Bureau Public Health Emergency Management and Health Research Directorate
Background: Ethiopia is within the meningitis belt and experiences local meningitis epidemics alm... more Background: Ethiopia is within the meningitis belt and experiences local meningitis epidemics almost yearly. Most of the causes of meningococcal meningitis outbreak in the country is due to serogroup A. On 01 May 2013 Hababu Guduru District of Oromia region reported a suspected meningitis outbreak to the Federal Public Health Emergency Management Center. Investigated was launched to identify the etiological agent, risk factors and to implement control measures. Methods: A suspected case was defined as any person with a history of sudden onset of fever and one of the following signs neck stiffness, altered consciousness or other meningeal signs. A descriptive study was done than followed by an unmatched case-control study from 01-28 May 2013. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 57 cases and 57 controls. Controls were any person in the village without sign or symptoms of meningitis. Results: The descriptive study reviled a total of 244 suspected meningitis cases a...
Introduction; Rubella is an acute contagious infection caused by the Rubella virus. It presents f... more Introduction; Rubella is an acute contagious infection caused by the Rubella virus. It presents fever with maculopapular rash similar to Measles. Rubella is usually mild in children. When woman contracts rubella early in pregnancy, serious consequences may occur including birth defects known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Little is known about rubella epidemiology and the incidence of CRS in Africa. At present Rubella vaccine is not included in any vaccination program in Ethiopia. In November 2013, Miyo Woreda of Borena zone, Oromia - Ethiopia reported suspected Rubella cases and we investigated to confirm the etiology, identify potential risk factors and suggest control measures. Methods: We defined a confirmed Rubella case as an illness characterized by acute onset of generalized maculopapular rash, fever, arthralgia, arthritis, lymphadenopathy, conjunctivitis with positive serologic test for rubella immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody in the blood specimen. We collected ten bl...
IntroductionDespite unrelenting efforts to contain its spread, COVID-19 is still causing unpreced... more IntroductionDespite unrelenting efforts to contain its spread, COVID-19 is still causing unprecedented global crises. Ethiopia reported its first case on 13 March 2020 but has an accelerated case load and geographical distribution recently. In this article, we described the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Oromia Region, the largest and most populous region in Ethiopia, during the early months of the outbreak.MethodsWe analysed data from the COVID-19 surveillance database of the Oromia Regional Health Bureau. We included all reverse transcription-PCR-confirmed cases reported from the region between 13 March and 13 September 2020.ResultsCOVID-19 was confirmed in 8955 (5.5%) of 164 206 tested individuals. The test positivity rate increased from an average of 1.0% in the first 3 months to 6.3% in August and September. About 70% (6230) of the cases were men; the mean age was 30.0 years (SD=13.3), and 90.5% were <50 years of age. Only 64 (0.7%) of the cases had symptoms at diagnosis. Cough...
Background: Despite unrelenting global efforts to contain its spread, Coronavirus disease 2019 (C... more Background: Despite unrelenting global efforts to contain its spread, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still causing unprecedented crises globally with no proven vaccine or cure so far. Ethiopia reported its first case on 13 March 2020 but has an accelerated increase in caseload and geographic distribution since recently. We now describe the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Oromia Regional State, the largest and most populous region in Ethiopia, during the early months of the outbreak.Methods: We analyzed data from the COVID-19 surveillance database of the Oromia Regional Health Bureau. We included RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases diagnosed at healthcare facilities across the region during the period of 13 March to 13 September 2020.Findings: COVID-19 was confirmed in 8955 (5·5%) of 164206 individuals tested during the surveillance period. The test positivity rate increased from an average of 1·0% in the first three months to 6·3% in August and September. About 70% (6230) of the cases were male;the mean age was 30·0 years (SD=13·3) and 87·8% were between 10 and 49 years of age. Only 64 (0·7%) of the cases had symptoms at diagnosis. Among symptomatic cases, cough was the most common, reported in 48 (75·0%) and fever the least common, reported in 11 (17·2%) of cases. Moreover, only 6 (0·1%) cases presented with severe disease. Overall, 4346 (48·5%) have recovered from the virus and a total of 52 deaths were reported with a case fatality rate of 1·2%. However, the reported case fatality rate should be interpreted cautiously since in 44 (84·6%) of those reported as COVID-19 death, the virus was detected from a dead body.Interpretation: The COVID-19 infection rate in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia is surging six months after the onset of the pandemic in the country. So far, the proportion of symptomatic cases and severe diseases besides the fatality rate are lower than reports from most other developing and developed countries. This epidemiologic profile might have prevented the anticipated health system crisis to date, but it can hinder efforts to contain the outbreak.Funding: NoneDeclaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.Ethics Approval Statement: The authors have obtained authorization to use the surveillance data from Oromia Regional Health Bureau Public Health Emergency Management and Health Research Directorate
Uploads
Papers by Birhanu Kenate