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Fanta D. Gutema
Headshot of Fanta D. Gutema

Fanta D. Gutema, DVM, MSc, BSc, MPH, PhD, CPH

Assistant Research Professor

901.678.8694339 Robison Hallfdgutema@memphis.edu

About

Dr. Fanta Gutema is an Assistant Professor of Research in the School of Public Health. Dr. Gutema was a Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute graduate fellow at the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Iowa before he joined School of Public Health, University of Memphis. Dr. Gutema has an educational background began with receiving his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and his MSc in Veterinary Public Health from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He received his BSc in Public Health from Kea-Med University College and his MPH from Adama General Medical Hospital and College in Ethiopia. He also received a High Diploma in Active Teaching and Learning from Addis Ababa University. He obtained his PhD in Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety from Ghent University in Belgium. He is also certified as public health professional by the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE). He has extensive funded research experiences and research interests in the epidemiology of infectious diseases with a particular focus on enteric infections, foodborne diseases, zoonotic diseases, and antimicrobial resistant infections at the intersections of animal, human, and environmental health and identifying effective intervention strategies toward improving public health using a One Health approach.

Education

  • Postdoc, Occupational and environmental health, University of Iowa, USA, 08/2021- 08/2024.
  • PhD, Veterinary Public Health and Food safety, Ghent University, Belgium, 2021.
  • High Dip, Active Teaching and Learning, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 2017.
  • MPH, Public health, Adama General Medical Hospital and College, Ethiopia, 2016.
  • MSc, Veterinary Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 2010.
  • BSc, Public Health Officer, Kea-Med University College, Ethiopia, 2012.
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 2006.

Research Interest

  • Antimicrobial Resistance
  • Zoonoses and Food safety
  • Hygiene Interventions
  • One Health Approach

Selected Publications

  1. Eyre, M., Thomas, E. D., Gutema, F. D., Hongying, L., & Kelly, B. (2026). Priorities and opportunities for strengthening hygiene and One Health alignment in research, policy and practice. BMC Global and Public Health, 4, Article 102. https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-026-00337-z
  2. Tufa, T. B., Gutema, F. D., Teressa, T., Oljira, D., Hiko, A., Abdi, R. D., Regassa, F., Amenu, K., Hogeveen, H., & Stegeman, J. A. (2026). Antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli from dairy cattle farms with different antimicrobial use practices in Ethiopia. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance, 48, 103–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgar.2026.02.013
  3. Gutema, F. D., Kassahun, R., & Baker, K. K. (2026). Antimicrobial resistant E. coli in animals, humans and the environment within household and compound settings: A scoping review. One Health, 22, Article 101452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2026.101452
  4. Ayichew, S., Zewdu, A., Megersa, B. et al. Detection and antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli O157:H7 in the milk supply chain, milking environments and humans in Woliata Sodo, Ethiopia. BMC Microbiol 25, 565 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-025-04289-6
  5. Ayichew, S., Zewdu, A., Megerrsa, B., Sori, T., & Gutema, F. D. (2024). Occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella enterica in milk along the supply chain, humans, and the environment in Woliata Sodo, Ethiopia. BMC Microbiology, 24, Article 538. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-024-03689-4
  6. Gutema, F. D., Okoth, B., Agira, J., Amondi, C. S., Busienei, P. J., Simiyu, S., Mberu, B., Sewell, D., & Baker, K. K. (2024). Spatial–temporal patterns in the enteric pathogen contamination of soil in the public environments of low- and middle-income neighborhoods in Nairobi, Kenya. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(10), Article 1351. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21101351
  7. Mberu, B., Simiyu, S., Gutema, F. D., Sewell, D., Busienei, P. J., Tumwebaze, I. K., & Baker, K. K. (2024). Landscape analysis of the Kenyan policy on the treatment and prevention of diarrheal disease among under-5 children. BMJ Open, 14(8), Article e081906. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081906
  8. Bedane, T. D., Megersa, B., Abunna, F., Waktole, H., Woldemariyam, F. T., Tekle, M., Shimelis, E., & Gutema, F. D. (2024). Occurrence, molecular characterization, and antimicrobial susceptibility of sorbitol non-fermenting Escherichia coli in lake water, fish and humans in central Oromia, Ethiopia. Scientific Reports, 14, Article 12461. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61810-z
  9. Gutema, F. D., Cumming, O., Mumma, J., Simiyu, S., Attitwa, E., Okoth, B., Denge, J., Sewell, D., & Baker, K. K. (2024). Enterococcus contamination of infant foods and implications for exposure to food-borne pathogens in peri-urban neighbourhoods of Kisumu, Kenya. Epidemiology and Infection, 152, Article e23. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268824000062
  10. Baker, K. K., Simiyu, S., Busienei, P., Gutema, F. D., Okoth, B., Agira, J., Amondi, C. S., Ziraba, A., Kapanka, A. G., Osinuga, A., Ouma, C., Sewell, D. K., Gaire, S., Tumwebaze, I. K., & Mberu, B. (2023). Protocol for the PATHOME study: A cohort study on urban societal development and the ecology of enteric disease transmission among infants, domestic animals and the environment. BMJ Open, 13(11), Article e076067. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076067

Curriculum Vitae