About Fanta Gutema

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. Ayichew S, Zewdu A, Megerrsa B, Sori T, Gutema FD. Occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella enterica in milk along the supply chain, humans, and the environment in Woliata Sodo, Ethiopia. BMC Microbiology, 24: 538 (2024)
2. Gutema FD, Okoth B, Agira J, Amondi CS, Busienei PJ, Simiyu S, Mberu B, Sewell D, Baker KK. Spatial–Temporal Patterns in the Enteric Pathogen Contamination of Soil in the Public Environments of Low-and Middle-Income Neighbourhoods in Nairobi, Kenya. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21: 1351(2024)
3. Mberu B, Simiyu S, Gutema FD, Sewell D, Busienei PJ, Tumwebaze IK, Baker KK. Landscape analysis of the Kenyan policy on the treatment and prevention of diarrheal disease among under-5 children. BMJ open, (2024);14
4. Bedane TD, Megersa B, Abunna F, Waktole H, Woldemariyam FT, Tekle M, Shimelis E, Gutema FD. 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, 12461 (2024)
5. Gutema FD, Cumming O, Mumma J, Simiyu S, Attitwa E, Okoth B, Denge J, Sewell D, Baker KK. Enterococcus contamination of infant foods and implications for exposure to food-borne pathogens in peri-urban neighborhoods of Kisumu, Kenya. Epidemiology and Infection, (2024)
6. Baker KK, Simiyu S, Busienei P, Gutema FD, Okoth B, Agira J, Amondi CS, Ziraba A, Kapanka AG, Osinuga A, Ouma C. Protocol: 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, 2023;13(11)
7. Gutema FD, De Zutter L, Piérard D, Hinckel B, Imamura H, Rasschaert G, Abdi RD, Agga GE, Crombé F. Core Genome Sequencing Analysis of E. coli O157: H7 Unravelling Genetic Relatedness among Strains from Cattle, Beef, and Humans in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Microbiology Research. 2023, 14(1):148-60
8. Tufa TB, Guta A, Tufa TB, Nigussie D, Beyi AF, Gutema FD, Regassa F. Efficacy of Penicillin–Streptomycin Brands against Staphylococcus aureus: Concordance between Veterinary Clinicians’ Perception and the Realities. Antibiotics. 2023;12(3):570
9. Tsegaye D, Gutema FD, Terefe Y. Zoonotic diseases risk perceptions and protective behaviors of consumers associated with consumption of meat and milk in and around Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Heliyon. 2022.8(8)
10. Bedane TD, Agga GE, Gutema FD. Hygienic assessment of fish handling practices along production and supply chain and its public health implications in Central Oromia, Ethiopia. Scientific Reports. 2022, 12:1-1