Sentinel surveillance for influenza among severe acute respiratory infection and acute febrile illness inpatients at three hospitals in Ghana.

Background: Influenza epidemiology in Africa is generally not well understood. Using syndrome definitions to screen patients for laboratory confirmation of infection is an established means to effectively conduct influenza surveillance.

Methods: To compare influenza-related epidemiologic data, from October 2010 through March 2013, we enrolled hospitalized severe acute respiratory infection (SARI; fever with respiratory symptoms) and acute febrile illness (AFI; fever without respiratory or other localizing symptoms) patients from three referral hospitals in Ghana.

Molecular confirmation of Lassa fever imported into Ghana.

Background: Recent reports have shown an expansion of Lassa virus from the area where it was first isolated in Nigeria to other areas of West Africa. Two Ghanaian soldiers on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia were taken ill with viral haemorrhagic fever syndrome following the death of a sick colleague and were referred to a military hospital in Accra, Ghana, in May 2013. Blood samples from the soldiers and five asymptomatic close contacts were subjected to laboratory investigations.

Surveillance of Bacterial Pathogens of Diarrhoea in Two Selected Sub Metros Within the Accra Metropolis.

Background: In recent years, many localities within the Greater Accra Region (GAR) have witnessed several episodes of cholera outbreaks, with some deaths. Compared to previous epidemics, which usually followed heavy rains, recent outbreaks show no seasonality.

Objectives: To investigate infective bacterial diseases in selected sub metros within the GAR.

High prevalence of common respiratory viruses and no evidence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in Hajj pilgrims returning to Ghana, 2013.

Objective: The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) emerged in 2012 on the Arabian Peninsula and has caused severe respiratory disease with more than 800 laboratory-confirmed cases. The return of infected pilgrims to their home countries with a putative spread of MERS-CoV necessitates further surveillance.

Methods: A cross sectional study of 839 adult African Hajj pilgrims returning to Accra in Ghana, West Africa, was conducted in 2013 to assess the prevalence of respiratory symptoms as well as of MERS-CoV, human rhinovirus (HRV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza A virus (FLU A) infection.

Yaws Prevalence, Lessons from the Field and the Way Forward towards Yaws Eradication in Ghana.

Despite past WHO/UNICEF led global yaws eradication efforts, the disease seems to persist. The true burden is however not known for comprehensive action. Ghana's data showed significant increase in notified cases since the 1970s.