High abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria in the naso-oropharynx of SARS-CoV-2-infected persons in an African population: implications for low disease severity.

Background: The association of the oral microbiome with SARS-CoV-2 infections and disease progression has been documented in European, Asian, and American populations but not in Africa.

Methods: We conducted a study in Ghana to evaluate and compare the naso-oropharyngeal microbiome in SARS-CoV-2-infected and uninfected persons before (pre-vaccine) and after vaccine availability (post-vaccine) in the country. 16S rRNA V3-V4 variable region was sequenced and analysed from DNA extracted from naso-oropharyngeal swabs.

Insights into Breast Cancer Knowledge Among Female Adolescents in Delta State, Nigeria: A School-Based Study.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among female adolescents. It is usually aggressive in this age group with poor prognosis.

Objective: This study assessed the general knowledge of breast cancer among secondary school adolescent females in Delta State, Nigeria.

Assessing the performance of regular surgical nose masks as a sampling method for SARS-CoV-2 detection in a cross-sectional study.

Nose masks are widely worn for protection against respiratory pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. They have been reported as possible substrates for viral sampling and testing for COVID-19 but, evaluations have so far been purposive; involving individuals known to have the infection and using improved materials on the nose masks to trap the virus. We investigated the feasibility of using the regular 3-ply surgical masks and, voluntary coughing as a mode of particle expulsion for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infections in a cross-sectional study at Ghana's first COVID-19 testing reference laboratory, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana.