Characterization of and virulence genes in dyspeptic patients at a teaching hospital in Ghana.

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is endemic in Africa. It is a major aetiological factor in the development of peptic ulcer disease and distal gastric cancers.

Herpesviruses and human papillomaviruses in saliva and biopsies of patients with orofacial tumors.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and association of HPV and Herpesviruses in saliva and tissue samples of patients with orofacial tumors.

Methods: Biopsies of tumors were done, and saliva samples were collected from patients with orofacial tumors for the determination of viruses using nested multiplex PCR. Independent variables were sex, age, comorbidities, tumor stage, and length of stay.

ABO and Rhesus blood group variability and their associations with clinical malaria presentations.

Background: Plasmodium falciparum infection is associated with the human ABO blood group. However, there is a paucity of data on the role that ABO and Rhesus blood groups play in malaria clinical presentations. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the association of human ABO blood groups and the Rhesus blood (Rh) types with the severity of malaria.

The use of the WHO criteria to detect severe malaria among patients clinically diagnosed with uncomplicated malaria.

The World Health Organization (WHO) strict defining criteria were used to identify severe malaria among Ghanaian patients clinically diagnosed as uncomplicated malaria. From each study participant, blood haemoglobin (Hb) and plasma bilirubin levels were estimated using automated analyzers. According to the WHO, the criteria for diagnosing severe malaria among children (< 12 years) was assessed using Hb < 5 g/dL and among other patients ≥ 12 years, Hb < 7 g/dL with parasitemia > 10,000/μL, plasma bilirubin > 50 μmol/L amidst parasitemia > 100,000/μL and P.

Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer in Ghana.

Background: The major burden of cervical cancer occurs in low- and middle-income countries. In Ghana, it is the second most common cancer among women. Infection with high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) has been established as the cause of cervical cancer.

Comparative evaluation of the diagnostic accuracies of four different malaria rapid diagnostic test kits available in Ghana.

Malaria rapid diagnostic test (mRDT) kit is one of the techniques for diagnosing malaria. Due to its inherent advantages over the microscopy technique, several brands of the kit have flooded malaria endemic countries, without prior in-country evaluation. Two of such mRDT kits are Oscar (India) and Standard Q (Korea Republic).

Host-parasite interaction in severe and uncomplicated malaria infection in ghanaian children.

Purpose: During malarial infection, both parasites and host red blood cells (RBCs) come under severe oxidative stress due to the production of free radicals. The host system responds in protecting the RBCs against the oxidative damage caused by these free radicals by producing antioxidants. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant enzyme; superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and cytokine interactions with parasitaemia in Ghanaian children with severe and uncomplicated malaria.

Malaria elimination in Ghana: recommendations for reactive case detection strategy implementation in a low endemic area of Asutsuare, Ghana.

Background: Progress toward malaria elimination is increasing as many countries near zero indigenous malaria cases. In settings nearing elimination, interventions will be most effective at interrupting transmission when targeted at the residual foci of transmission. These foci may be missed due to asymptomatic infections.

Evidence of Rift Valley Fever Virus Circulation in Livestock and Herders in Southern Ghana.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a re-emerging zoonotic disease of domestic ruminants and humans. While neighbouring countries have reported outbreaks of RVF, Ghana has not yet identified any cases. The aim of this study was to determine whether RVF virus (RVFV) was circulating in livestock and herders in the southern part of Ghana, to estimate its seroprevalence, and to identify associated risk factors.

Reactive Case Detection Strategy for Malaria Control and Elimination: A 12 Year Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis from 25 Malaria-Endemic Countries.

Reactive case detection (RACD) is the screening of household members and neighbors of index cases reported in passive surveillance. This strategy seeks asymptomatic infections and provides treatment to break transmission without testing or treating the entire population. This review discusses and highlights RACD as a recommended strategy for the detection and elimination of asymptomatic malaria as it pertains in different countries.

Human papillomavirus genotype distribution among women with and without cervical cancer: Implication for vaccination and screening in Ghana.

Introduction: Determining the high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) genotypes burden in women with and without cervical cancer afford a direct comparison of their relative distributions. This quest is fundamental to implementing a future population-based cervical cancer prevention strategy in Ghana. We estimated the cervical cancer risk by HPV genotypes, and the HPV vaccine-preventable proportion of cervical cancer diagnosed in Ghana.

Genotypic characterization of extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing urinary isolates among pregnant women in Ho municipality, Ghana.

Objective: The case of antibiotic resistance has become a major global concern and Extended Spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing organisms have so far remained the biggest culprit. The consequences of urinary tract infection (UTI) and antibiotic resistance among pregnant women cannot be underestimated. We investigated UTI and ESBL production among urinary pathogens isolated from pregnant women.

Prevalence and Distribution of Vaccine-Preventable Genital Human Papillomavirus(HPV) Genotypes in Ghanaian Women Presenting for Screening.

Background: Cervical cancer is the most common gynaecologic cancer in Ghana where it is also the second most common cause of all female cancers. A number of vaccines are available to provide both individual and population-level protection against persistent infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPV) and reduce the burden of cervical cancer. Data on the epidemiology of vaccine-preventable papillomaviruses in Ghana is scant.

Haematological Indices and Antioxidant Enzyme Activity in Ghanaian Stroke Patients.

Background: Stroke is a cardiovascular disorder causing mortality globally and long-lasting harm worldwide. The disease occurs when the blood flow to the brain is either interrupted or blocked. This disruption leads to the increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially superoxide free radicals, resulting in oxidative stress.

Helicobacter Pylori Variants with ABC-Type Tyrosine Phosphorylation Motif in Gastric Biopsies of Ghanaian Patients.

Background: pathogenicity and disease severity are determined by the tyrosine phosphorylation motifs of CagA protein. This study is aimed at detecting the presence of . and identifying the CagA tyrosine phosphorylation motifs in Ghanaian patients.

Postmortem diagnosis of COVID-19: Antemortem challenges of three cases at the 37 Military Hospital, Accra, Ghana.

Background: Consistency among clinical symptoms, laboratory results and autopsy findings can be a quality measure in the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There have been classic clinical cases that have met the case definition of COVID-19 but real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) tests of nasopharyngeal swabs were negative.

Objectives: This study aimed to share pathological observations of autopsies performed at the 37 Military Hospital's Department of Anatomical Pathology on three presumed COVID-19 cases in Accra, Ghana.

Antiplasmodial and Genotoxic Study of Selected Ghanaian Medicinal Plants.

Results: Five out of the eight plants, stem bark, Lam root, leaves, and DC whole plants, showed varying degrees of antiplasmodial activity against the asexual stage of the parasite. The most active extract against chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) and chloroquine-resistant (Dd2) strains is the extract which yielded a mean inhibitory concentration at 50% (IC) of 3.66 g/ml and 3.

Household cockroaches carry CTX-M-15-, OXA-48- and NDM-1-producing enterobacteria, and share beta-lactam resistance determinants with humans.

Background: This study was designed to investigate whether household cockroaches harbor cephalosporin-resistant enterobacteria that share resistance determinants with human inhabitants. From February through July 2016, whole cockroach homogenates and human fecal samples from 100 households were cultured for cephalosporin-resistant enterobacteria (CRe). The CRe were examined for plasmid-mediated AmpC, ESBL, and carbapenemase genes; antibiotic susceptibility patterns; and conjugative transfer of antibiotic resistance mechanisms.

Gastro-duodenal disease in Africa: Literature review and clinical data from Accra, Ghana.

Gastroduodenal disease (GDD) was initially thought to be uncommon in Africa. Amongst others, lack of access to optimal health infrastructure and suspicion of conventional medicine resulted in the reported prevalence of GDD being significantly lower than that in other areas of the world. Following the increasing availability of flexible upper gastro-intestinal endoscopy, it has now become apparent that GDD, especially peptic ulcer disease (PUD), is prevalent across the continent of Africa.

Cervical Human Papillomavirus Prevalence, Genotypes, and Associated Risk Factors among Female Sex Workers in Greater Accra, Ghana.

Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease mediated by persistent infection with high-risk Human Papillomaviruses (Hr-HPV). There are now three approved vaccines against the most common HPV genotypes. In Ghana, mortality due to cervical cancer is on the rise, due to the absence of an organized and effective cervical cancer prevention and control program.

Trichomonas vaginalis infection in southern Ghana: clinical signs associated with the infection.

Trichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent for the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted infection (STI) among women of child-bearing age. In Ghana, although the infection is prevalent, there is a dearth of data on the risk factors and symptoms associated with T. vaginalis infection.

Recommendations for cervical cancer prevention and control in Ghana: public education and human papillomavirus vaccination.

Unlabelled: Globally, cervical cancer is a major public health issue causing increasing morbidity and mortality especially in low- and middle-income countries where preventive and control measures are lacking. In Ghana, it is the most common cancer among women. Approaches to reduce the incidence and mortality of the disease in Ghana have had little success due to lack of accurate data on the disease among other factors, to inform policies on prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment.

Dynamics of genotype-specific HPV clearance and reinfection in rural Ghana may compromise HPV screening approaches.

Persistent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a prerequisite for cervical cancer development. Few studies investigated clearance of high-risk HPV in low-and-middle-income countries. Our study investigated HPV clearance and persistence over four years in women from North Tongu District, Ghana.