Impact of malaria diagnostic refresher training programme on competencies and skills in malaria diagnosis among medical laboratory professionals: evidence from Ghana 2015-2019.

Background: The quality of malaria test results is crucial for optimal patient treatment and care. The Ghana Health Service is successfully shifting from presumptive clinical diagnosis and treatment of malaria to the Test, Treat and Track (T3) initiative. In line with the initiative, the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) set out to improve the capacity of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana through a five-day Malaria Diagnostic Refresher Training (MDRT) to build competencies and skills in malaria diagnosis, especially in the three components of microscopy: parasite detection, species identification and parasite quantification.

Acute Phase Responses Vary Between Children of HbAS and HbAA Genotypes During Infection.

Purpose: Haemoglobin genotype S is known to offer protection against infections but the mechanism underlying this protection is not completely understood. Associated changes in acute phase proteins (APPs) during infections between Haemoglobin AA (HbAA) and Haemoglobin AS (HbAS) individuals also remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate changes in three APPs and full blood count (FBC) indices of HbAA and HbAS children during infection.