Fever in focus: Symptoms, diagnoses and treatment of febrile children in Ghana-A longitudinal hospital study.

Background: Healthcare resources are often limited in areas of sub-Saharan Africa. This makes accurate and timely diagnoses challenging and delays treatment of childhood febrile illness. We explored longitudinal characteristics related to symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of hospitalised febrile children in a rural area of Ghana highly endemic for malaria.

Carriage of ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli among children in rural Ghana: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-KP) and Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC) present a high burden in both communities and healthcare sectors, leading to difficult-to-treat infections. Data on intestinal carriage of ESBL-KP and ESBL-EC in children is scarce, especially in sub-Saharan African countries. We provide data on faecal carriage, phenotypic resistance patterns, and gene variation of ESBL-EC and ESBL-KP among children in the Agogo region of Ghana.

Solid waste motor tricycle operators in Kumasi, Ghana, harbour respiratory pathogens; a public health threat.

Background: The use of motor tricycles in transporting municipal solid waste (MSW) within urban and peri-urban towns in Ghana is on the increase. This activity often leads to the introduction of pathogen-containing bioaerosols into the environment, as well as to the tricycle operators. We sought to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of respiratory pathogens among solid waste tricycle operators.

Pathogens associated with hospitalization due to acute lower respiratory tract infections in children in rural Ghana: a case-control study.

Respiratory infections are one of the most common causes of death among children under the age of five years. Data on prevalence and relevance of specific organisms in African children are still lacking. This case-control-study investigated prevalence and relevance of specific organisms in Ghanaian children admitted to hospital with symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI).

Molecular characterization of isolates from poultry in rural Ghana.

In recent years, has gained clinical significance as an emerging diarrheagenic pathogen associated with poultry and water reservoirs. The full clinical significance of remains rather speculative due to variable virulence and antibiotic susceptibility of individual strains. The aims of the present study were (i) to identify antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the genome sequences of two multidrug-resistant isolates, (ii) to use multilocus-sequence typing (MLST) to generate a guiding phylogeny of isolates collected in Kumasi, Ghana, (iii) to examine the distribution of ARGs in the test cohort, and (iv) to assess the strain's virulence and possible antibiotic treatment options for arcobacteriosis based on the genome sequences and the ARG distribution.

Penicillin V prophylaxis uptake among children living with sickle cell disease in a specialist sickle cell clinic in Ghana: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Penicillin V prophylaxis protects children living with sickle cell disease (SCD) from bacteria infections especially . However, the uptake of penicillin V prophylaxis is difficult to assess and often poor among SCD patients. Therefore, this study sought to investigate oral penicillin V prophylaxis adherence among SCD children using urine assay and self-reported methods and the associated factors.

Multi-drug resistant bacteria isolates from lymphatic filariasis patients in the Ahanta West District, Ghana.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is associated with increased morbidity in secondary infections and is a global threat owning to the ubiquitous nature of resistance genes in the environment. Recent estimate put the deaths associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019 at 4.95 million worldwide.

Bacterial diversity significantly reduces toward the late stages among filarial lymphedema patients in the Ahanta West District of Ghana: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), a neglected tropical disease, has been speculated to be complicated by secondary bacteria, yet a systematic documentation of these bacterial populations is lacking. Thus, the primary focus of this study was to profile bacteria diversity in the progression of filarial lymphedema among LF individuals with or without wounds.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design recruited 132 LF individuals presenting with lymphedema with or without wounds from eight communities in the Ahanta West District in the Western Region, Ghana.

Bloodstream infection with Acinetobacter baumanii in a Plasmodium falciparum positive infant: a case report.

Background: The increasing incidence of multi-antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, coupled with the risk of co-infections in malaria-endemic regions, complicates accurate diagnosis and prolongs hospitalization, thereby increasing the total cost of illness. Further, there are challenges in making the correct choice of antibiotic treatment and duration, precipitated by a lack of access to microbial culture facilities in many hospitals in Ghana. The aim of this case report is to highlight the need for blood cultures or alternative rapid tests to be performed routinely in malaria patients, to diagnose co-infections with bacteria, especially when symptoms persist after antimalarial treatment.

Classification of invasive bloodstream infections and Plasmodium falciparum malaria using autoantibodies as biomarkers.

A better understanding of disease-specific biomarker profiles during acute infections could guide the development of innovative diagnostic methods to differentiate between malaria and alternative causes of fever. We investigated autoantibody (AAb) profiles in febrile children (≤ 5 years) admitted to a hospital in rural Ghana. Serum samples from 30 children with a bacterial bloodstream infection and 35 children with Plasmodium falciparum malaria were analyzed using protein microarrays (Protoplex Immune Response Assay, ThermoFisher).

Spectrum of antibiotic resistant bacteria and fungi isolated from chronically infected wounds in a rural district hospital in Ghana.

Background: Chronic infected wounds are generally difficult to manage and treatment can be particularly challenging in resource-limited settings where diagnostic testing is not readily available. In this study, the epidemiology of microbial pathogens in chronically infected wounds in rural Ghana was assessed to support therapeutic choices for physicians.

Methods: Culture-based bacterial diagnostics including antimicrobial resistance testing were performed on samples collected from patients with chronic wounds at a hospital in Asante Akim North Municipality, Ghana.

Fluoroquinolone-Resistant , spp., and from Local and Imported Poultry Meat in Kumasi, Ghana.

and are important gastroenteric pathogens. is an emerging enteric pathogen. Data on the frequencies of these poultry-associated pathogens on meat products sold in sub-Saharan Africa are scarce.

Characterization of Salmonella enterica from invasive bloodstream infections and water sources in rural Ghana.

Background: Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) cause the majority of bloodstream infections in Ghana, however the mode of transmission and source of invasive NTS in Africa are poorly understood. This study compares NTS from water sources and invasive bloodstream infections in rural Ghana.

Methods: Blood from hospitalised, febrile children and samples from drinking water sources were analysed for Salmonella spp.

Burden of influenza among hospitalized febrile children in Ghana.

Background: Influenza surveillance data from Africa indicate a substantial disease burden with high mortality. However, local influenza data from district hospitals with limited laboratory facilities are still scarce.

Objectives: To identify the frequency and seasonal distribution of influenza among hospitalized febrile children in a rural hospital in Ghana and to describe differential diagnoses to other severe febrile infections.

Infection in Febrile Children, Ghana.

AbstractRickettsial infections are an underrecognized cause of febrile illness in sub-Saharan Africa. To evaluate the epidemiology and clinical features of rickettsial disease in pediatric patients in Ghana, we screened blood samples from febrile children aged less than 15 years presenting to an outpatient department in Ghana's Ashanti Region for the presence of rickettsial DNA. We detected in 7/470 (1.

Antibiotic resistance and clonal diversity of invasive Staphylococcus aureus in the rural Ashanti Region, Ghana.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is among the most common pathogens isolated from blood cultures in Ghana; yet the epidemiology of blood infections in rural settings is poorly described. This study aims to investigate antimicrobial susceptibility and clonal diversity of S. aureus causing bloodstream infections in two hospitals in the Ashanti Region, Ghana.

Extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae causing bloodstream infections in rural Ghana, 2007-2012.

Background: High prevalence of Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae threatens treatment options for invasive bloodstream infections in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objectives: To explore the frequency and genotype distribution of ESBL producing Enterobacteriaceae causing bloodstream infections in a primary health care setting in rural Ghana.

Methods: Blood cultures from all patients with fever ≥38°C within 24h after admission (community-acquired) and from all neonates with suspected neonatal sepsis (hospital-acquired) were obtained.

Association Between Malaria and Invasive Nontyphoidal Salmonella Infection in a Hospital Study: Accounting for Berkson's Bias.

Background: There is growing evidence for a positive association between malaria and invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease. However, case-control studies conducted within healthcare facilities also report inverse associations. This may be due to Berkson's bias, a selection bias that acts when both exposure and outcome are associated with hospital attendance and study participants are selected among attendees only.

The Emergence of Reduced Ciprofloxacin Susceptibility in Salmonella enterica Causing Bloodstream Infections in Rural Ghana.

Background: Salmonella ranks among the leading causes of bloodstream infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Multidrug resistant typhoidal and nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) isolates have been previously identified in this region. However, resistance to ciprofloxacin has rarely been reported in West Africa.

Variations of Invasive Salmonella Infections by Population Size in Asante Akim North Municipal, Ghana.

Background: The Typhoid Fever Surveillance in Africa Program (TSAP) estimated adjusted incidence rates (IRs) for Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi and invasive nontyphoidal S. enterica serovars (iNTS) of >100 cases per 100 000 person-years of observation (PYO) for children aged <15 years in Asante Akim North Municipal (AAN), Ghana, between March 2010 and May 2012. We analyzed how much these rates differed between rural and urban settings.

16S rRNA Gene Sequence-Based Identification of Bacteria in Automatically Incubated Blood Culture Materials from Tropical Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: The quality of microbiological diagnostic procedures depends on pre-analytic conditions. We compared the results of 16S rRNA gene PCR and sequencing from automatically incubated blood culture materials from tropical Ghana with the results of cultural growth after automated incubation.

Methods: Real-time 16S rRNA gene PCR and subsequent sequencing were applied to 1500 retained blood culture samples of Ghanaian patients admitted to a hospital with an unknown febrile illness after enrichment by automated culture.

Drinking water from dug wells in rural ghana--salmonella contamination, environmental factors, and genotypes.

Salmonellosis is an important but neglected disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Food or fecal-oral associated transmissions are the primary cause of infections, while the role of waterborne transmission is unclear. Samples were collected from different dug wells in a rural area of Ghana and analyzed for contamination with bacteria, and with Salmonella in particular.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for rapid identification of Salmonella spp. from agar and blood culture broth--an option for the tropics?

Background: Salmonella enterica is an important cause of diarrhea with the potential to cause systemic infection including sepsis, particularly in the tropics. Sepsis in particular requires quick and reliable identification to allow a rapid optimization of antibiotic therapy. We describe the establishment and evaluation of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) as a rapid and easy-to-perform molecular identification procedure from agar and blood culture broths.