Complementary feeding hygiene practice and associated factors among mothers with children aged 6–24 months in tegedie district, Northwest Ethiopia: Community-based cross-sectional study

IntroductionHygienic practice of mothers during complementary feeding is crucial in the protection of vulnerable infants and children aged 6–24 months from childhood communicable diseases like diarrheal and malnutrition. However, sufficient evidence on hygienic practice of mothers during complementary feeding and its associated factors is limited.ObjectiveTo determine the levels of complementary feeding hygiene practice and its associated factors among mothers of children aged 6–24 months in Tegedie district, northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 17 to April 17, 2021, among 576 mothers with children aged 6-24 months in Tegedie district northwest Ethiopia. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and it entered into Epi-data version 4.6, and exported to SPSS version 20.0 for data cleaning and further analysis. Bivariate and multivariable binary logistic regressions analysis were employed to identify predictors of complementary feeding hygiene practice with p-value < 0.25 enter into the multivariable logistic regression model. Then variables with p-value ≤ 0.05 in multivariable logistic regressions were considered as statistically significance.ResultsThe prevalence of hygienic practice during complementary feeding of their children aged 6-24 months was, 33.6% with 95% CI: (29.7%, 37.6%) of them had good practice. Living in urban areas [AOR= 7.02, 95% CI: (4.14, 11.88)], presence of hand washing facility near the latrine [AOR= 3.02, 95% CI: (1.18, 7.70)], presence of separate area to store raw and cooked foods [AOR= 5.87, 95% CI: (2.84, 12.13)] and presence of three-compartment dishwashing system [AOR= 5.70, 95% CI: (3.41, 9.54)] were significant predictors of hygienic complementary feeding practice.Conclusion and recommendationThe prevalence of good hygienic practice during complementary feeding among mothers was still low; the district health office and health extension workers should work to improve the maternal hygienic practices during complementary feeding practice.

Effect of diet, exercise and other contributing factors on menstruation

Background: The poor knowledge and understanding of menstruation may lead to unsafe hygienic practice that in turn increases the risk of reproductive and genito-urinary tract infections and leads to overall poor quality of life. The food we consume have a complementary relationship with the pattern of menstrual cycle and so is the involvement of exercises. The study focused on understanding the relationship between effect of diet, exercise and other contributing factors on menstruation.Methods: The study was a prospective observational study done with a sample size of 650 subjects of 9 to 18 age group in whom menstruation already occurred who were recruited from five different schools in regions of Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha.Results: It was found that lack of exercise before and during menstruation has caused increased cramps and mood instability in girls. As well as skipping of breakfast and consumption of junk food was found to elevate pain, eventually affecting daily activities.Conclusions: The importance of counselling to all girls from the age of 9 was found to be necessary through the study and thereby adequate changes for a healthy future. Lack of exercise, unhealthy food habits and delayed identification of menstrual problems can have a negative impact on health.

Awareness and management of menstrual hygiene practices in adolescent girls

Background: Menstruation is a natural part of the female reproductive cycle in which periodic discharge of blood from the uterus exits through the vagina. Menstruation is also surrounded with social taboos and supernatural beliefs. The poor knowledge and understanding of menstruation may lead to unsafe hygienic practice that in turn increases the risk of reproductive and genito-urinary tract infections and leads to overall poor quality of life. The aim of this study was to compare the awareness about menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls along with objectives of evaluation of menstrual hygiene practices.Methods: The study was a prospective observational study done with a sample size of 650 subjects of 9 to 18 age group in whom menstruation already occurred who were recruited from five different schools in regions of Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha. The study was conducted in 3 phases, where initially a pre designed well-structured questionnaire was provided to assess the attitude, awareness and practices.Results: The results obtained described that the subjects had better knowledge and positive attitude regarding menstruation and hygiene practices when compared to subjects from other regions of India but still they lacked some adequate and updated information on menstruation.Conclusions: This study paved a way for discussion on menstruation to the adolescent girls, providing them the information they lacked and a better guidance.

Prevalence, Genetic Diversity and Factors Associated with Distribution of Listeria monocytogenes and Other Listeria spp. in Cattle Farms in Latvia

Listeria spp. is a diverse genus of Gram-positive bacteria commonly present in the environment while L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are well known human and ruminant pathogens. The aim of the present study was to reveal the prevalence and genetic diversity of L. monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. and to identify the factors related to the abundance of pathogen at cattle farms. A total of 521 animal and environmental samples from 27 meat and dairy cattle farms were investigated and the genetic diversity of L. monocytogenes isolates was studied with WGS. The prevalence of Listeria was 58.9%, while of L. monocytogenes it was −11%. The highest prevalence of L. monocytogenes was found in the environment—soil samples near to manure storage (93%), mixed feed from the feeding trough and hay (29%), water samples from farms drinking trough (28%) and cattle feces (28%). Clonal complexes (CC) of CC37 (30%), CC11 (20%) and CC18 (17%) (all IIa serogroup) were predominant L. monocytogenes clones. CC18, CC37 and CC8 were isolated from case farms and CC37, CC11 and CC18 from farms without listeriosis history. Only one hypervirulent CC4 (1%) was isolated from the case farm. Sequence types (STs) were not associated with the isolation source, except for ST7, which was significantly associated with soil (p < 0.05). The contamination of soil, feeding tables and troughs with L. monocytogenes was associated with an increased prevalence of L. monocytogenes at farms. Our study indicates the importance of hygienic practice in the prevention of the dissemination of L. monocytogenes in the cattle farm environment.

Oral Hygiene Practices and Associated Factors among Patients Visiting Private Dental Clinics at Hawassa City, Southern Ethiopia, 2018

Introduction. A poor oral hygiene is associated with dental caries, gingivitis, periodontal diseases, bad breath, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and chronic kidney diseases. Moreover, a poor oral health has psychosocial impacts that diminish a quality of life and restrict activities in school, at work, and home. African regions carry a major burden of oral health problems. However, very few studies highlighted about oral hygiene practices and there is also paucity of information in Ethiopia. This study was, therefore, designed to identify an oral hygiene practice on patients/clients visiting dental clinics in Hawassa City, Southern Ethiopia. Objective. To assess oral hygiene practices and associated factors among patients/clients visiting private dental clinics, Hawassa City, Southern Ethiopia. Methods. Institution-based cross-sectional study was employed among patients/clients attending private clinics in Hawassa City from January 27 to February 8, 2018. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select 403 study participants. Data were entered into EpiData 3.1, cleaned, and analyzed by SPSS 20. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between independent and outcome variables. Crude and adjusted OR with 95% confidence level was estimated, and variables having P value ≤0.05 in multivariable analysis were considered as significant. Results. 393 study participants participated making a response rate of 97.52%. A median age of respondents was 27 ± 10.9. About 153 (39.9%) of the study participants had poor oral hygienic practice. Male (AOR: 1.63, 95% CI: (1.053, 2.523)), rural residence (AOR: 3.79, 95% CI: (1.724, 8.317)), and poor knowledge about oral hygiene (AOR: 2.38, 95% CI: (1.402, 4.024)) were independently associated to poor oral hygienic practice. Conclusion. More than one-third of the study participants had poor oral hygienic practice. Providing health information regarding oral hygiene for the patients/clients in the facilities with a special focus from rural areas is recommended.

A Review on Mycotoxins and Microfungi in Spices in the Light of the Last Five Years

Spices are imported worldwide mainly from developing countries with tropical and/or subtropical climate. Local conditions, such as high temperature, heavy rainfall, and humidity, promote fungal growth leading to increased occurrence of mycotoxins in spices. Moreover, the lack of good agricultural practice (GAP), good manufacturing practice (GMP), and good hygienic practice (GHP) in developing countries are of great concern. This review summarizes recent data from a total of 56 original papers dealing with mycotoxins and microfungi in various spices in the last five years. A total of 38 kinds of spices, 17 mycotoxins, and 14 microfungi are discussed in the review. Worldwide, spices are rather overlooked in terms of mycotoxin regulations, which usually only cover aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA). In this paper, an extensive attention is devoted to the limits on mycotoxins in spices in the context of the European Union (EU) as well as other countries. As proven in this review, the incidence of AFs and OTA, as well as other mycotoxins, is relatively high in many spices; thus, the preparation of new regulation limits is advisable.

Hygienic Practice during Complementary Feeding and Associated Factors among Mothers of Children Aged 6–24 Months in Bahir Dar Zuria District, Northwest Ethiopia, 2019

Introduction. Breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of infants, and therefore food is needed. Microbiologically contaminated food is particularly harmful for children <2 years of age. There is scanty of information on hygienic practice and associated factors during complementary feeding among mothers of children aged 6 to 24 months in the country, particularly in the study setting. Objective. The study was aimed to assess hygienic practices and associated factors during complementary feeding among children aged 6 to 24 months in Bahir Dar Zuria District, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross sectional study was conducted from March 20 to April 20, 2019. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected using the structured interviewer administered questionnaire. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify the factors associated with hygienic practice during complementary feeding. Data were entered by using Epi Data version 3.1, and then it was exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis, and at 95% CI, p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result. Among 604 respondents, 235 (38.9%) of study participants had good hygienic practice during complementary feeding. Access to media (AOR: 8.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.8–20.3), private latrine ownership (AOR: 4.11, 95% CI: 1.90–8.49), presence of hand washing facility at doorstep (AOR: 6.75 95% CI: 3.16–14.41), and residence of the study participants (AOR: 85.42, 95% CI: 1.94–15.2) were significantly associated with good hygienic practice of mothers during complementary feeding. Conclusion. Majority of mothers had poor hygienic practice during complementary feeding. Attitude of mothers, access to media, household private latrine ownership, presence of handwashing facility, and residence of the study participants were significantly associated with hygiene practice of mothers during complementary feeding. The health sector should train mothers on good hygiene practices during complementary feeding.