Publications by authors named "Samuel Bel-Nono"
Article Synopsis
- The straw-colored fruit bat is essential for plant population health in tropical Africa, but habitat loss has forced it to adapt to urban living, increasing human-bat interactions.
- High contact with these bats raises concerns about the potential spread of coronaviruses, necessitating research to understand the timing and dynamics of virus shedding.
- Our study in Ghana and Tanzania found that the risk of coronavirus shed by E. helvum peaks during the pup weaning period, suggesting that protecting human populations should focus on reducing contact with bats during this time.
Article Synopsis
- Scientists study how viruses and their animal hosts have changed together over time and how they can jump from animals to humans.
- They used special models to see which newly found viruses from wildlife might be able to infect people, focusing on high-risk areas in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
- The research shows that new coronaviruses might infect more types of animals compared to other viruses, helping to figure out where to look for potential outbreaks in humans.
Background: In Ghana, the conversion of land to agriculture, especially across the vegetative belt has resulted in fragmented forest landscapes with increased interactions among humans, domestic animals, and wildlife.
Methods: We investigated viruses in bats and rodents, key reservoir hosts for zoonotic viral pathogens, in a small agricultural community in the vegetation belt of Ghana. We also administered questionnaires among the local community members to learn more about people's awareness and perceptions of zoonotic disease risks and the environmental factors and types of activities in which they engage that might influence pathogen transmission from wildlife.
Article Synopsis
- Zoonotic diseases significantly threaten human and animal health, economies, and livelihoods, necessitating a comprehensive strategy called One Health that connects human, animal, and environmental health.* -
- Approximately 70 countries, including Ghana, are part of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) aimed at improving the early detection and prevention of infectious disease threats through multisectoral collaboration.* -
- Ghana faces challenges in executing an effective One Health policy due to insufficient interagency coordination, limiting its ability to tackle emerging viral zoonoses, which are increasingly recognized as serious global health risks.*
Background: Influenza epidemiology in Africa is generally not well understood. Using syndrome definitions to screen patients for laboratory confirmation of infection is an established means to effectively conduct influenza surveillance.
Methods: To compare influenza-related epidemiologic data, from October 2010 through March 2013, we enrolled hospitalized severe acute respiratory infection (SARI; fever with respiratory symptoms) and acute febrile illness (AFI; fever without respiratory or other localizing symptoms) patients from three referral hospitals in Ghana.
Background: Recent reports have shown an expansion of Lassa virus from the area where it was first isolated in Nigeria to other areas of West Africa. Two Ghanaian soldiers on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia were taken ill with viral haemorrhagic fever syndrome following the death of a sick colleague and were referred to a military hospital in Accra, Ghana, in May 2013. Blood samples from the soldiers and five asymptomatic close contacts were subjected to laboratory investigations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Military barracks in Ghana have backyard poultry populations but the methods used here involve low biosecurity measures and high risk zoonosis such as avian influenza A viruses or Newcastle disease. We assessed biosecurity measures intended to minimize the risk of influenza virus infection among troops and poultry keepers in military barracks.
Findings: We educated troops and used a questionnaire to collect information on animal populations and handling practices from 168 individuals within 203 households in military barracks.
Background: Influenza A viruses that cause highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) also infect humans. In many developing countries such as Ghana, poultry and humans live in close proximity in both the general and military populations, increasing risk for the spread of HPAI from birds to humans. Respiratory infections such as influenza are especially prone to rapid spread among military populations living in close quarters such as barracks making this a key population for targeted avian influenza surveillance and public health education.
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