Search

Abstract Background Praziquantel (PZQ) is the standard treatment for Schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is evidence suggesting praziquantel treatment failure in Schistosome infections with associated potential renal impairment. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of three monthly doses of 60 mg/kg/day PZQ on schistosome egg count, liver and renal function during the treatment of urinary schistosomiasis in Ghana. Methods A nested case-control study was designed from a cohort screened for schistosomiasis; 28 schistosomiasis positive cases by microscopy matched with 53 healthy controls by age and gender. The study population was urban dwellers from the Asokwa sub-metropolitan area, Kumasi in Ghana. Participants were within the age range of 6 to 30 years. We assessed Schistosoma haematobium egg counts in urine and its associated impact on liver and renal function at baseline, treatment and post-treatment phases using serum. Results Of the 28 cases and 53 controls, 78.6% and 81.1% were males respectively. Globulin levels before treatment was higher in cases [36.7 (32.8, 40.1) vrs 30.5 (22.4, 33.8), p = 0.005] at pre-treatment but not at post-treatment [35.8 (31.2, 39.1) vrs 37.4 (29.7, 43.0), p = 0.767]. Estimated cure rate was 42.9, 46.4 and 96.4% after first, second and third dose respectively. Schistosome egg counts dropped significantly (p = 0.001) from before second dose to post-treatment. Similarly, levels of alanine aminotransferase (p = 0.001), aspartate aminotransferase (p = 0.028) and gamma glutamyl transferase (p = 0.001) significantly declined towards post-treatment. Estimated glomerular filtration rate significantly improved from before second dose to post-treatment using both the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Program (p = 0.001) and 4-variable Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (p = 0.002) equations. Conclusion Treatment of urinary Schistosoma hematobium infections with a repeated high monthly dose of 60 mg/kg of praziquantel for 3 months is safe and effective.

Microbes are found all over the globe with some few exceptions, including sterilized surfaces. They include normal flora that is nonpathogenic, which contribute to the larger percentage, and pathogenic species which are few. Hence, the activities of humans cannot be completely separated from microbes. Thus, many pathogenic microbes have found their way into fresh fruits and vegetables which are a great source of a healthy diet for humans. The growing demand for fresh fruits and vegetables has necessitated larger production. The larger production of vegetables within the shortest possible time to meet the growing demand has placed them at a higher risk of contamination with the pathogenic microbes, making the safety of consumers uncertain. Study of sources of contamination and type of pathogenic etiological agents isolated from fresh fruits and vegetables includes Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium botulinum, E. coli O157: H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Shigella, Staphylococcus, and Vibrio cholera. Several measures have proven to be effective in controlling contamination of microbes and they include the establishment of surveillance systems to monitor the production chain and thoroughly washing vegetables with vinegar water. Saltwater and other washing techniques are effective but caution should be taken to make sure one does not use one cycle of water for washing all vegetables. The consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is still encouraged by this review but significant measures must be taken to check the safety of these products before consumption.

Accurate diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis is vital for surveillance/control programs as well as achieving the WHO 2012-2020 road map for the total eradication of schistosomiasis. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) has emerged as a rapid and simple molecular tool adaptable for fewer resources with diagnostic accuracy similar to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This rapid molecular assay employs the use of enzymes for the amplification of nucleic acid taget at a constant temperature. The aim of this study was to validate a real-time RPA assay targeting the Dra 1 repittitive sequence of Schistosoma (S.) haematobium and evaluate its use in urogenital schistosomiasis diagnosis. S. haematobium Dra 1 molecular DNA standard was applied to determine the assay's analytical sensitivity. DNA extracts of S. haematobium, other Schistosoma species, protozoa and bacteria species were used to determine the specificity of the RPA assay. Clinical performance of the assay was validated with a panel of 135 urine samples from volunteers of schistosomiasis endemic communities. The developed assay was evaluated with urine samples extracted by just boiling and with SpeedXtract® DNA extraction kit. A specific fragment of S. haematobium Dra 1 repetitive sequence was amplified within 15 minutes at a constant 42˚C using the developed S. haematobium RPA assay. The detection limit was 15 copies of Dra1 molecular DNA standard per reaction. There was no cross-reaction with other protozoan and bacterial species except Schistosoma species, S. mansoni and S. japonicum. Using 135 urine samples, Schistosoma RPA assay had a clinical sensitivity and specificity of 98.4% (95% CI, 91.6-100) and 100% (95% CI, 94.9-99) respectively when compared to S. haematobium Dra 1 qPCR assay. The diagnostic performance of S. haematobium real-time RPA assay was not affected by the use of crude DNA extracted samples. The S. haematobium RPA assay can serve as an alternative to PCR, especially in low resource settings., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Microbes are found all over the globe with some few exceptions, including sterilized surfaces. They include normal flora that is nonpathogenic, which contribute to the larger percentage, and pathogenic species which are few. Hence, the activities of humans cannot be completely separated from microbes. Thus, many pathogenic microbes have found their way into fresh fruits and vegetables which are a great source of a healthy diet for humans. The growing demand for fresh fruits and vegetables has necessitated larger production. The larger production of vegetables within the shortest possible time to meet the growing demand has placed them at a higher risk of contamination with the pathogenic microbes, making the safety of consumers uncertain. Study of sources of contamination and type of pathogenic etiological agents isolated from fresh fruits and vegetables includes Bacillus cereus , Campylobacter jejuni , Clostridium botulinum , E. coli O157: H7, Listeria monocytogenes , Salmonella spp. , Shigella , Staphylococcus , and Vibrio cholera . Several measures have proven to be effective in controlling contamination of microbes and they include the establishment of surveillance systems to monitor the production chain and thoroughly washing vegetables with vinegar water. Saltwater and other washing techniques are effective but caution should be taken to make sure one does not use one cycle of water for washing all vegetables. The consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is still encouraged by this review but significant measures must be taken to check the safety of these products before consumption., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Gadafi Iddrisu Balali et al.)

Background: There have been recent reports of surge in resistance to insecticides in pocketed areas in Ghana necessitating the need for information about local vector populations and their resistance to the insecticides approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). We therefore studied a population of malaria vectors from Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana and their resistance to currently used insecticides. We conducted susceptibility tests to the four major classes of insecticides by collecting larvae of anopheline mosquitoes from several communities in the region. Surviving adults from these larvae were then subjected to the WHO-approved susceptibility tests and characterization of knockdown resistance and acetylcholinesterase mutant genes., Results: Out of 619 Anopheles specimens sampled, 537 (87%) were identified as Anopheles gambiae (sensu stricto), which was also the species with the lowest knockdown resistance mutant gene, 61% (P = 0.017). Knockdown resistance mutant gene was as high as 91% in An. coluzzii. Mosquitoes collected showed susceptibility ranging from 98-100% to organophosphates, 38-56% to carbamates and 15-47% and 38-46% to pyrethroids and organochlorides, respectively. The knockdown resistance mutation frequency of Anopheles gambiae (sensu lato) mosquitoes that were exposed to both pyrethroids and organochlorides was 404 (65%). Acetylcholinesterase mutant gene was not found in this population of vectors., Conclusion: Our study shows that pyrethroids have the highest level of resistance in the population of mosquito vectors studied probably due to their frequent use, especially in impregnation of insecticide-treated nets and in insecticides used to control pests on irrigated vegetable farms. We recommend studies to monitor trends in the use of all insecticides and of pyrethroids in particular.