Occurrence of the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella L.) and its parasitoids in Ethiopia: influence of geographical region and agronomic traits

Abstract:  Surveys were carried out in 2001 in brassica-producing areas of Ethiopia to determine the geographic distribution and severity of diamondback moth (DBM) and occurrence of indigenous parasitoids. Principal component analysis was used to analyse the importance of nine parameters – DBM density, parasitism by different parasitoid species ( Oomyzus sokolowskii , Diadegma spp., Apanteles sp. and overall parasitism), cropping systems, pesticide use, frequency of pesticide application and altitude. A total of 194 brassica fields in 13 different areas were visited. Principal component analysis showed that the first two of the nine principal components (largely DBM density and pesticide use) accounted for 70% of the variation in the data set. Higher DBM numbers were associated with pesticide usage and higher overall parasitism with intercropping. Eight parasitoid species were recorded of which three species were important both in distribution and level of parasitism. These include Oomyzus sokolowskii (Hym., Eulophidae), Diadegma spp. (Hym., Ichneumonidae) and Apanteles sp. (Hym., Braconidae). Overall parasitism ranged from 3.6% to 79.5% with big differences between areas. Apanteles sp. and Diadegma spp. were largely confined to the south-western part of Ethiopia where insecticide use is minimal. Oomyzus sokolowskii is mainly distributed in areas of the Rift Valley and northern Ethiopia with relatively heavy insecticide use. This study indicated a huge impact of repeated insecticide treatment and agronomic practices on DBM severity and its parasitoids.     

Prevalence and associated factors of non-exclusive breastfeeding of infants during the first six months in rural area of Sorro District,Southern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Background

Despite the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, a wide number of mothers practice non-exclusive breastfeeding in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to identify prevalence and factors associated with non-exclusive breastfeeding in rural area of Sorro District in Southern Ethiopia.

Methods

A community based cross-sectional study was undertaken. The study population consisted of all mothers with infants aged of 0–5 months living in the randomly selected kebeles (lowest administrative unit) in the rural area of Sorro District. The study was conducted on 602 mothers with infants selected by using systematic sampling method from 12 August to 23 August 2015. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to assess the association between the study variables and to control possible confounding.

Results

The prevalence of non-exclusive breastfeeding in infants under 6 months was 49.4 %. Being currently unmarried [AOR (95 % CI)?=?3.85 (1.44, 10.27)], index infant’s age being within 2–3 months [AOR (95 % CI)?=?3.63 (2.06, 6.36)] and 4–5 months [AOR (95 % CI) =10.29 (5.60, 18.92)] compared to infant age 0–1 month, initiation of breastfeeding after 1 h of birth [AOR (95 % CI)?=?2.11 (1.37, 3.24)], no antenatal care visit during their last pregnancy [AOR (95 % CI) =2.60 (1.64, 4.10)] and no postnatal care visit after delivery [AOR (95 % CI)?=?1.90 (1.19, 3.04)] were significantly associated with non-exclusive breastfeeding.

Conclusion

In this study a large proportion of mothers with infants under 6 months of age were practicing non-exclusive breastfeeding which is one of the major risks for infant and child morbidity and mortality. Taking measures on identified associated factors with non-exclusive breastfeeding was recommended to improve the status of exclusive breastfeeding in the study area.

     

‘If an Eye Is Washed Properly,It Means It Would See Clearly’: A Mixed Methods Study of Face Washing Knowledge,Attitudes, and Behaviors in Rural Ethiopia

BackgroundFace cleanliness is a core component of the SAFE (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, and Environmental improvements) strategy for trachoma control. Understanding knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to face washing may be helpful for designing effective interventions for improving facial cleanliness.MethodsIn April 2014, a mixed methods study including focus groups and a quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted in the East Gojjam zone of the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Participants were asked about face washing practices, motivations for face washing, use of soap (which may reduce bacterial load), and fly control strategies.ResultsOverall, both knowledge and reported practice of face washing was high. Participants reported they knew that washing their own face and their children’s faces daily was important for hygiene and infection control. Although participants reported high knowledge of the importance of soap for face washing, quantitative data revealed strong variations by community in the use of soap for face washing, ranging from 4.4% to 82.2% of households reporting using soap for face washing. Cost and forgetfulness were cited as barriers to the use of soap for face washing. Keeping flies from landing on children was a commonly cited motivator for regular face washing, as was trachoma prevention.ConclusionsInterventions aiming to improve facial cleanliness for trachoma prevention should focus on habit formation (to address forgetfulness) and address barriers to the use of soap, such as reducing cost. Interventions that focus solely on improving knowledge may not be effective for changing face-washing behaviors.     

Conserved Arginines of Bovine Adenovirus-3 33K Protein Are Important for Transportin-3 Mediated Transport and Virus Replication

The L6 region of bovine adenovirus (BAdV)-3 encodes a spliced protein designated 33K. The 33K specific sera detected five major proteins and three minor proteins in transfected or virus infected cells, which could arise by internal initiation of translation and alternative splicing. The 33K protein is predominantly localized to the nucleus of BAdV-3 infected cells. The 33K nuclear transport utilizes both classical importin-α/-β and importin-β dependent nuclear import pathways and preferentially binds to importin-α5 and transportin-3 receptors, respectively. Analysis of mutant 33K proteins demonstrated that amino acids 201–240 of the conserved C-terminus of 33K containing RS repeat are required for nuclear localization and, binding to both importin-α5 and transportin-3 receptors. Interestingly, the arginine residues of conserved RS repeat are required for binding to transportin-3 receptor but not to importin-α5 receptor. Moreover, mutation of arginines residues of RS repeat proved lethal for production of progeny virus. Our results suggest that arginines of RS repeat are required for efficient nuclear transport of 33K mediated by transportin-3, which appears to be essential for replication and production of infectious virion.     

Performance of local light microscopy and the ParaScreen Pan/Pf rapid diagnostic test to detect malaria in health centers in Northwest Ethiopia

Background

Diagnostic tests are recommended for suspected malaria cases before treatment, but comparative performance of microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) at rural health centers has rarely been studied compared to independent expert microscopy.

Methods

Participants (N = 1997) with presumptive malaria were recruited from ten health centers with a range of transmission intensities in Amhara Regional State, Northwest Ethiopia during October to December 2007. Microscopy and ParaScreen Pan/Pf® RDT were done immediately by health center technicians. Blood slides were re-examined later at a central laboratory by independent expert microscopists.

Results

Of 1,997 febrile patients, 475 (23.8%) were positive by expert microscopists, with 57.7% P.falciparum, 24.6% P.vivax and 17.7% mixed infections. Sensitivity of health center microscopists for any malaria species was >90% in five health centers (four of which had the highest prevalence), >70% in nine centers and 44% in one site with lowest prevalence. Specificity for health center microscopy was very good (>95%) in all centers. For ParaScreen RDT, sensitivity was ≥90% in three centers, ≥70% in six and <60% in four centers. Specificity was ≥90% in all centers except one where it was 85%.

Conclusions

Health center microscopists performed well in nine of the ten health centers; while for ParaScreen RDT they performed well in only six centers. Overall the accuracy of local microscopy exceeded that of RDT for all outcomes. This study supports the introduction of RDTs only if accompanied by appropriate training, frequent supervision and quality control at all levels. Deficiencies in RDT use at some health centers must be rectified before universal replacement of good routine microscopy with RDTs. Maintenance and strengthening of good quality microscopy remains a priority at health center level.     

Maize ZmALMT2 is a root anion transporter that mediates constitutive root malate efflux

Root efflux of organic acid anions underlies a major mechanism of plant aluminium (Al) tolerance on acid soils. This efflux is mediated by transporters of the Al-activated malate transporter (ALMT) or the multi-drug and toxin extrusion (MATE) families. ZmALMT2 was previously suggested to be involved in Al tolerance based on joint association-linkage mapping for maize Al tolerance. In the current study, we functionally characterized ZmALMT2 by heterologously expressing it in Xenopus laevis oocytes and transgenic Arabidopsis. In oocytes, ZmALMT2 mediated an Al-independent electrogenic transport product of organic and inorganic anion efflux. Ectopic overexpression of ZmALMT2 in an Al-hypersensitive Arabidopsis KO/KD line lacking the Al tolerance genes, AtALMT1 and AtMATE, resulted in Al-independent constitutive root malate efflux which partially restored the Al tolerance phenotype. The lack of correlation between ZmALMT2 expression and Al tolerance (e.g., expression not localized to the root tip, not up-regulated by Al, and higher in sensitive versus tolerance maize lines) also led us to question ZmALMT2's role in Al tolerance. The functional properties of the ZmALMT2 transporter presented here, along with the gene expression data, suggest that ZmALMT2 is not involved in maize Al tolerance but, rather, may play a role in mineral nutrient acquisition and transport.     

Depressive Symptoms and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as Determinants of Preference Weights for Attributes of Obstetric Care among Ethiopian Women

Background

Mental health, specifically mood/anxiety disorders, may be associated with value for health care attributes, but the association remains unclear. Examining the relation between mental health and attributes in a context where quality of care is low and exposure to suboptimal health conditions is increased, such as in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), may elucidate the association.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We assessed whether preference weights for obstetric care attributes varied by mental health among 1006 women from Jimma Zone, Ethiopia, using estimates obtained through a discrete choice experiment (DCE), a method used to elicit preferences. Facilities were described by several attributes including provider attitude and performance and drug/equipment availability. Mental health measures included depressive symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We used Bayesian models to estimate preference weights for attributes and linear models to investigate whether these weights were associated with mental health. We found that women with high depressive symptoms valued a positive provider attitude [β = −0.43 (95% CI: −0.66, −0.21)] and drug/equipment availability [β = −0.43 (95% CI: −0.78, −0.07)] less compared to women without high depressive symptoms. Similar results were obtained for PTSD. Upon adjusting for both conditions, value for drug/equipment availability was lower only among women with both conditions [β = −0.89 (95% CI −1.4, −0.42)].

Conclusions/Significance

We found that women with psychopathology had lower preference weights for positive provider attitude and drug/equipment availability. Further work investigating why value for obstetric care attributes might vary by psychopathology in SSA is needed.     

Assessment of Current Malaria Status in Light of the Ongoing Control Interventions,Socio-Demographic and Environmental Variables in Jiga Area,Northwest Ethiopia

Following substantial decline in malaria burden in Ethiopia, the country is planning to eliminate malaria in certain low transmission settings by 2020. To evaluate the attainability of this goal in-depth examination of malaria parasite carriage at community level is necessary. This study was, therefore, aimed at assessing the current situation of malaria in relation to ongoing control interventions in Jiga area, Jabi Tehnan District in northwest Ethiopia. A cross-sectional household (HH) survey was conducted in November-December 2013. Out of 2,574 HHs (11,815 people) in the entire Jabi Tehnan District, 392 (accommodating 1911 people) were randomly selected from three purposely selected villages. One randomly selected member from each selected HH was tested for malaria using rapid diagnostic test (mRDT). All participants tested for malaria (n = 392) were afebrile (axillary temperature <37.5°C). Eleven individuals (2.8%, 95% confidence interval (CI):1.2–4.4%) were found to be mRDT positive. Most HHs (95.9%, 95% CI: 93.5–97.5%) had at least 1 long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN). Insecticide residual spraying (IRS) coverage the last six months was 85.5% (95% CI: 82.0–88.9%). Malaria prevalence remains unexpectedly high despite high HH coverage of control interventions.