A mathematical model to assess the impact of testing and isolation compliance on the transmission of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged global health and national economies worldwide. Testing and isolation are effective control strategies to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19, especially in the early stage of the disease outbreak. In this paper, we develop a deterministic model to investigate the impact of testing and compliance with isolation on the transmission of COVID-19.

Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on complicated malaria admissions and outcomes in the paediatric Ho Teaching Hospital of the Volta Region of Ghana.

Since Ghana recorded its first cases of COVID-19 in early March 2020, healthcare delivery in the country has been hugely affected by the pandemic. Malaria continues to be an important public health problem in terms of morbidity and mortality among children, and it is responsible for significant hospital visits and admission. It is likely that, as with other illnesses, the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted health seeking behaviour, hospital visits, and admissions of malaria among the paediatric population in Ghana.

Hepatitis B and C infections in HIV-1 patients on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in Ghana: implications for immunologic recovery, clinical response to treatment, and hepatotoxicity.

Background: Viral hepatitis could have an impact on the treatment response in HIV patients. In this study, we sought to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B and C infections and examine the effect on the treatment response in HIV-1 patients attending antiretroviral therapy (ART) centers in the Volta and Oti Regions of Ghana.

Method: A longitudinal study design was employed.

Microbial pathogens associated with acute childhood diarrhoea in Kumasi, Ghana.

Background: Diarrhoeal diseases are among the most frequent causes of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. This case-control study was conducted to investigate the bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens associated with acute diarrhoea among children attending three health facilities in Kumasi, Ghana.

Methods: Stool specimens were collected from 240 children under 5 years of age visiting hospitals in Kumasi, Ghana due to acute diarrhoea and from 107 healthy controls of similar age.

Pattern and predictors of immunologic recovery in HIV infected patients.

Background: Although anti-retroviral therapy has generally improved the survival of HIV infected patients in many developing countries including Ghana, specific socio-demographic factors could still influence outcome of treatment. This study was designed to identify patient-specific factors that could influence the immune recovery of absolute CD4 count in HIV infected patients.

Findings: Hospital records were extracted from two health facilities in Ghana.

Measuring naturally acquired ex vivo IFN-γ responses to Plasmodium falciparum cell-traversal protein for ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS) in Ghanaian adults.

Background: A malaria vaccine that targets the sporozoite/liver stage parasites could potentially prevent blood stage infection and the associated clinical symptoms. Identification of sporozoite/liver stage antigens is, therefore, crucial for the development of effective vaccines. Cell-traversal protein for ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS) is a highly conserved antigen involved in sporozoite motility and hepatocyte invasion and has been shown to induce significant IFN-γ production in PBMCs from radiation-attenuated sporozoite-immunized malaria-naïve individuals.

Risk factors associated with hepatitis B exposure and the reliability of five rapid kits commonly used for screening blood donors in Ghana.

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) is one of the most widespread, chronic viral infections in sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of South America. Therefore, efforts are being made to implement strategies aimed at reducing the incidence of hepatitis B viral infections. One route of HBV transmission is through unsafe blood transfusion, which could occur from the use of less sensitive laboratory diagnostic kits.

Respiratory viruses in children hospitalized for acute lower respiratory tract infection in Ghana.

Background: Acute respiratory tract infections are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among young children in developing countries. Information on the viral aetiology of acute respiratory infections in developing countries is very limited. The study was done to identify viruses associated with acute lower respiratory tract infection among children less than 5 years.