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Differentiation of infectious causes in severely ill children is essential but challenging in sub- Saharan Africa. The aim of the study was to determine clinical indicators that are able to identify bacterial co-infections in P. falciparum infected children in rural Ghana. In total, 1,915 severely ill children below the age of 15 years were recruited at Agogo Presbyterian Hospital in Ghana between May 2007 and February 2011. In 771 (40%) of the children malaria parasites were detected. This group was analyzed for indicators of bacterial co-infections using bivariate and multivariate regression analyses with 24 socio-economic variables, 16 terms describing medical history and anthropometrical information and 68 variables describing clinical symptoms. The variables were tested for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. In 46 (6.0%) of the children with malaria infection, bacterial co-infection was detected. The most frequent pathogens were non-typhoid salmonellae (45.7%), followed by Streptococcus spp. (13.0%). Coughing, dehydration, splenomegaly, severe anemia and leukocytosis were positively associated with bacteremia. Domestic hygiene and exclusive breastfeeding is negatively associated with bacteremia. In cases of high parasitemia (>10,000/μl), a significant association with bacteremia was found for splenomegaly (OR 8.8; CI 1.6-48.9), dehydration (OR 18.2; CI 2.0-166.0) and coughing (OR 9.0; CI 0.7-118.6). In children with low parasitemia, associations with bacteremia were found for vomiting (OR 4.7; CI 1.4-15.8), severe anemia (OR 3.3; CI 1.0-11.1) and leukocytosis (OR 6.8 CI 1.9-24.2). Clinical signs of impaired microcirculation were negatively associated with bacteremia. Ceftriaxone achieved best coverage of isolated pathogens. The results demonstrate the limitation of clinical symptoms to determine bacterial co-infections in P. falciparum infected children. Best clinical indicators are dependent on the parasitemia level. Even with a moderate sensitivity of >60%, only low positive predictive values can be obtained due to low prevalence of bacteremia. Rapid testing for distinguishing parasitemia and bacteremia is essential.

BackgroundEvidence linking common mental disorders (CMD) in pregnant women to adverse birth outcomes is inconsistent, and studies often failed to control for pregnancy complications. This study aimed to explore the association between antenatal depression and anxiety symptoms and birth outcomes in a low-obstetric risk sample of mother/child dyads in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.MethodsIn 2010-2011, a prospective cohort of 1030 women in their third trimester in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire was enrolled. Depression and anxiety were assessed in the third trimester using the Patient Health Questionnaire depression module and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale. 719 mother/child dyads were included in the analysis. We constructed multivariate regression models to estimate the association between CMD and low birth weight (LBW), and preterm birth (PTB) to control for potential confounders.ResultsThe prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms were 28.9% and 14.2% respectively. The mean birth weight was 3172.1g (SD 440.6) and the prevalence of LBW was 1.7%. The mean gestational age was 39.6 weeks and the proportion of PTB was 4%. Multivariate linear regression revealed no significant association between maternal depression (B=52.2, 95% CI -18.2 122.6, p=0.15) or anxiety (B=17.1, 95% CI -74.6 108.7, p=0.72) and birth weight. Yet, low socio-economic status, female sex of the child, and younger maternal age were associated with lower birth weight. Multivariate logistic regression suggested no significant association between maternal depression (OR: 2.1, 95% CI 0.8 5.6, p=0.15) or anxiety (OR: 1.8, 95% CI 0.6 5.5, p=0.29) with PTB.ConclusionsOur data suggests that depression and/or anxiety in the 3(rd) trimester of pregnancy are not independent predictors of adverse birth outcomes in low obstetric risk women. The role of pregnancy complications as confounders or effect modifiers in studies of maternal CMD and their impact on birth outcomes should be investigated.

The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing health care utilization behavior for children with mild or severe disease symptoms in rural Ghana. Between March and September 2008 a cross-sectional health care utilization survey was conducted and 8,715 caregivers were interviewed regarding their intended behavior in case their children had mild or severe fever or diarrhea. To show associations between hospital attendance and further independent factors (e.g. travel distance or socio-economic status) prevalence ratios were calculated for the four disease symptoms. A Poisson regression model was used to control for potential confounding. Frequency of hospital attendance decreased constantly with increasing distance to the health facility. Being enrolled in the national health insurance scheme increased the intention to attend a hospital. The effect of the other factors diminished in the Poisson regression if modeled together with travel distance. The observed associations weakened with increasing severity of symptoms, which indicates that barriers to visit a hospital are less important if children experience a more serious illness. As shown in other studies, travel distance to a health care provider had the strongest effect on health care utilization. Studies to identify local barriers to access health care services are important to inform health policy making as they identify deprived populations with low access to health services and to early treatment.

The objective of the study was to describe systemic bacterial infections occurring in acutely ill and hospitalized children in a rural region in Ghana, regarding frequency, incidence, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and associations with anthropometrical data.Blood cultures were performed in all children below the age of five years, who were admitted to Agogo Presbyterian Hospital (APH), Asante Region, Ghana, between September 2007 and July 2009. Medical history and anthropometrical data were assessed using a standardized questionnaire at admission. Incidences were calculated after considering the coverage population adjusted for village-dependent health-seeking behavior.Among 1,196 hospitalized children, 19.9% (n = 238) were blood culture positive. The four most frequent isolated pathogens were nontyphoidal salmonellae (NTS) (53.3%; n = 129), Staphylococcus aureus (13.2%; n = 32), Streptococcus pneumoniae (9.1%; n = 22) and Salmonella ser. Typhi (7.0%; n = 17). Yearly cumulative incidence of bacteremia was 46.6 cases/1,000 (CI 40.9-52.2). Yearly cumulative incidences per 1,000 of the four most frequent isolates were 25.2 (CI 21.1-29.4) for NTS, 6.3 (CI 4.1-8.4) for S. aureus, 4.3 (CI 2.5-6.1) for S. pneumoniae and 3.3 (CI 1.8-4.9) for Salmonella ser. Typhi. Wasting was positively associated with bacteremia and systemic NTS bloodstream infection. Children older than three months had more often NTS bacteremia than younger children. Ninety-eight percent of NTS and 100% of Salmonella ser. Typhi isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, whereas both tested 100% susceptible to ceftriaxone. Seventy-seven percent of NTS and 65% of Salmonella ser. Typhi isolates were multi-drug resistant (MDR). Systemic bacterial infections in nearly 20% of hospitalized children underline the need for microbiological diagnostics, to guide targeted antimicrobial treatment and prevention of bacteremia. If microbiological diagnostics are lacking, calculated antimicrobial treatment of severely ill children in malaria-endemic areas should be considered.

INTRODUCTION: Although the incidence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa is reported to decline and other conditions, causing similar symptoms as clinical malaria are gaining in relevance, presumptive anti-malarial treatment is still common. This study traced for age-dependent signs and symptoms predictive for P. falciparum parasitaemia. METHODS: In total, 5447 visits of 3641 patients between 2-60 months of age who attended an outpatient department (OPD) of a rural hospital in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, were analysed. All Children were examined by a paediatrician and a full blood count and thick smear were done. A Classification and Regression Tree (CART) model was used to generate a clinical decision tree to predict malarial parasitaemia a7nd predictive values of all symptoms were calculated. RESULTS: Malarial parasitaemia was detected in children between 2-12 months and between 12-60 months of age with a prevalence of 13.8% and 30.6%, respectively. The CART-model revealed age-dependent differences in the ability of the variables to predict parasitaemia. While palmar pallor was the most important symptom in children between 2-12 months, a report of fever and an elevated body temperature of ≥37.5°C gained in relevance in children between 12-60 months. The variable palmar pallor was significantly (p

Malaria belongs to the infectious diseases with the highest morbidity and mortality worldwide. As a vector-borne disease malaria distribution is strongly influenced by environmental factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between malaria risk and different land cover classes by using high-resolution multispectral Ikonos images and Poisson regression analyses. The association of malaria incidence with land cover around 12 villages in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, was assessed in 1,988 children