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Article History

Received: 29 January 2026

Accepted: 29 June 2026

First Online: 9 July 2026

Declarations

:

: The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Addis Ababa University Institute of Biotechnology Research Ethics Review Committee (IoB-IRB) (Minute No. IoB/L-7/2016/2024) and the Addis Ababa Health Bureau Institutional Review Board (IRB). The study involved environmental sampling from intensive care unit (ICU) environments and did not include human participants and human specimens. Consequently, the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki were not applicable. The requirement for informed consent was also deemed not applicable as the study did not involve human subjects, in accordance with the National Research Ethics Review Guideline (NRERG, No. 01/2020, October 2020) of Ethiopia, which allows exemptions for minimal-risk research involving environmental sampling without direct human involvement. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the administrative offices of Menelik II Comprehensive Specialized Hospital and Tirunesh Beijing General Hospital before sample collection.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.