Pan African Vivax and Ovale Network (PAVON) Malaria Diagnostic Competency Training: Offering Training Opportunities to Impact Malaria Elimination Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

PAVON has developed a malaria microscopy competency training scheme to augment competency in malaria microscopy. Here, data accrued from training activities between 2020 and 2023 in Botswana are presented. Three trainings were done for 37 central and peripheral level technicians for a two-week period.

Do Blood group and Sickle cell trait protect against placental malaria?

Blood group O is reported to confer some degree of protection from severe malaria in endemic setting. This protection is believed to be due to reduced and smaller rosette formation in people of blood group O which can easily be cleared by the host immune system. Also, sickle cell trait (HbAS) is reported to disrupt the adhesion of infected erythrocytes to microvascular endothelial walls, which could protect pregnant women from placental malaria.

Evaluating circulating soluble markers of endothelial dysfunction and risk factors associated with PE: A multicentre longitudinal case control study in northern Ghana.

Serpin E1/PAI-1, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NTpro-BNP) and neuropilin-1 are markers which have been associated with endothelial dysfunction. However, data on the levels of these markers in PE is limited. The limited data on the pathophysiology of PE in relation to these markers necessitated the study.

Preponderance of vaccine-preventable diseases hotspots in northern Ghana: a spatial and space-time clustering analysis from 2010 to 2014.

Background: Vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) persist globally with a disproportionately high burden in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Although this might be partly due to the failure to sustain vaccination coverage above 90% in some WHO regions, a more nuanced understanding of VPD transmission beyond vaccination coverage may unveil other important factors in VPD transmission and control. This study identified VPDs hotspots and explored their relationships with ecology, urbanicity and land-use variations (Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) activities) in Ghana.

coinfection is associated with improved IgE and IgG3 response against hookworm antigens.

Background: and Hookworm infections are prevalent in West Africa and they cause iron deficiency anemia and protein malnutrition in Children. Immune response of these parasites interact and their interactions could have repercussions on vaccine development and efficacy. The current goal of hookworm eradication lies on vaccination.