ABSTRACT Introduction: Malaria remains a major public health preventable and treatable mosquitoborne ailment. A test-based case management of malaria and targeted use of Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) for treatment has proven to reduce over-diagnosis and over treatment and therefore recommended as the main control strategy. But compliance by prescribers is still low. Most districts still manage malaria presumptively with treatment of negative test results with ACT. This study ...
ABSTRACT Introduction Lymphatic filariasis (LF), usually called elephantiasis, is a neglected tropical disease caused by thread –like parasitic worms called filarial worms (Wucheria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori). Wuchereria bancrofti is the most prevalent specie. It is transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to the genera Aedes, Anopheles, Culex, and Mansonia. Majority of infected people are asymptomatic, but 40% have kidney damage, with proteinuria and haematuria. LF is a public ...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Avian influenza (AI) is an infectious disease of birds caused by influenza type A viruses. Migratory waterfowl - most notably wild water fowls are the natural reservoir of all influenza A viruses. There are 16 subtypes of influenza A viruses, of which H5 and H7 subtypes are the most pathogenic In April 2007, the first outbreak of HPAI was reported in Ghana in a small scale poultry farm at Kakasunanka, near Michel Camp in the Tema Metropolis. There were subsequent outbreaks...
ABSTRACT Background: It is estimated that 224,488 persons made up of 189,931 adults and 34,557 children (15%) are living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Ghana (Ghana AIDS Commission, 2013). Disclosure to sexual partner (s) is one of the key strategies in HIV prevention as it may promote safer sex practices, prevents new infections to partner (s), reduces the risk of mother-to child transmission, increases social support and reduces depression. Studies in Africa on HI...
ABSTRACT Background: Vaccination is one of the most cost effective public health interventions. Real or perceived adverse events following immunization (AEFI) can however undermine the credibility of a vaccine and an immunization programme. Ghana rolled out a measles-rubella combined vaccine in a mass immunization campaign in September, 2013. We assessed the AEFI associated with the vaccine in Jirapa District to obtain baseline data and appropriately respond to public concerns on safety iss...
ABSTRACT Introduction:Home-based Management of Malaria (HMM) is a strategy to increase access to malaria treatment in Africa. In 2006, the strategy was launched in the Upper West Region (UWR) of Ghana. Community Based Agents (CBAs) were trained and equipped to provide home-based treatment to children aged 6-59 months with malaria. HMM was expected to reduce the number of children seen in health facilities with malaria. However, there has been a consistent increase in the burden of malaria ...
ABSTRACT Background Perinatal mortality rate (PNMR)in developing countries, particularly sub-saharan Africa and Ghana is unacceptably high. Most perinatal mortalities (PNM) occur among women referred for obstetric complication. Maternity referral system (MRS) challenges limit access to emergency obstetric care (EmOC) needed to prevent maternal and perinatal mortalities. Despite the importance of MRSs, they have been understudies and under researched. This study thus sought to find factors ass...
ABSTRACT Background Perinatal mortality rate (PNMR)in developing countries, particularly sub-saharan Africa and Ghana is unacceptably high. Most perinatal mortalities (PNM) occur among women referred for obstetric complication. Maternity referral system (MRS) challenges limit access to emergency obstetric care (EmOC) needed to prevent maternal and perinatal mortalities. Despite the importance of MRSs, they have been understudies and under researched. This study thus sought to find factors ass...
ABSTRACT Diabetes mellitus (DM) has become one of the most common chronic diseases globally, and it has assumed an epidemic status in the past few decades especially in low and middle income countries. The most frequent form is Type 2 diabetes which represents more than 85% of cases; other forms are Type 1 (10%) and Gestational diabetes (5%). Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease associated with an increased risk of developing several complications which include; cardiovascular diseases, d...
ABSTRACT Background: Malaria remains a leading public health problem in about 97 nations worldwide. Throughout the world, about 214 million new malaria cases are reported every year and over three billion persons are at risk of malaria. Approximately 90% of all malaria deaths occur in Africa. Africa continues to shoulder heaviest burden of malaria cases. Global demands for natural resources is fueling land use, saddled with unsatisfactory environmental burden in developing countries. We condu...
ABSTRACT Buruli ulcer disease (BU) is a skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. Currently, Buruli ulcer has been reported in over 30 countries, the subtropical regions of Asia, in Latin America, in the Western Pacific region and in Eastern and Central Africa. Even though it has been reported in other continents, West Africa is the region most affected. It is one of the neglected tropical diseases and second commonest disease caused by Mycobacterium in Ghana and third globally. Suhum-Kr...
ABSTRACT The World Health Organization (WHO) having recognized Buruli ulcer disease as an important cause of human suffering introduced treatment guidelines of a new protocol of 8-week initial therapy of intramuscular streptomycin and oral rifampicin in 2005. Although there has been some level of success in the treatment of Buruli ulcer with this new antibiotic protocol, some patients do not respond favourably as expected. Also, the response to chemotherapy of BU lesions including large ulcer...
ABSTRACT Background: Viral Haemorrhagic fevers (VHF) are among the important public health emergencies of international concern as defined by the International Health Regulations (2005). They are associated with occurrence of major epidemics with high case-fatality rates. The emergence and re-emergence of VHF is a growing concern worldwide. The recent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the sub region exposed many weaknesses in the disease surveillance and response systems in Africa due ...
ABSTRACT Background: In Africa, infectious diseases continue to be a major health problem because many of the national surveillance systems have scarce resources at their disposal and struggle to ensure timely detection or an effective response to disease outbreaks. To address this issue, in 1998 the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa approved the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) strategy for strengthening infectious disease surveillance and response capac...
ABSTRACT Background: Hepatitis is a disease defined by the inflammation of the liver and it is characterized by the existence of inflammatory cells in the tissues of the liver leading to fibrosis or cirrhosis. Viral hepatitis has become a global public health threat affecting millions of people yearly, causing disability and mortality. There are an estimated five hundred million people who are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Reliable data is requi...