Point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen positivity and associated factors in school children one year after mass praziquantel administration in an endemic district in Ghana.

Background: Mass drug administration of praziquantel is expected to reduce carriage in treated children in endemic communities. However, the effectiveness of this annual exercise has not been assessed in Ghana. Therefore, this study aimed to detect viable infection using point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA) positivity as proxy and associated factors in children previously treated with praziquantel in an endemic municipality in Ghana.

Molecular speciation of Plasmodium and multiplicity of P. falciparum infection in the Central region of Ghana.

Malaria is endemic in the Central region of Ghana, however, the ecological and the seasonal variations of Plasmodium population structure and the intensity of malaria transmission in multiple sites in the region have not been explored. In this cross-sectional study, five districts in the region were involved. The districts were Agona Swedru, Assin Central and Gomoa East (representing the forest zone) and Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese and Cape Coast representing the coastal zone.

The Effectiveness of Dipstick for the Detection of Urinary Tract Infection.

Background: The balance between the choices of UTI diagnostic tools in most primary care settings has been settled for by the more rapid, less labour-intensive dipstick. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of dipstick for diagnosing UTI.

Method: A total of 429 urine samples were collected from patients suspected of UTI; cultured on cysteine-lactose-electrolyte-deficient (CLED) agar, blood agar, and MacConkey agar; and incubated at 37°C overnight.