Polycythemia vera disease profile in an African population-experience from a tertiary facility in Ghana.

Objectives: The study describes the clinical and laboratory profile of the patients with polycythemia vera at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana.

Methods And Design: This was a retrospective hospital-based cohort study conducted from September 2020 to August 2022. Hematology clinic entry book was used to identify the patient's unique hospital code.

Assessment of platelet indices and platelet activation markers in children with Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Background: Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains one of the world's major infectious diseases that cause most morbidity and mortality, particularly in children. In Ghana, most children below the ages of 5 years depending on the severity of the infection often lose their lives. However, it is still debatable why infection with falciparum malaria contributes to thrombocytopenia.

Expression of platelet parameters and platelet membrane glycoproteins in childhood Burkitt lymphoma.

Platelet activation and functional changes in some haematological malignancies have been investigated with little or no known documentation on Burkitt lymphoma (BL). Abnormalities of platelets contribute to either haemorrhage or thrombotic episodes which are life-threatening in patients with BL. Thus, the study aimed at investigating the various platelet indices and platelet membrane glycoproteins in childhood Burkitt lymphoma.

Recurrent Stroke in a Ghanaian Patient With Polycythemia.

Background: Polycythemia is a rare but important preventable cause of stroke with potential for recurrence when not identified and appropriately managed.

Case Presentation: This is a case of a 55-year-old Ghanaian who presented to our tertiary facility after a 2-month delay with a history of sudden onset of right-sided hemiparesis and expressive aphasia. He had suffered a previous stroke with left hemiparesis 2 years previously where hypertension and polycythemia were identified and treatment initiated.

Risk factors for stroke occurrence in a low HIV endemic West African country: A case-control study.

Background: HIV infection is an emerging vascular risk factor associated with stroke occurrence. The weight of evidence from sub-Saharan Africa in support of this has accrued from countries with high HIV prevalence. Our objective was to assess the contribution of HIV sero-positivity to the occurrence and outcomes of stroke in a West African country with low HIV prevalence.

Tele-Rehabilitation after Stroke: An Updated Systematic Review of the Literature.

Background: Tele-rehabilitation for stroke survivors has emerged as a promising intervention for remotely supervised administration of physical, occupational, speech, and other forms of therapies aimed at improving motor, cognitive, and neuropsychiatric deficits from stroke.

Objective: We aimed to provide an updated systematic review on the efficacy of tele-rehabilitation interventions for recovery from motor, higher cortical dysfunction, and poststroke depression among stroke survivors.

Methods: We searched PubMed and Cochrane library from January 1, 1980 to July 15, 2017 using the following keywords: "Telerehabilitation stroke," "Mobile health rehabilitation," "Telemedicine stroke rehabilitation," and "Telerehabilitation.

Strategies to manage hepatitis C virus infection disease burden-Volume 4.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic was forecasted through 2030 for 17 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, and interventions for achieving the Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis targets-"WHO Targets" (65% reduction in HCV-related deaths, 90% reduction in new infections and 90% of infections diagnosed by 2030) were considered. Scaling up treatment and diagnosis rates over time would be required to achieve these targets in all but one country, even with the introduction of high SVR therapies. The scenarios developed to achieve the WHO Targets in all countries studied assumed the implementation of national policies to prevent new infections and to diagnose current infections through screening.

Historical epidemiology of hepatitis C virus in select countries-volume 4.

Due to the introduction of newer, more efficacious treatment options, there is a pressing need for policy makers and public health officials to develop or adapt national hepatitis C virus (HCV) control strategies to the changing epidemiological landscape. To do so, detailed, country-specific data are needed to characterize the burden of chronic HCV infection. In this study of 17 countries, a literature review of published and unpublished data on HCV prevalence, viraemia, genotype, age and gender distribution, liver transplants and diagnosis and treatment rates was conducted, and inputs were validated by expert consensus in each country.

The present and future disease burden of hepatitis C virus infections with today's treatment paradigm: Volume 4.

Factors influencing the morbidity and mortality associated with viremic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection change over time and place, making it difficult to compare reported estimates. Models were developed for 17 countries (Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Colombia, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Qatar and Taiwan) to quantify and characterize the viremic population as well as forecast the changes in the infected population and the corresponding disease burden from 2015 to 2030. Model inputs were agreed upon through expert consensus, and a standardized methodology was followed to allow for comparison across countries.

Current trends in admissions and outcomes of cardiac diseases in Ghana.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) pose a major burden in Africa, but data on temporal trends in disease burden are lacking. We assessed trends in CVD admissions and outcomes in central Ghana using a retrospective analysis of data from January 2004 to December 2015 among patients admitted to the medical wards of a tertiary medical center in Kumasi, Ghana. Rates of admissions and mortality were expressed as CVD admissions and deaths divided by the total number of medical admissions and deaths, respectively.

Screening and diagnosis of HBV in low-income and middle-income countries.

HBV testing and diagnosis of HBV-related liver disease in low-income and middle-income countries differs substantially from that in developed countries in terms of access to resources and expensive technologies requiring highly specialized staff. For identification and classification of HBV infection, genomic amplification methods to detect and quantify HBV DNA are often nonexistent or available only in central laboratories of major cities. When samples from peripheral locations do arrive, delays in receiving results generate loss to follow-up.

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.

Association between Aflatoxin M₁ and Liver Disease in HBV/HCV Infected Persons in Ghana.

Aflatoxins are produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus and are common food contaminants in tropical developing countries. Extensive aflatoxin consumption has been shown to be highly associated with liver disease. A case-control study was conducted to determine the association between aflatoxin and liver disease in Kumasi, Ghana.

Recent patterns and predictors of neurological mortality among hospitalized patients in Central Ghana.

Background: Although neurological disorders are projected to escalate globally in the coming decades, there is a paucity of enumerated data on the burden, spectrum and determinants of outcomes of adult neurological admissions in resource-limited settings, especially within sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To evaluate the diversity, demography, and determinants of mortality among adult patients presenting with neurological disorders over a 6-year period in a tertiary medical referral institution in the Central belt of Ghana.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of data on neurological admissions and in-patient outcomes between 2008 and 2013 was undertaken.

Next-Generation Sequencing Reveals Frequent Opportunities for Exposure to Hepatitis C Virus in Ghana.

Globally, hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is responsible for a large proportion of persons with liver disease, including cancer. The infection is highly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. West Africa was identified as a geographic origin of two HCV genotypes.

A re-evaluation of the origin of hepatitis C virus genotype 2 in West Africa.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is classified into seven genotypes based on genetic diversity, and most genotypes have been found in Africa. Infections with HCV genotype 2 (HCV2) are most prevalent in West Africa and it was suggested that HCV2 originated in West Africa. To better understand the evolutionary epidemiology of HCV2 in Africa, we examined new NS5B sequences of HCV2 strains obtained from Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria sequenced at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with those available from West, North and Central Africa.

Hepatitis C in sub-saharan Africa: urgent need for attention.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV), which was not recognized as an infectious agent until the 1980s, is responsible for a worldwide epidemic. The World Health Organization estimates global prevalence at 2.8%, with 185 million persons infected.

High frequency of active HCV infection among seropositive cases in west Africa and evidence for multiple transmission pathways.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has one of the highest global hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence estimates. However, reports that suggest high rates of serologic false positives and low levels of viremia have led to uncertainty regarding the burden of active infection in this region. Additionally, little is known about the predominant transmission risk factors in SSA.

Fourteen-year experience of a tertiary hospital transfusion committee in West Africa.

Background: Hospital transfusion committees (HTCs) have been established in the United States to link producers and users as well as to ensure appropriate use of blood. The HTC has been little reported in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), although it has been established in some hospitals.

Study Design And Methods: The minutes of three to four HTC meetings per year in a tertiary hospital hosting its own blood service have been reviewed to examine the HTC role over a period of 14 years.

External financial aid to blood transfusion services in sub-Saharan Africa: a need for reflection.

Jean-Pierre Allain and colleagues argue that, while unintended, the foreign aid provided for blood transfusion services in sub-Saharan Africa has resulted in serious negative outcomes, which requires reflection and rethinking.

Electronic learning and open educational resources in the health sciences in ghana.

Objectives: To determine whether a group of Ghanaian students are able to easily use electronic learning material and whether they perceive this method of learning as acceptable.

Setting: The University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) and the School of Medical Sciences (SMS), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and fifty third year medical students at SMS and nineteen fifth year medical students at UGMS METHODS: Two e-learning materials were developed, one on the polymerase chain reaction and the other on total abdominal hysterectomy and these were distributed to selected medical students. Two weeks after the distribution of the programmes, a one-page, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the target groups of students at the two institutions.

Prevalence of persistent and latent viruses in untreated patients infected with HIV-1 from Ghana, West Africa.

Only limited epidemiological data, pertaining to the prevalence of common persistent viruses has been reported in Ghana. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of persistent viruses in individuals with untreated HIV-1 infection and uninfected blood donors. Paired plasma and cellular samples from HIV-negative blood donors, asymptomatic HIV and symptomatic/AIDS cohorts were screened by multiplex PCR then qPCR for parvovirus B19 (B19V), hepatitis B virus (HBV), GB virus-C (GBV-C), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV).

Deferred donor care in a regional hospital blood center in Ghana.

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, the viral marker burden in blood donor populations ranges between 10 and 30 percent. Deferred donors constitute a rare population of asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected individuals with high likelihood of long survival if cared for. Deferred donor care provides an opportunity for a public health impact on highly pathogenic infections.

Multiplex real-time PCR for the detection and quantification of latent and persistent viral genomes in cellular or plasma blood fractions.

In common with latent viruses such as herpesviruses, parvovirus B19, HBV and GBV-C are contained successfully by the immune response and persist in the host. When immune control breaks down, reactivation of both latent and persistent viruses occurs. Two multiplex assays were developed (B19, HBV, HHV-8), (EBV, CMV, VZV) for blood screening, and tested on blood donor samples from Ghana to determine baseline prevalence of viraemia in immunocompetent persons.

Antibody detection and kinetics of antibody production during early stages of immunization with hepatitis B virus vaccine.

Antibodies to influenza virus and human immunodeficiency virus are detectable in B cells during the early stages of the immune response, prior to their occurrence in plasma. To investigate similar phenomena in a model of immunization against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, medical students in Ghana were screened for HBV markers, HBV surface (HBs) antigen (HBsAg), and HBV core antibodies (anti-HBc). Consenting volunteers, 24 of whom were seronegative (susceptible) and 2 of whom were positive for anti-HBc (prior infection), were vaccinated on day 0, day 40, and 6 months.