Biological sample donation and informed consent for neurobiobanking: Evidence from a community survey in Ghana and Nigeria

Copyright: \ua9 2022 Singh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Introduction Genomic research and neurobiobanking are expanding globally. Empirical evidence on the level of awareness and willingness to donate/share biological samples towards the expansion of neurobiobanking in sub-Saharan Africa is lacking. Aims To ascertain the awareness, perspectives and predictors regarding biological sample donation, sharing and informed consent preferences among community members in Ghana and Nigeria. Methods A questionnaire cross-sectional survey was conducted among randomly selected community members from seven communities in Ghana and Nigeria. Results Of the 1015 respondents with mean age 39.3 years (SD 19.5), about a third had heard of blood donation (37.2%, M: 42.4%, F: 32.0%, p = 0.001) and a quarter were aware of blood sample storage for research (24.5%; M: 29.7%, F: 19.4%, p = 0.151). Two out of ten were willing to donate brain after death (18.8%, M: 22.6%, F: 15.0%, p<0.001). Main reasons for unwillingness to donate brain were; to go back to God complete (46.6%) and lack of knowledge related to brain donation (32.7%). Only a third of the participants were aware of informed consent (31.7%; M: 35.9%, F: 27.5%, p<0.001). Predictors of positive attitude towards biobanking and informed consent were being married, tertiary level education, student status, and belonging to select ethnic groups. Conclusion There is a greater need for research attention in the area of brain banking and informed consent. Improved context-sensitive public education on neurobiobanking and informed consent, in line with the sociocultural diversities, is recommended within the African sub region

Household and market survey on availability of adequately iodized salt in the Volta region, Ghana

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Health Promotion and Education on 27/10/2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14635240.2016.1250658Consumption of adequately iodized salt (AIS) ≥15ppm is one of the criteria for measuring progress towards universal salt iodization (USI) and sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency disorders. After series of health promotion activities, this survey was conducted to evaluate the extent to which USI was achieved. Cross-sectional survey was conducted in 1,961 households and 350 markets to estimate the iodine levels of salt consumed or sold. Three degrees of iodization were estimated from fine, coarse and granular texture salt using MBI rapid field test kits. Differences in iodization levels were determined using Bonferroni test in STATA. Determinants for household utilization of AIS were identified using regression analysis and reported as odds ratio (OR). Availability of AIS in households (24.5%) and markets (30.9%) was far below the 90% recommendation. No differences where observed in urban (26.8%) and rural (24.1%) households. Households that used fine-texture salt (OR: 40.13; CI: 30.1-53.4) or stored salt in original packs (OR: 8.02; CI: 6.01-10.70) were more likely to consume AIS. Across districts, highest household availability of AIS was 51.7% while the least was 7.5%. The district with the highest market availability of AIS was 85.7% while the least was 8.3%. Almost 32% of the traders were aware that selling non-iodized salt was unauthorized but out of this, only 12% sold AIS. Public education should emphasis appropriate handling and storage of salt throughout the supply chain. To ensure adequate salt fortification with iodine, improved surveillance of factories and mining sites is recommended

Elevated rates of horizontal gene transfer in the industrialized human microbiome

Industrialization has impacted the human gut ecosystem, resulting in altered microbiome composition and diversity. Whether bacterial genomes may also adapt to the industrialization of their host populations remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigate the extent to which the rates and targets of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) vary across thousands of bacterial strains from 15 human populations spanning a range of industrialization. We show that HGTs have accumulated in the microbiome over recent host generations and that HGT occurs at high frequency within individuals. Comparison across human populations reveals that industrialized lifestyles are associated with higher HGT rates and that the functions of HGTs are related to the level of host industrialization. Our results suggest that gut bacteria continuously acquire new functionality based on host lifestyle and that high rates of HGT may be a recent development in human history linked to industrialization.Peer reviewe

Capacity-Building for Stroke Genomic Research Data Collection: The African Neurobiobank Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Project Experience

\ua9 2023 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Background: The fields of stroke genomics, biobanking, and precision medicine are rapidly expanding in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of emerging neurobiobanking and genomic data resources are unclear in an emerging African scientific landscape with unique cultural, linguistic, and belief systems. Objective: This article documents capacity-building experiences of researchers during the development, pretesting, and validation of data collection instruments of the African Neurobiobank for Precision Stroke Medicine - (ELSI) Project. Methods: The African Neurobiobank for Precision Stroke Medicine - ELSI project is a transnational, multicenter project implemented across seven sites in Ghana and Nigeria. Guided by the Community-Based Participatory Research framework, we conducted three workshops with key stakeholders to review the study protocol, ensure uniformity in implementation; pretest, harmonize, and integrate context-specific feedback to ensure validity and adaptability of data collection instruments. Workshop impact was assessed using an open-ended questionnaire, which included questions on experience with participation in any of the workshops, building capacity in Genetic and Genomic Research (GGR), level of preparedness toward GGR, the genomic mini-dictionary developed by the team, and its impact in enhancing understanding in GGR. Data were analyzed qualitatively using a thematic framework approach. Results: Findings revealed the usefulness of the workshop in improving participants\u27 knowledge and capacity toward GGR implementation. It further identified local, context-specific concerns regarding quality data collection, the need to develop culturally acceptable, genomic/biobanking data collection tools, and a mini-dictionary. Participants-reported perceptions were that the mini-dictionary enhanced understanding, participation, and data collection in GGR. Overall, participants reported increased preparedness and interest in participating in GGR. Conclusion: Capacity-building is a necessary step toward ELSI-related genomic research implementation in African countries where scholarship of ELSI of genomics research is emerging. Our findings may be useful to the design and implementation of ELSI-GGR projects in other African countries

Economic commodity or environmental crisis? An interdisciplinary approach to analysing the bushmeat trade in central and west Africa

Bushmeat is a large but largely invisible contributor to the economies of west and central African countries. Yet the trade is currently unsustainable. Hunting is reducing wildlife populations, driving more vulnerable species to local and regional extinction, and threatening biodiversity. This paper uses a commodity chain approach to explore the bushmeat trade and to demonstrate why an interdisciplinary approach is required if the trade is to be sustainable in the future

Synthesising bushmeat research effort in West and Central Africa: A new regional database

Unsustainable hunting threatens both biodiversity and local livelihoods. Despite high levels of research effort focused on understanding the dynamics of bushmeat trade and consumption, current research is largely site specific. Without synthesis and quantitative analysis of available case studies, the national and regional characteristics of bushmeat trade and consumption remain largely speculative, impeding efforts to inform national and regional policy on bushmeat trade. Here we describe the structure and content of the West and Central African bushmeat database which holds quantitative data on bushmeat sales, consumption and offtake for 177 species from 275 sites across 11 countries in two regions, spanning three decades of research. Despite this wealth of available data, we found important biases in research effort. The majority of studies in West and Central Africa have collected market data, which although providing a useful record of bushmeat sales, are limited in their ability to track changes in hunting offtake. In addition, few data exist for West Africa, and few studies have tracked changes over time, using repeat sampling. With new initiatives in the regions to track bushmeat hunting, this database represents an opportunity to synthesise current and future data on bushmeat hunting, consumption and trade in West and Central Africa, identify gaps in current understanding, and systematically target future monitoring efforts