ABSTRACT Background: Selecting an ideal genetic regions for the phylogenetic analysis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission continue to be a matter of debate, with different researches preferring different genomic region. Whole genome sequence analysis is always the gold standard for this this kind of research. But in middle income countries such as Ghana, where HBV infections are endemic, it is almost impossible to study a large number of samples because of financial constraints. Thus, ana...
ABSTRACT Background: Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) has been indicated as the most prevalent fungal opportunistic infection in individuals infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Candida albicans has been the most isolated species in OPC. However, other Candida species have been implicated as potential pathogens. Majority of these species have been found to be less susceptible to commonly administered antifungal drugs. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the distribution ...
ABSTRACT Background: Caesarean section (CS) is one of the most frequent surgical procedures performed on women worldwide. Post CS wound infection is a major cause of prolonged hospital stay, complicating 3% to 15% of CS procedures worldwide. Surgical site infections (SSI) are associated with a maternal mortality rate of up to 3%. With the continuous increase in the rate of CS procedures performed, it is expected that post CS infections will increase in parallel, hence its significance. A...
ABSTRACT Introduction: The major organisms that cause septicaemia in children have been established in different geographic locations. However, these causative organisms of paediatric septicaemia and their antibiogram change over time, within and across settings. In addition, increased antimicrobial drug resistance among the organisms has been observed over the last decades. Study of the aetiological agents and their antibiogram is therefore imperative for designing community- based managemen...
ABSTRACT Background: Babesia/Theileria species are intra-erythrocytic protozoa of the phylum apicomplexa. The merozoite stage of Babesia/Theileria have diagnostic significance and are found as intracellular inclusions of infected red blood cells. The trophozoite stages appear as ring forms which measure about 1.0 to 5.0µm. These parasites are transmitted by hard ticks and can cause a zoonotic disease known as babesiosis/theileriosis. Human babesiosis/theileriosis are usually asymptomatic exc...
ABSTRACT Background: Malaria continues to be a major public health concern with majority of deaths occurring in the tropical regions. Control strategies within the human host have been through drug administration either as treatment of infected persons or prophylaxis. The challenge to effective malaria control is partly due to the emergence and the spread of resistant Plasmodia, especially in endemic countries. Confirmed antimalarial drug resistance is the combination of microscopic analysi...
ABSTRACT Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the most common healthcare-associated infections affecting surgical patients. Such infections are often caused by methicillin-susceptible as well as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is resistant to the entire class of beta-lactam antimicrobials; which are largely used in clinical medicine. Patients infected with MRSAs therefore have limited therapeutic options, and this ...
ABSTRACT The main source of animal protein is livestock and their products. Livestock plays a crucial role in the economy of most nations. Parasitism is one of the main constraints limiting livestock productions. Control of parasitic diseases communicable from animals to men under natural conditions is very necessary to improve the health status of Ghanaians. The research was aimed at determining different parasites and compares the prevalence of infections at certified and uncertified abatt...
ABSTRACT There have been several reports on the antimicrobial activity of different herbal extracts. Medicinal plants are believed to be the best source for obtaining a variety of drugs. Hibiscus sabdariffa L. is a medicinal plant known for its nutritional delicacy and medicinal properties such as the treatment of diseases like hypertension, coughs, biliousness, boils and wounds. Currently, the main therapy for bacterial infections is the use of synthetic antibiotics. However, the misuse and...
ABSTRACT The safety, efficacy and quality of herbal mixtures have been an important concern for health authorities and health professional, especially now there is increase in the use of herbal mixtures. This study was aimed at isolation and identification of microorganisms from some liquid herbal mixtures sold in Enugu metropolis, South East of Nigeria. A total of twenty samples of herbal mixture were selected at random, from herbal shops in Enugu metropolis and were analysed in Microbiol...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Q fever is a zoonotic infection transmitted by an intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii. The most frequently observed clinical feature of Q fever is acute febrile illness, or in rare cases, chronic illnesses. This disease is under-diagnosed and under-reported because the symptoms are nonspecific, resembling other febrile illnesses such as malaria. Due to similarity of Q fever clinical symptoms to malaria and other febrile illness aetiologies, misdiagnosis could lead to...
ABSTRACT Malaria is an important infectious disease in tropical and subtropical regions. The disease presents a major global health problem with over 40% of the world`s population exposed to varying degrees of infection risk in over 100 countries. About 1 to 2 million deaths occur annually, 90% of whom are children in sub-Saharan Africa. During the course of malarial infection, the parasites as well as the red blood cells (RBCs) come under oxidative stress and the host system responds in an a...
ABSTRACT The microbial and chemical compositions of some indigenous foods of Southeastern Nigeria (Imo and Anambra States) were investigated. The total aerobic plate count (TAPC) for Ogiri ranged from 1.2 x 1010 to 2.4 x1011 cfu/g, the coliform count ranged from 2.1 x101 to 9.8 x102 cfu/g, and fungal count ranged from 1.0x108 to 3.3x1011 cfu/g. Aniga had a mean TAPC of 1.4x1011 cfu/g, coliform count of 3.8 x101 cfu/g and fungal count of 1.9x1011 cfu/g. Agbarati had a TAPC ranged from 1.1x109 ...
ABSTRACT Background: Schistosomes are parasitic worms that dwell in the blood vessels and belong to the genus Schistosoma. Schistosoma haematobium, one of the species of Schistosoma cause urogenital schistosomiasis (urinary schistosomiasis). The knowledge of urogenital schistosomiasis has improved over the years; however, there are still endemic areas with reported cases in Africa including Ghana. The disease may present as mild or severe with accompanying morbidity and mortality. Genetic var...
ABSTRACT Infection with hepatitis B virus constitutes a major public health problem globally. The lack of proofreading of the reverse transcriptase results in considerable mutations culminating into genotypes, sub-genotypes and variants. HBV quasispecies in an infected host has been linked to disease progression and therapeutic outcome. Limited data exist on the quasispecies diversity in other clinically relevant regions particularly the precore/core ORF which also is a determinant factor in ...