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Medical complications during pregnancy have been frequently reported from Western Africa with a particular importance of infectious complications. Placental tissue can either become the target of infectious agents itself, such as, e.g., in the case of urogenital schistosomiasis, or be subjected to contamination with colonizing or infection-associated microorganisms of the cervix or the vagina during vaginal delivery. In the retrospective cross-sectional assessment presented here, the quantitative dimension of infection or colonization with selected resistant or pathogenic bacteria and parasites was regionally assessed. To do so, 274 collected placental tissues from Ivory Coastal and Ghanaian women were subjected to selective growth of resistant bacteria, as well as to molecular screening for beta-lactamase genes, Schistosoma spp. and selected bacterial causative agents of sexually transmitted infections (STI). Panton–Valentine-negative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was grown from 1.8% of the tissue samples, comprising the spa types t008 and t688, as well as the newly detected ones, t12101 (n = 2) and t12102. While the culture-based recovery of resistant Enterobacterales and nonfermentative rod-shaped Gram-negative bacteria failed, molecular assessments confirmed beta-lactamase genes in 31.0% of the samples with multiple detections of up to four resistance genes per sample and blaCTX-M, blaIMP, blaGES, blaVIM, blaOXA-58-like, blaNDM, blaOXA-23-like, blaOXA-48-like and blaKPC occurring in descending order of frequency. The beta-lactamase genes blaOXA-40/24-like, blaNMC_A/IMI, blaBIC, blaSME, blaGIM and blaDIM were not detected. DNA of the urogenital schistosomiasis-associated Schistosoma haematobium complex was recorded in 18.6% of the samples, but only a single positive signal for S. mansoni with a high cycle-threshold value in real-time PCR was found. Of note, higher rates of schistosomiasis were observed in Ghana (54.9% vs. 10.3% in Ivory Coast) and Cesarean section was much more frequent in schistosomiasis patients (61.9% vs. 14.8% in women without Schistosoma spp. DNA in the placenta). Nucleic acid sequences of nonlymphogranuloma-venereum-associated Chlamydia trachomatis and of Neisseria gonorrhoeae were recorded in 1.1% and 1.9% of the samples, respectively, while molecular attempts to diagnose Treponema pallidum and Mycoplasma genitalium did not lead to positive results. Molecular detection of Schistosoma spp. or STI-associated pathogens was only exceptionally associated with multiple resistance gene detections in the same sample, suggesting epidemiological distinctness. In conclusion, the assessment confirmed considerable prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis and resistant bacterial colonization, as well as a regionally expected abundance of STI-associated pathogens. Continuous screening offers seem advisable to minimize the risks for the pregnant women and their newborns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both Schistosoma spp. (species) and Leishmania spp. are prevalent in Ghana in West Africa. However, little is known about their local occurrence in immunocompromised individuals. In the study presented here, the real-time PCR-(polymerase chain reaction-)based screening for repetitive DNA (deoxyribonucleotide acid) sequences from the genomes of Leishmania (L.) spp. and Schistosoma (S.) spp. was performed in the serum of HIV-(human immunodeficiency virus-)infected Ghanaian patients. In 1083 assessed serum samples from HIV-positive and HIV-negative Ghanian patients, Leishmania spp.-specific DNA was not detected, while the diagnostic accuracy-adjusted prevalence estimation suggested a 3.6% prevalence of the S. mansoni complex and a 0.5% prevalence of the S. haematobium complex. Associations of schistosomiasis with younger age, as well as with the male sex, could be shown but not with an HIV status. Weakly significant signals for the associations of schistosomiasis with an increased viral load, reduced CD4+ (CD = cluster of differentiation) T cell count, and a reduced CD4+/CD8+ ratio could be observed but was inconsistently lost in the case of the stratification on the species complex level. So, it is concluded that factors other than HIV status are more likely to have influenced the occurrence of Schistosoma spp. infections in the assessed Ghanaian patients. Potential associations between HIV infection-associated factors, such as the viral load and the immune status of the patients, for which weak signals were observed in this hypothesis-forming retrospective assessment, should be confirmed by prospective, sufficiently powered investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, Staphylococcus aureus is an important bacterial pathogen causing a wide range of community and hospital acquired infections. In Ghana, resistance of S. aureus to locally available antibiotics is increasing but the molecular basis of resistance and the population structure of S. aureus in particular in chronic wounds are poorly described. However, this information is essential to understand the underlying mechanisms of resistance and spread of resistant clones. We therefore subjected 28 S. aureus isolates from chronic infected wounds in a rural area of Ghana to whole genome sequencing. Results: Overall, resistance of S. aureus to locally available antibiotics was high and 29% were Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The most abundant sequence type was ST88 (29%, 8/28) followed by ST152 (18%, 5/28). All ST88 carried the mecA gene, which was associated with this sequence type only. Chloramphenicol resistance gene fexB was exclusively associated with the methicillin-resistant ST88 strains. Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) carriage was associated with ST121 and ST152. Other detected mechanisms of resistance included dfrG, conferring resistance to trimethoprim. Conclusions: This study provides valuable information for understanding the population structure and resistance mechanisms of S. aureus isolated from chronic wound infections in rural Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]