Eyasu Tigabu Seyoum

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Senior lab expert at The Ohio State Global One Health

Respiratory viruses contribute to high morbidity and mortality in Africa. In 2020, the Ohio State University's Global One Health Initiative, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Public Health Institute and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, took action to strengthen Ethiopia's existing respiratory virus surveillance system through de...

Influenza is an acute viral respiratory tract disease in humans, often characterized by fever, headache, myalgia, prostration, coryza, sore throat and cough. Influenza infection is clinically indistinguishable from other respiratory viral diseases without laboratory confirmation. This study aims to estimate the proportion of confirmed influenza cas...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250896.].

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most devastating public health emergencies of international concern to have occurred in the past century. To ensure a safe, scalable, and sustainable response, it is imperative to understand the burden of disease, epidemiological trends, and responses to activities that have already been implemented. W...

SARS-CoV-2 co-infection with the influenza virus or human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may complicate its progress and clinical outcomes. However, data on the co-detection of SARS-CoV-2 with other respiratory viruses are limited in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa to inform evidence-based response and decision-making. We analyzed 4,989 patie...

Simple Summary Consuming unsafe food globally results in millions of illnesses and deaths. The safety of our food, from farm (pre-harvest) to table (postharvest), is paramount. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), ensuring food safety is challenging. This review explores current insights into pre-harvest critical issues related to food safe...

Objectives Acute respiratory infections because of respiratory syncytial viruses (RSVs) are among the major leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. RSV prevalence and its contributing factors among children aged under 5 years in Ethiopia are not well studied. To assess the prevalence and associated factors of RSV infection...

Background Staphylococcus aureus causes a wide range of infections from mild skin and soft tissue to severe life-threatening bacteremia. The pathogenicity of S. aureus infections is related to various bacterial surface components and extracellular proteins such as toxic-shock syndrome (TSS) toxin and Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL). In this study...

Staphylococcus aureus is among the top three causative agents of nosocomial infection in Ethiopia. The majority of studies in Ethiopia have focused on the epidemiology of S. aureus in hospital settings, with limited molecular genotyping results. Molecular characterization of S. aureus is essential for identification of strains, and contributes to t...

CTX-Ms are encoded by blaCTX-M genes and are widely distributed extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs). They are the most important antimicrobial resistance (AMR) mechanism to β-lactam antibiotics in the Enterobacteriaceae. However, the role of transmissible AMR plasmids in the dissemination of blaCTX-M genes has scarcely been studied in Africa whe...

Introduction: Acute Bacterial meningitis (ABM) is of childhood disease with a high fatality rate and sequelae. Globally, 1.2 million people are affected each year. Sub-Saharan African countries share the highest burden of the disease. Objective: To estimate the disease burden, and impact of vaccination & to identify circulating serotypes. Materials...

Background: Early detection of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) producing bacteria is critical for infection prevention and control. Numerous phenotypic approaches and automated systems have been developed for detecting ESBL bacteria. However, there is a scarcity of data in Ethiopia regarding the most reliable, simple, and cost-effective meth...

Background Multidrug resistant, extremely drug-resistant, pan-drug resistant, carbapenem-resistant, and carbapenemase-producing gram-negative bacteria are becoming more common in health care settings and are posing a growing threat to public health. Objective The study was aimed to detect and phenotypically characterize carbapenem no- susceptible...

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and became pandemic after emerging in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Several studies have been conducted to understand the key features of COVID-19 and its public health impact. However, the prognostic factors of COVID-19 are...

Background Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has been reported as the most commonly isolated highly contagious pathogen from human, animals and animal products. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a significant pathogen with zoonotic potential that could have devastating consequence for the health and well-being of ani...

Background Multi-drug resistant, extremely drug-resistant, pan-drug resistant, carbapenem-resistant, and carbapenemase-producing gram-negative bacteria are becoming more common in health care settings and are posing a growing threat to public health. Objective The study was aimed to determine the magnitude of multi-drug resistant, extremely drug-re...

The treatment of invasive Escherichia coli infections is a challenge because of the emergence and rapid spread of multidrug resistant strains. Particular problems are those strains that produce extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL’s). Although the global characterization of these enzymes is advanced, knowledge of their molecular basis among clinica...

Background Acinetobacter species have been a leading cause of nosocomial infections, causing significant morbidity and mortality over the entire world including Ethiopia. The most important features of A. baumannii are its ability to persist in the hospital environment and rapidly develop resistance to a wide variety of antibiotics. This study aime...

Background Proper specimen collection is central to improving patient care by ensuring optimal yield of diagnostic tests, guiding appropriate management, and targeting treatment. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and implementation of a training-of-trainers educational program designed to improve clinical culture specimen c...

Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable virus that continues to disrupt livelihoods, particularly those of low-income segments of society, around the world. In Ethiopia, more specifically in the capital city of Addis Ababa, a sudden increase in the number of confirmed positive cases in high-risk groups of the community h...

Background: Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae are very commonly reported all over the world. They are known to cause a huge challenge in the treatment and control of bacterial infectious diseases in many health care facilities. These genes not only confer resistance to oximino-cephalosporins and aztreonum but also, they...

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasingly critical global public health challenge. An initial step in prevention is the understanding of resistance patterns with accurate surveillance. To improve accurate surveillance and good clinical care, we developed training materials to improve the appropriate collection of clinical cultur...

Background Coronavirus disease-19 is a highly transmittable virus that continues to disrupt livelihoods, particularly those of low-income segments of society, around the world. In Ethiopia, more specifically in the capital city of Addis Ababa, a sudden increase in the number of confirmed positive cases in high risk groups of the community has been...

Background Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococcus) is the etiologic agent for the sexually transmitted Infection gonorrhea, a disease with a significant global public health impact. The treatment regimen for gonorrhea has been changed frequently over the past few decades due to the organism’s propensity for developing antibiotic resistance. This study i...

Background Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae are prevalent worldwide and they are unique challenges for treatment and control of bacterial infectious diseases. ESBL genes not only confer resistance to oximino-cephalosporins and aztreonum but also, they are multidrug-resistant to other commonly available antimicro...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.4102/ajlm.v7i2.770.].

Antimicrobials have been playing an important role in preventing illness and death associated with infections due to bacteria. However, the emergence and spread of resistance by pathogens have decreased the effectiveness of the commonly prescribed antimicrobials. Intestinal Escherichia coli are among bacterial pathogens that are endowed with such r...

Background: Neisseria meningitidis casues a high burden of morbidity and mortality in the African meningitis belt region including Ethiopia. Identifying meningococcal serotypes circulating in a given region is mandatory for appropriate disease intervention via vaccine introduction. Objective: To investigate and confirm the causative agents of meni...

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of increased morbidity and mortality both in hospital and community setting and produces a wide spectrum of diseases, ranging from minor skin infections to fatal necrotizing pneumonia. Methods and Material: In this study, a combination of design was used. Demographical information and Kirby Ba...

Background: Blood stream infections are very common public health problem that are known to cause high case-fatality rates. Globally, approximately 200,000 cases of bacteraemia occur annually with mortality rates ranging from 20-50%. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of these infections can make the difference between life and death. Object...

Background: Urinary tract infection most commonly affects humans next to respiratory and gastro-intestinal infections. It is caused by various ranges of bacterial pathogens with varying patterns of antibiotic resistances. Objective: To determine the profile of bacterial pathogens causing Urinary tract infection (UTI) and their antibiotic resistance...

Back ground: Pneumococcus is a major public health challenges with high frequency of infection and serotype diversity. This study aims at serotyping, sequence typing and antimicrobial susceptibility profiling of pneumococcal isolates circulating in selected health facilities from Ethiopia Methods: A total of 228 CSF samples were collected from hos...

Background: Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococcus) is one of etiologic agent for sexually transmitted diseases with high global significant public health importance. The treatment regimens for gonorrhea have changed frequently over the past few decades due to the organism’s propensity for developing antibiotic resistance. This study was aimed to invest...

Background: The emergence and spread of Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) producing Enterobacteriaceae are serious and expanding public health problems globally. Rapid and accurate detection of these bacteria facilitates infection prevention efforts in healthcare facilities. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of agreement bet...

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a global threat. High levels of AMR to commonly used antibiotics have been reported in East Africa. A situation analysis of AMR in Ethiopia also indicated high resistance levels. To prevent and contain AMR, Ethiopia established a national surveillance network. Objectives: This article describes th...

Introduction: Staphylococcal food intoxication is dependent on the production of enterotoxins, the single most important virulence factors. Various studies conducted in Ethiopia have depicted the prevalence of S. aureus in bovine milk. However, there is no published data regarding the enterotoxin gene profile of S. aureus isolates in Ethiopia. The...

Introduction: Listeria monocytogenes is of major significance in human and veterinary medicine. Most human Listeria infections are foodborne and the association of contaminated milk and dairy produce consumption with human listeriosis is noteworthy. In Ethiopia, there is limited data regarding the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in raw bovine milk...

Assessment of risk factors associated with milk production systems is central to ensuring quality and safety of milk and milk products. This study was aimed at identifying possible risk factors in milk contamination in urban and peri-urban areas of the central high lands of Ethiopia. A total of 477 on-farm pooled milk (n = 433) and combined bulk mi...

Background: The presence of food-borne pathogens in milk is due to direct contact with contaminated sources in the dairy farm environment, excretion from the udder of an infected animal and contamination while processing the milk products. During the past decade, the Ethiopian dairy sector has been progressing at a very fast rate while little atten...

Background: Ethiopia has a large potential for dairy development and much focus has been placed on market demand and productivity. As the industry grows, it is imperative to focus on food safety and quality standards that will increase productivity and trade capacity and improve public health. One active approach being taken is the implementation o...

Introduction: Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum are implicated in many waterborne disease outbreaks in different parts of the world.Objective: This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of these two parasites among children below 14 years old that drink water from different sources.Methods: Single stool specimens were collected from...