Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2022 Nov 10;17(11):e0277348. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277348. eCollection 2022.
Over 90% of Ethiopians still rely on solid fuels for cooking food. The pollution from the burning process causes adverse respiratory outcomes including respiratory infections. This study aimed to assess the association of the pollution with nasopharyngeal occurrence of potential pathogens.
We conducted a comparative cross-sectional study in urban and rural settings in Ethiopia in 2016. Questionnaire-based data were collected from 168 mothers and 175 children aged below two years. Multiplex real-time PCR assays were performed on nasopharyngeal secretions for detection of bacteria and viruses and for the identification of pneumococcal serotypes/groups.
High rates of bacteria and viruses in the nasopharynx were detected by PCR among both the children and the mothers. Among the detected viruses, enterovirus was more commonly detected among rural children than among children from urban areas. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were both more prevalent among children and mothers from rural areas compared with urban groups and among those using solid fuels compared with cleaner fuel users. Children from rural households using solid fuels and children whose mothers had educational status below high school had four times higher odds for detection of S. pneumoniae compared with those households using cleaner energy or those children having mothers with a higher educational status, respectively. One or more serotype/serogroup was identified in about 40% of the samples that were positive for pneumococci. Out of all identified serotypes/serogroups, 43% in the children and 45% in the mothers belonged to PCV13, indicating the larger majority of detected pneumococci being non-PCV13 serotypes.
This study presented a high carriage rate of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae among both children and their mothers, especially in rural areas and among solid fuel users. Thus, interventions should target cleaner energy sources to the public and promote maternal education.
超过 90%的埃塞俄比亚人仍然依赖固体燃料来烹饪食物。燃烧过程中的污染会导致不良的呼吸后果，包括呼吸道感染。本研究旨在评估污染与鼻咽部潜在病原体发生的关系。
我们于 2016 年在埃塞俄比亚的城市和农村地区进行了一项比较性横断面研究。从 168 名母亲和 175 名两岁以下的儿童中收集了基于问卷的资料。对鼻咽分泌物进行多重实时 PCR 检测，以检测细菌和病毒，并鉴定肺炎球菌血清型/群。
在儿童和母亲的鼻咽部分离物中，通过 PCR 检测到了高比例的细菌和病毒。在所检测到的病毒中，农村儿童比城市地区的儿童更常检测到肠道病毒。与城市组相比，农村地区的儿童和母亲中肺炎链球菌和流感嗜血杆菌更为常见，与使用固体燃料的人群相比，使用清洁燃料的人群更为常见。与使用清洁能源的家庭或母亲受教育程度较高的儿童相比，使用固体燃料的农村家庭的儿童及其母亲，检测到肺炎链球菌的可能性要高出四倍。在那些对肺炎球菌呈阳性的样本中，约有 40%确定了一种或多种血清型/群。在所鉴定的所有血清型/群中，43%的儿童和 45%的母亲属于 PCV13，这表明检测到的肺炎球菌中绝大多数为非 PCV13 血清型。
本研究表明，儿童及其母亲中肺炎链球菌和流感嗜血杆菌的携带率较高，尤其是在农村地区和使用固体燃料的人群中。因此，干预措施应针对公众提供更清洁的能源，并促进产妇教育。
