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 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 ...
ABSTRACT Background Snail meat has served as a delicacy and reliable source of protein for man over the years. Despite the increasing price of snails, there is a corresponding increase in demand worldwide. Snails are currently being exploited for other purposes than just food. Russia and Japan are amongst some of the countries that use live snail (slime) for beauty therapy. In Ghana, almost every ethnic group consumes snails. There are undocumented reports of varied uses of the snail haemoly...
ABSTRACT Babesia species are intra-erythrocytic protozoa of the phylum apicomplexa. They are either round or pear shaped, often characterized by a tetrad configuration (Maltese cross). The merozoite stage of Babesia spp 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. This parasite is transmitted by hard ticks and can cause a zoonotic disease known as babesiosis. H...
ABSTRACT Background Onchocerca volvulus is a filarial parasite that causes onchocerciasis or ‘river blindness’. Two strains of the parasite exist in West Africa namely, savannah and forest strains. They differ significantly in epidemiology, disease severity and are specific to different vectors. The savannah strain found in West Africa is associated with blindness while the forest strain, on the other hand, causes less severe ocular diseases even in individuals with high parasite load. In...
ABSTRACT Background: The Aedes mosquito is an important vector of arboviruses, which include the Yellow fever virus (YFV), Dengue virus (DENV), and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Spatial distribution by their shared vectors is grounded on environmental and demographic factors. Currently, vector control is still the main instrument to reduce or eradicate incidence of arboviruses since there are no effective vaccines for a number of public health important arboviruses. With an upsurge in insecticid...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Meningitis is one of the leading causes of death among patients living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on clinical presentations, the different types of meningitis may not be distinguished from each other therefore, accurate laboratory diagnosis is extremely essential. Viruses such as Enteroviruses, Mumps virus and Herpes Simplex Virus-1 are implicated in cases of meningitis. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of viral meningitis among hospi...
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide disease. Annually, about nine million people contract tuberculosis and nearly two million are killed by the disease. The fatal synergy of human immuno deficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis, and the emergence of multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis have further contributed to the re-emergence of TB in many parts of the world. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis refers to the disease outside the lungs. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis can oc...
ABSTRACT Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) remain a leading cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic loss globally. Until recently, human coronaviruses (HCoVs) have been mainly associated with mild upper respiratory tract infections. The 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) since 2012, illustrate the potential of coronaviruses to cause severe disease. Thus, it was necessar...