The malaria drug policy for Ghana is chloroquine, Fansidar and quinine as the first line, second line and third line drugs respectively. However, the burden o f malaria has been complicated by the emergence of resistance especially to chloroquine, which is a cheap and effective drug. It has therefore become imperative that the levels o f resistance o f Plasmodium falciparum to anti-malarial drugs (chloroquine and Fansidar) in Ghana be established and the information used to develop an a...
Malaria remains a life-threatening disease in the tropical and sub-tropical world, affecting mostly children and pregnant women. One of the biggest threats to malaria control is the ability of the causative parasite to develop resistance to anti-malarials and how quickly the resistance spreads. This makes it necessary for further research to discover new anti-malarial drugs. Plant products offer a great promise in this direction. This study tested the anti-plasmodial activities of crude ...
ABSTRACT Study conducted from 1993 through 1996 at the ICRISAT Sahelian Centre, Niger, on the millet stem borer Coniesta ignefusalis were designed to address larval instar determination and life-fertility table construction, damage and yield loss assessment on pearl millet, Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Brown, and oviposition preference and larval development on two wild hosts, Andropogon gayanus Kunth and Pennisetum pedicellatum (Trin.). Biological control studies investigated the suitability o...
A B S T R A C T The b io lo g y o f th r e e s p e c ie s o f Oxycarenus found in Southern Ghana has been s tu d ied . T h e i r h o s t p la n t s are l i s t e d and host p r e fe r en c e s examined. The sea sonal p opula t io n changes o f two s p e c ie s have been fo l low e d . The n a tu ra l enemies and d e fen s iv e mechanisms have been s tu d ie d . A d e t a i l e d d e s c r ip t io n o f the immature s ta g e s o f the th r e e Oxycarenus sp e c ie s has been g iv en f o r th e...
ABSTRACT Studies on the distribution patterns, dispersal and population genetics of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) and Anopheles funestus (Diptera: Culicidae) were conducted at two sites, i.e Jaribuni and Mtepeni in Kilifi, along the Kenyan Coast. Longitudinal sampling of mosquito populations was conducted during the period 2002 - 2003. Day resting indoor collections and all night human biting catches revealed the presence of An. funestus, An. gambiae s.s, An. squamosus, An. coustani...
ABSTRACT prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), the Larger Grain Borer (LGB) has become a serious pest of stored maize and dried cassava chips since it was first seen in Ghana in 1989. Studies on the tolerance of maize varieties and wood species used in the construction of maize storage structures in the Volta Region of Ghana to P. truncatus was made under laboratory and field conditions. Varietal resistance of maize to insects could be of great help to farmers, especially...
Abstract Malaria is a mosquito-borne protozoal disease caused by species o f the genus Plasmodium. It is characterised by acute febrile illness which may be expressed as periodic paroxysms occurring every' 48 or 72 hours with afebrile and relatively asymptomatic intervals and the tendency to recrudesce or relapse over a period of months to many years (Gilles and Warrel. 1993). Other major symptoms of malaria are rigors/chills, vomiting, convulsion, headache, drowsiness and muscleskeletal pain...
ABSTRACT A revised generic diagnosis of the genus Nilothauma Kieffer, 1921a, is given. Four new Afrotropical species, N. loba sp. n., N. tricaudata sp. n., N. flabella sp. n., and N. insolita sp. n., are described as male imagines. N. pictipenne Kieffer, 1921a is redescribed as male and female imagines. Two Neotropical species (N. aleta Roback,1960 and N. Buena Roback, 1960) are regarded as nominal dubia and placed in Paratendipes. A key to male imagines of the Nilothauma pictipenne group is...
ABSTRACT Changing urban ecology has increasingly put amphibians living in swampy portions of coastal city centres in constant threat of mortality resulting from acute toxicity effects.
ABSTRACT Biology of cowpea flower thrips Megalurothrips sjostedti, was studied under field conditions. Population studies showed that the trend of thrips populations was closely tied with the flowering cycle of the cowpea crop. Peak thrips populations coincided with peak flowering of the crop. The seasonal abundance of thrips was mainly governed by weather factors. Thrips were found to oviposit mainly in the calyx of the cowpea flower. Evaluation of different sampling methods for thrips on co...
ABSTRACT Control of onchocerciasis over the past 3 decades has brought great relief to millions of people living in endemic communities, by substantially reducing blindness and other dermatological lesions. However, there are still areas where infections in human populations are high and vector transmission is ongoing, requiring a further understanding into the transmission dynamics of the disease in such communities. Furthermore the status of animal onchocerciasis is still unknown in Ghana ...
ABSTRACT Control of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Ghana is based on annual mass drug administration (MDA) with a combination of ivermectin and albendazole, in order to halt transmission. It is expected that 5-6 rounds of MDA should result in the interruption of transmission. This research present findings from a study in two endemic rural communities in Western Ghana, after ten rounds of MDA. The study was conducted in Agona Princess and Akonu in the Ahanta West District and Nzema East Municip...
ABSTRACT Studies on toxicological and sedative effects of Datura innoxia plant parts (leaf, seed, stem, pod and root) on Clarias gariepinus fingerlings were conducted under laboratory conditions using the static bioassays and continuous aeration. The aim was to develop an effective anaesthetic from an indigenous plant material that will be available at low cost to aquaculturists and which would be non-toxic to the fish and consumers. The active ingredients and their compositions in the plant ...
ABSTRACT In Ghana, onchocerciasis control with mass ivermectin treatment began in 1987. Despite over two decades of interventions, the disease remains persistent with reports of sub-optimal/poor parasite responses to the drug. Some treated patients are observed with higher microfilarial repopulation rates in skin than expected, an indication of sub-optimal response. Although ivermectin is still effective in reducing microfilaridermias, it is uncertain if its embryostatic effect has been comp...
ABSTRACT Ivermectin (IVM) still remains the only safe drug for the mass control of onchocerciasis, and the continued success of the control programmes depends on its efficacy. However, recent reports show that there are populations of adult Onchocerca volvulus responding suboptimally to IVM. This requires assessment of parasitological response profile of O. volvulus to IVM and genetic analysis of Beta-tubulin gene known to be associated with IVM selection, to determine the a...