Examining the level of public awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa: An empirical evidence from Ghana.

Nations which are part of the United Nations are required to institute appropriate measures to fulfil the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, for this to be possible, all stakeholders including the general public need to be fully aware of the SDGs. This research examined the level of public awareness about the SDGs among Ghanaians based on the views of 431 respondents.

Health System Costs of Treating Latent Tuberculosis Infection With Four Months of Rifampin Versus Nine Months of Isoniazid in Different Settings.

Background: Four months of rifampin treatment for latent tuberculosis infection is safer, has superior treatment completion rates, and is as effective as 9 months of isoniazid. However, daily medication costs are higher for a 4-month rifampin regimen than a 9-month isoniazid regimen.

Objective: To compare health care use and associated costs of 4 months of rifampin and 9 months of isoniazid.

Four Months of Rifampin or Nine Months of Isoniazid for Latent Tuberculosis in Adults.

Background: A 9-month regimen of isoniazid can prevent active tuberculosis in persons with latent tuberculosis infection. However, the regimen has been associated with poor adherence rates and with toxic effects.

Methods: In an open-label trial conducted in nine countries, we randomly assigned adults with latent tuberculosis infection to receive treatment with a 4-month regimen of rifampin or a 9-month regimen of isoniazid for the prevention of confirmed active tuberculosis within 28 months after randomization.

Safety and Side Effects of Rifampin versus Isoniazid in Children.

Background: The treatment of latent infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is important in children because of their vulnerability to life-threatening forms of tuberculosis disease. The current standard treatment - 9 months of isoniazid - has been associated with poor adherence and toxic effects, which have hampered the effectiveness of the drug. In adults, treatment with 4 months of rifampin has been shown to be safer and to have higher completion rates than 9 months of isoniazid.

Pulmonary aspergilloma: An evasive disease.

Aspergillomas are often misdiagnosed as tuberculosis (TB) in developing countries where the prevalence of TB is high, hemoptysis is often equated with TB, and most patients are diagnosed clinically. This report describes the case of a patient being treated for smear-negative TB who presented with hemoptysis and was found to have an aspergilloma.

High prevalence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis among patients with rifampicin resistance using GeneXpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis/rifampicin in Ghana.

Objective/background: Drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) represent a major threat to global TB control. In low- and middle-income countries, resource constraints make it difficult to identify and monitor cases of resistance using drug susceptibility testing and culture. Molecular assays such as the GeneXpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis/rifampicin may prove to be a cost-effective solution to this problem in these settings.

Pattern and predictors of immunologic recovery in HIV infected patients.

Background: Although anti-retroviral therapy has generally improved the survival of HIV infected patients in many developing countries including Ghana, specific socio-demographic factors could still influence outcome of treatment. This study was designed to identify patient-specific factors that could influence the immune recovery of absolute CD4 count in HIV infected patients.

Findings: Hospital records were extracted from two health facilities in Ghana.

Sustained immunological responses to highly active antiretroviral therapy at 36 months in a Ghanaian HIV cohort.

Two hundred thirty-seven Ghanaian human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients who were starting antiretroviral therapy underwent clinical and immunological monitoring for 3 years. Seventy-eight percent of patients had disease classified as World Health Organization stage III or IV. The mean increase in the CD4 cell count was 395 cells/mm(3), 13% of patients experienced immunological failure, and 8% of patients switched treatment to a second-line regimen.