Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Typhoid Fever in Patients Attending Bishoftu town Health Centers, Oromia, Central Ethiopia

Abstract Typhoid fever remains a major public health problem globally and a major cause of morbidity in the developing world. The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of typhoid fever in Bishoftu town, central Ethiopia. A health center-based cross-sectional study was conducted in three health centers in Bishoftu Town, central Ethiopia from April to May 2022. Three hundred sixty-two blood samples were collected from patients attending in three health centers of Bishoftu town and were tested for typhoid by Widal test. Similarly, a pretested, structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and possible risk factors. SPSS version 22 was used for statistical analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association of various risk factors with typhoid prevalence. The overall prevalence of typhoid fever was 35.1%. Being female (AOR: 2.136, 95% CI: 1.012, 4.508, P = 0.047), not being able to read and write (AOR: 2.990, 95% CI: 1.903, 19.111, P = 0.007), not keeping food in hygienic conditions (AOR: 4.984, 95% CI: 1.574, 15.777, P = 0.006), open defecation (AOR: 3.914, 95% CI: 1.390, 10.660, P = 0.008), hand washing with soap before meals (AOR: 4.400, 95% CI: 1.390, 13.291, P = 0.012), hand washing with soap after defecations (AOR: 7.541, 95 CI: 2.309, 24.628, P = 0.001), and eating street food (AOR: 4.607, 95% CI: 0.778, 27.624, P = 0.001) were identified as associated risk factors to typhoid fever prevalence. The study showed typhoid fever is a significant public health problem in Bishoftu town and its surroundings. Therefore, care should be taken to keep food in hygienic conditions and to wash hands with soap before meals and after using the toilet in order to control the disease.