Parasitic Load of Cattle Faecal Matter from Selected Farms in Kpong and its Health Implications

Cattle, one of the domesticated animals which are a potential source of parasitic contamination of land and water resources were studied to establish the parasitic load as a measure of quantifying the biological quality of land and water sources to determine the level of parasite load of the environment. A total of 180 faecal samples were collected from three farms in Kpong in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality for the study. The samples were collected between 9 - 10 am when the animals released from kraal to be grazed and the faecal matter were collected as soon as it was dropped on the ground. The samples were collected with wide mouth plastic containers (about 500 ml) with lid. Samples were transported to the Water Research Institute Parasitology Laboratory for analysis. 10 g sample each was placed in a test tube and 10 ml of PBS was added to it. It was then processed and a drop was placed on a microscope slide and Lugol's iodine was added and observed under X 40 objective lens of the microscope. A total of 111 (61.67 %) out of the 180 faecal samples were found to contain the following parasites whilst 95 (85.59 %) had Ascaris sp., eight (7.20 %) had Strongyloides sp., one (0.90 %) had Trichuris erichiun and one (0.90 %) sample had Paragonimus sp. Five (4.50 %) samples had mix infections of Ascaris sp and Strongyloides sp. And 1 (0.90 %) sample had a mixture of Ascaris sp and T. berichiun. Infestation with Ascaris sp was found to be significantly higher (p > 0.001) than all the other parasites indicating that the animals are not often given worm expellants as expected and this can lead to zoonotic transmission of the parasite, as the cattle are reared on the same compound with the humans. This can affect the health of children as they played in the dung contaminated soils in their compound, thereby leading to absenteeism from school due to loss of blood from worm infestation leading to anaemia. The worm infestation can also lead to malnutrition and stunted growth in the children

Prevalence of Giardia species in Cattle Faecal Matter in Selected Farms in Weija and Kpong Major Water Supply Heads to Accra, Ghana.

In developing countries including Ghana, giardiasis plays a major role in gastroenteritis in vertebrate. It poses health and socio-economic burden, and continues to be one of the causes of infant and calf mortality. Their infection continues to thrive in humans due to the zoonotic transmission of infected domesticated animals including cattle, dogs and cats, and their con­tinual presence in water bodies. The objective of this study was to establish their presence and evaluate the prevalence of Giardia sp. in cattle faecal matter in the environment in the Kpong and Weija communities. The Iron-haematoxylin staining techniques was used to analyze the faecal samples in order to identify Giardia sp. (Student t- test and Chi square were the statistical analyses) used for the studies. About five percent (5.3%) prevalence was obtained in both com­munities and this was significant (p> 0.05). The parasite was found to be most prevalent (9.4%) in calves less than 3 months old and this decreased with age of calf. It was also observed that Giardia plays an important role in the cause of diarrhoea in cattle. There is the need to educate people on the disease and its implication on the quality of water from the treatment plants. Keywords: Giardia sp, water, contamination, diarrhoea, infant mortality

Detection of Human Genotype “B” Giardia lamblia in Ghanaian Cattle from Frafraha in Adentan Municipality of Ghana

Giardia duodenalis is a common intestinal parasite in humans, a wide range of domesticated and wild animals. There are human and animal specific, as well as zoonotic pathogenic gen­otypes. It is not clear whether livestock in close proximity to humans could be infected with human specific genotypes, and vice versa. In this study, Giardia-positive faecal samples were collected from both humans (n = 4) (from Maamobi Polyclinic in the Ayawaso Sub- Metro) and calves (n = 8) (from Animal Research Institute Farms, Adentan Municipality), in Ghana. Nested PCR amplification using Giardia-specific, Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) genes and Tri­osephosphate isomerase (TPI) gene primers for human and animal faecal samples respectively was carried out. Results showed that 100% of the calves carried the TPI-B genotype, which is a common pathogenic genotype in humans. This report is based on the unusual results obtained as Giardia duodenalis genotype B is known to occur in humans but is being observed in calves for the first time. This suggests that calves in close proximity to humans could be reservoirs and sources of human Giardia infections

Tissue Invasion by Entamoeba histolytica: Evidence of Genetic Selection and/or DNA Reorganization Events in Organ Tropism

Entamoeba histolytica infection may have various clinical manifestations. Nine out of ten E. histolytica infections remain asymptomatic, while the remainder become invasive and cause disease. The most common form of invasive infection is amebic diarrhea and colitis, whereas the most common extra-intestinal disease is amebic liver abscess. The underlying reasons for the different outcomes are unclear, but a recent study has shown that the parasite genotype is a contributor. To investigate this link further we have examined the genotypes of E. histolytica in stool- and liver abscess-derived samples from the same patients. Analysis of all 18 paired samples (16 from Bangladesh, one from the United States of America, and one from Italy) revealed that the intestinal and liver abscess amebae are genetically distinct. The results suggest either that E. histolytica subpopulations in the same infection show varying organ tropism, or that a DNA reorganization event takes place prior to or during metastasis from intestine to liver

Sero-prevalence of toxoplasmosis among patients visiting the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

Abstract Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by the intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. It affects up to about one third of the human population worldwide. Toxoplasmosis in neonates and immunocompromised patients can lead to severe disease and even death. However, there is a lack in knowledge concerning the extent of the toxoplasmosis problem in Ghana. In the present study, we determined the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among patients visiting visiting Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Of the 165 patients studied, IgG antibodies were found in 32.7% (95% CI: 25.0 -39.3%). IgM and IgA seroprevalence were 29.7% (95% CI: 22.2 -36.1%) respectively. There was significant association between seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and gender (P< 0.05), with the male sex being at increased risk of Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity (OR ,95% CI: IgG -2.78,1.34-5.82; IgM -3.31, 1.57-6.981; IgA -3.31, 1.57-6.981). No significant association (P> 0.05) was observed between the age groups and seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. Ourstudy reveals an overall high seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis among patients visit ing the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Public campaigns may be necessary to educate the Ghanaians about ways to minimise exposure Toxoplasma gondii

Preliminary Investigation into Plasmodium-like Piroplasms (Babesia/Theileria) among Cattle, Dogs and Humans in A Malaria-Endemic, Resource-Limited Sub-Saharan African City

Babesia and Theileria are protozoan parasites belonging to the order piroplasmida, transmitted by hard ticks, and can cause diseases known as piroplasmosis. Human infections are usually asymptomatic, except in immuno-compromised persons who present malaria-like symptoms. Moreover, microscopically, the morphologies of Babesia and Theileria can resemble that of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium. In malaria-endemic areas with limited resources, these similarities can increase the possibility of misdiagnosing a patient as having malaria instead of piroplasmosis, which may further lead to inappropriate choice of disease management. This preliminary investigation aimed at detecting Babesia/Theileria in cattle, dogs and humans in some parts of Accra. Whole blood samples were taken from febrile cattle (n = 30) and dogs (n = 33), as well as humans diagnosed with malaria (n = 150). Blood samples of all study subjects were microscopically screened for possible presence of haemoparasites. Samples whose smears had features suggestive of possible piroplasmic infection were all given the label “suspected Babesia/Theileria-infected” samples. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on extracted deoxyribonucelic acid (DNA) from all the “suspected” samples of cattle, dogs and humans, with primer sets that can detect 18S rRNA genes of Babesia/Theileria spp. In addition to this, amplification was performed on the “suspected” dog samples using the BcW-A/BcW-B primer set which detects the 18S rRNA genes of B. canis, while the BoF/BoR primer set which targets the rap-1 region of B. bovis and another primer set which detects the 18S rRNA genes of most bovine Babesia spp. (including B. divergens) were used on the suspected cattle samples. For the human samples, however, additional amplification was done on the extracted DNA using primers for the three other Babesia targeted (B. divergens, B. bovis and B. canis). Microscopy showed possible Babesia/Theileria infection suspected in all three groups of subjects in the following proportions: cattle (10/30; 33%), dogs (3/33; 9%) and humans (6/150; 4%). DNA from one-third of the “suspected” dog samples yielded amplification with Babesia canis primers. Moreover, a broad-detecting set of primers (that can amplify some Babesia and Theileria species) amplified DNA from nine (9/30; 30%) of the “suspected” cattle samples, but none from those of the humans. Although for this study conducted in the city, the Babesia/Theileria primers used did not amplify DNA from the six “suspected” human samples; the possibility of Babesia/Theileria infection in humans in other parts of the country cannot be overruled. There is therefore a need for further studies on possible emergence of human babesiosis/theileriosis in other parts of Ghana and sequencing for specific identification of any circulating strain