Some physiochemical and heavy metal concentration in surface water stream of Tutuka in the Kenyasi mining catchment area

The research was conducted in the Akantansu stream of Tutuka in Kenyasi in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana from October 2010 to January 2011. The objectives of the study were to find out the contamination levels of pH, BOD5, Lead, Chromium, and Arsenic in the Akantansu stream of Tutuka to promote public health safety of people patronizing the stream for bathing and cooking. Determination of pH was achieved using Etech instrument (PC 300 series where as BOD5 level was assessed by means of empirical standard laboratory test which determined the relative oxygen requirements of waste water, effluents and polluted water using the standard procedure as per America Public Health Association (2006). An AAS 220 atomic absorption spectrometer was used for the analyses of heavy metals (lead, chromium and arsenic). The Research revealed that, the geometric mean levels of (0.01- 0.02, 0.03 – 0.26, 0 - 0.01, 3.99 – 7.06) mg/L and 5.64 – 6.40 for Arsenic, Lead, Chromium, BOD5 and pH compared to the EPA Maximum Permissible Limits of ( 0.5, 0.1, 0.1, 50) mg/L and 6-9 were respectively within the acceptable standards. However, due to slightly higher concentration of chromium (0.26 mg/L) up the stream, the people of Tutuka may develop health effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hallucinations, headaches, depression, sleeping disorders, skin cancers, tumours in lungs, bladder, kidney and liver if they continue to use water from the stream for bathing and cooking

Biological control of aflatoxins in maize and groundnut through use of aflasafe products developed for Ghana

United States Agency for International Developmen

Potential of atoxigenic Aspergillus flavus vegetative compatibility groups associated with maize and groundnut in Ghana as biocontrol agents for aflatoxin management

Open Access Journal; Published online: 06 Sept 2019Increasing knowledge of the deleterious health and economic impacts of aflatoxin in crop commodities has stimulated global interest in aflatoxin mitigation. Current evidence of the incidence of Aspergillus flavus isolates belonging to vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) lacking the ability to produce aflatoxins (i.e., atoxigenic) in Ghana may lead to the development of an aflatoxin biocontrol strategy to mitigate crop aflatoxin content. In this study, 12 genetically diverse atoxigenic African A. flavus VCGs (AAVs) were identified from fungal communities associated with maize and groundnut grown in Ghana. Representative isolates of the 12 AAVs were assessed for their ability to inhibit aflatoxin contamination by an aflatoxin-producing isolate in laboratory assays. Then, the 12 isolates were evaluated for their potential as biocontrol agents for aflatoxin mitigation when included in three experimental products (each containing four atoxigenic isolates). The three experimental products were evaluated in 50 maize and 50 groundnut farmers’ fields across three agroecological zones (AEZs) in Ghana during the 2014 cropping season. In laboratory assays, the atoxigenic isolates reduced aflatoxin biosynthesis by 87–98% compared to grains inoculated with the aflatoxin-producing isolate alone. In field trials, the applied isolates moved to the crops and had higher (P < 0.05) frequencies than other A. flavus genotypes. In addition, although at lower frequencies, most atoxigenic genotypes were repeatedly found in untreated crops. Aflatoxin levels in treated crops were lower by 70–100% in groundnut and by 50–100% in maize (P < 0.05) than in untreated crops. Results from the current study indicate that combined use of appropriate, well-adapted isolates of atoxigenic AAVs as active ingredients of biocontrol products effectively displace aflatoxin producers and in so doing limit aflatoxin contamination. A member each of eight atoxigenic AAVs with superior competitive potential and wide adaptation across AEZs were selected for further field efficacy trials in Ghana. A major criterion for selection was the atoxigenic isolate’s ability to colonize soils and grains after release in crop field soils. Use of isolates belonging to atoxigenic AAVs in biocontrol management strategies has the potential to improve food safety, productivity, and income opportunities for smallholder farmers in Ghana

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods: We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings: Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation: Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Leafspot of Taro ( Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) in Ghana and Suppression of Symptom Development with Thiophanate Methyl

A foliar disease of taro ( Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) in Ghana, which manifests as diffuse, circular to irregular spots, mostly on older leaves ultimately resulting in leaf blight, was found to be caused by Cladosporium colocasiae (Saw.). Isolates of C. colocasiae used in pathogenicity tests were virulent on taro but generally non-pathogenic to cocoyam ( Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott). A study of disease progress on individual leaves of upland taro indicated that spots appear on newly unfurled leaves after 12 days and the leaf blight stage occurs 24 days later. Of sixty-four taro plantings surveyed in nineteen towns and villages, forty-six (71.9%) were growing in swamps, twelve (18.8%) under semi-upland conditions and six (9.3%) under strictly upland conditions. The disease was observed in fifty-eight (90.6%) of the plantings. It was either absent or unimportant on swamp-grown taro, moderate on semi-upland taro and most severe on the upland crop. In an upland field trial, each of the six different application rates and spray schedules tested with Topsin M (thiophanate methyl 70 WP), significantly reduced disease progress. Thus, leaf spotting disease could be effectively managed with the fungicide in the upland/semi-upland regions of Ghana

Etiological and epidemiological studies on the red leaf disease of pineapple in Ghana

Possible cause(s) of red leaf disease (RLD) of pineapple ( Ananas comosus L.) in Ghana were examined through field observations, isolation of suspected organisms from roots of diseased plants, growing plants in potted steam-sterilised and unsterilised natural field soils. Others included detection of the pineapple closterovirus (PCV) from symptomatic and healthy pineapple leaves using tissue blot immunoassay (TBIA). Effects of soil moisture, soil fertility, sucker condition and light intensity on the disease were studied in pots while some factor combinations were studied in mini plots in the field. Diseased plants from the field had reduced root systems and had Neosartorya fischeri . Nematodes of the genera Aphelenchus , Pratylenchus and Helicotylenchus were recovered from roots and infrequently from the rind of the underground stem. Pineapple plants grown outdoors in steam-sterilised field soil reddened just as those grown in unsterilised soil. The PCV was detected in only 53% of all typically symptomatic leaves examined. All non-symptomatic leaves also tested positive for PCV. Plants grown from symptomatic suckers in a plant house with diffuse light intensity (7,440 lm m-2) and at 29 °C, recovered from RLD within 6 months. These plants, however, reddened when grown outdoors with intense light (39,751 lm m-2) at 30 °C. Significantly (P<0.05) lower disease levels were recorded on mini-plots optimally fertilised with NPK and maintained at high moisture than on low fertility, low moisture plots. In a further mini plot trial, plants grown with reduced light had lower disease levels than those grown with full light. Overall, these results show that soil biotic factors have no primary etiological role in RLD. The viral nature of the disease is also doubtful. Leaf reddening in pineapple could be a physiological response to environmental stresses.Les possibles causes de la maladie des feuilles rouge (MFR) de l&apos;anana ( Ananas comosus L.) au Ghana étaient étudiées à travers des observations des champs, en isolation des organismes suspectés dans les racines des plantes infectées, en cultivant des plantes dans des pôts stérilisés par la vapeur et des champs naturels non stérilisés. D&apos;autres méthodes incluaient la detection des closterovirus de l&apos;anana (CVA) sur des feuilles d&apos;anana présentant les symptômes et en bonne santé en utilisant des buvard immunoassay (BIA). Les effets de l&apos;humidité du sol, la fertilité du sol, les conditions des rejetons et l&apos;intensité de la lumière sur la maladie étaient étudiés dans des pôts alors que certains facteurs des combinaisons étaient étudiés dans des mini parcelles dans les champs. Les plantes infectées dans les champs avaient des systèmes des racines réduits et avaient Neosartorya fischeri . Les nématodes des genres Aphelenchus , Pratylenchus et le Helicotylenchus étaient récupérés des racines et de manière non regulière des écorces de la partie ensevelie dans le sol de la tige. Les ananas plantés en plain air dans des champs dont le sol était stérilisé à la vapeur rougis comme ceux la qui ont été planté dans un sol non stérilisé. Les CVA étaient detecté dans 53% des cas seulement sur les feuilles symptomatiques examinées. Toutes les feuilles non symptomatiques étaient aussi testées positives pour les CVA. Les plantes cultivées à partir des rejetons symptomatiques dans une maison des plantes avec de la lumière diffuse (7440 lm m-2) et à 29°C récupéra de la MFR dans 6 mois. Ces plantes devinrent rouge quand elles étaient plantées en plain air pour l&apos;intensité lumineuse de 39751 lm m-2) à 30°C. Des niveaux de maladies inférieurs étaient enregistrés sur des mini plots fertilisés de façon optimale avec le NPK et maintenus à l&apos;état d&apos;humidité élévée que sur des parcelles de faible fertilité et faible humidité. Dans d&apos;autres essais sur des mini parcelles, ces résultats montrent que les facteurs biotiques n&apos;ont pas de rôle étiologique dans pour MFR. La nature virale de la maladie est aussi à douter. Le rougissement de la feuille d&apos;anana peurrait être une réponse au stress environnementaux

Prevalence of aflatoxin contamination in maize and groundnut in Ghana: population structure, distribution, and toxigenicity of the causal agents

Article purchasedAflatoxin contamination in maize and groundnut is perennial in Ghana with substantial health and economic burden on the population. The present study examined for the first time the prevalence of aflatoxin contamination in maize and groundnut in major producing regions across three agroecological zones (AEZs) in Ghana. Furthermore, the distribution and aflatoxin-producing potential of Aspergillus species associated with both crops were studied. Out of 509 samples (326 of maize and 183 of groundnut), 35% had detectable levels of aflatoxins. Over 15% of maize and 11% of groundnut samples exceeded the aflatoxin threshold limits set by the Ghana Standards Authority of 15 and 20 ppb, respectively. Mycoflora analyses revealed various species and morphotypes within the Aspergillus section Flavi. A total of 5,083 isolates were recovered from both crops. The L morphotype of Aspergillus flavus dominated communities with 93.3% of the population, followed by Aspergillus spp. with S morphotype (6%), A. tamarii (0.4%), and A. parasiticus (0.3%). Within the L morphotype, the proportion of toxigenic members was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that of atoxigenic members across AEZs. Observed and potential aflatoxin concentrations indicate that on-field aflatoxin management strategies need to be implemented throughout Ghana. The recovered atoxigenic L morphotype fungi are genetic resources that can be employed as biocontrol agents to limit aflatoxin contamination of maize and groundnut in Ghana