Limitations to Peri-urban Vegetable Farming in Ghana: An Overview of Root Knot Nematodes Contribution

Root knot nematodes represent important pathogens affecting global crop production due to their wide host range. The attack of root knot nematode on various vegetable crops leads to delayed maturity, reduced yields and quality of crop produce, high costs of production and therefore loss of income. However, their damage in most cases is overlooked and goes unnoticed by majority of farmers because the damage presents symptoms of drought and nutrient stress conditions. The limited knowledge among farmers about the problems associated with root knot nematodes and the inadequate management measures for curtailing the menace presents a major hindrance for vegetable crops protection.  Management strategies should be applied in line with integrated pest management (IPM) practices to enhance adoption by farmers. Also, vegetable producers should be educated on the effects of root-knot nematodes

Epidemiology of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) among a cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected Ghanaian women.

BACKGROUND: There is limited data in Ghana on the epidemiology of HPV and cervical neoplasia and their associations with HIV. This study aimed to compare among HIV-1 seropositive and HIV-seronegative Ghanaian women: (1) the prevalence, genotype distribution and risk factors associated with cervical HPV infection; and (2) the prevalence and risk factors associated with abnormal cervical cytology. METHODS: A comparative frequency-matched study was conducted in a systematic sample of women aged ≥18 years attending HIV and general outpatient clinics in Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Participants were interviewed and cervical samples collected for HPV genotyping (Seegene Anyplex-II HPV28) and cytological testing. RESULTS: Overall, 333 women were recruited, 163 HIV-1 seropositive and 170 HIV-seronegative women of mean age 43.8 years (SD ±9.4)) and 44.3 years (SD ±12.8), respectively. The prevalence of 14 high-risk (hr) HPV genotypes was higher among HIV-1 seropositive women (65.6% vs. 30.2%, P < 0.0001), as was proportion with multiple hr.-HPV infections (60.6% vs. 21.3%, P < 0.0001). HPV35 was the most prevalent hr.-HPV genotype in both groups (11.9% and 5.3%). The main factors associated with hr.-HPV infection were age for HIV-positive women and circumcision status of main sexual partner for both HIV-negative and positive women. Abnormal cervical cytology prevalence was higher among HIV-1 seropositive women (any SIL: 14.1% vs. 1.2%, P < 0.0001; low-grade SIL [LSIL]: 4.9% vs. 0.6%, P = 0.02; high-grade SIL: 1.8% vs. 0%, P = 0.07). Among HIV-1 seropositive women, number of pregnancies and CD4+ cell count were associated with LSIL+ cytology. There was strong association between LSIL+ abnormalities and HPV35 (aOR = 4.7, 95%CI: 1.3-17.7, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: HIV-1 infected women bear significant burden of HPV infection and related disease. Prevention and screening programmes should be specifically deployed for this population in Ghana

Anthracnose Disease of Mango: Epidemiology, Impact and Management Options

Mango is one of the frequently cultivated seasonal fruit crops in several tropical and subtropical regions. It is consumed as whole fruits apart from serving as raw materials for most industries that are into mineral production. Mango production is, however, constrained by diseases, pests, and poor post-harvest handling of fruits. Anthracnose disease, caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz and Sacc, is one of the most important yields limiting constraint in mango production across the globe. The disease occurs in both the field and post-harvesting. In the field, it affects aboveground parts, such as the stem, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Anthracnose disease reduces the shelve life and marketability of mango fruit. In Ghana, anthracnose disease is responsible for about 30% yield/fruit loss. Most farmers do not control it, although some have resorted to the application of various fungicides not registered for mango anthracnose disease management in Ghana. This chapter will highlight on the importance of the disease on the mango industry in Ghana, control strategies currently employed thereby reducing the over-reliance on chemical control option and propose ways to minimize the effect of the disease in the country

TB-diabetes co-morbidity in Ghana : the importance of Mycobacterium africanum infection

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a known risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) but little is known on TB-Diabetes Mellitus (TBDM) co-morbidity in Sub-Saharan Africa.; Consecutive TB cases registered at a tertiary facility in Ghana were recruited from September 2012 to April 2016 and screened for DM using random blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level. TB patients were tested for other clinical parameters including HIV co-infection and TB lesion location. Mycobacterial isolates obtained from collected sputum samples were characterized by standard methods. Associations between TBDM patients' epidemiological as well as microbiological variables were assessed.; The prevalence of DM at time of diagnosis among 2990 enrolled TB cases was 9.4% (282/2990). TBDM cases were significantly associated with weight loss, poor appetite, night sweat and fatigue (p&lt;0.001) and were more likely (p&lt;0.001) to have lower lung cavitation 85.8% (242/282) compared to TB Non-Diabetic (TBNDM) patients 3.3% (90/2708). We observed 22.3% (63/282) treatment failures among TBDM patients compared to 3.8% (102/2708) among TBNDM patients (p&lt;0.001). We found no significant difference in the TBDM burden attributed by M. tuberculosis sensu stricto (Mtbss) and Mycobacterium africanum (Maf) and (Mtbss; 176/1836, 9.6% and Maf; 53/468, 11.3%, p = 0.2612). We found that diabetic individuals were suggestively likely to present with TB caused by M. africanum Lineage 6 as opposed to Mtbss (odds ratio (OR) = 1.52; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92-2.42, p = 0.072).; Our findings confirms the importance of screening for diabetes during TB diagnosis and highlights the association between genetic diversity and diabetes. in Ghana

Male adolescents' knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS prevention : A case study of Elembelle District in Ghana

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of male adolescents towards HIV/AIDS in order to institute meaningful preventive measures for the control of HIV/AIDS in Elembelle community. Method: the study employed Qualitative research approach to address HIV/AIDS prevention among male adolescents. Six male adolescents from six different villages in the Ellembele District formed the study sample. The ages of the subjects range between 15 and 19 years. The method of collecting data was convenience sampling technique. One of the researchers obtained data through semi structured questions. Findings: The results of the study clearly suggest general HIV/AIDS knowledge may be high but behavioural change is on the low side, the youth continue to practice risk behaviours. The adolescents see the disease as a threat to the society and are clearly aware of the transmission routes and prevention methods but the virus keeps on spreading among the adolescents. Conclusion: Various policy makers and implementers should move beyond raising awareness to focusing on behavioural change because that is the only way to fight the spread of AIDS. Government, opinion leaders and religious bodies should show even stronger commitment in reducing the spread of HIV in the district

Neoliberalism and Housing Provision in Accra, Ghana: The Illogic of an Over-Liberalised Housing Market

Abstract The economic hardships experienced by African countries in the late 1970s forced many of them to fall on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for financial relief. The two institutions’ reaction in almost all cases was to impose structural adjustment programmes (SAP) on those countries in an attempt to stabilize and grow their economies through market forces, with little intervention from the state. Ghana became an unwilling apostle from 1983 when it implemented various rounds of the programme because of the deplorable state of its economy. The country became so committed to structural adjustment that it was portrayed as an extraordinary example of the efficacy of neo-liberal policies in restructuring broken economies. Primary among the benefits to the country was economic liberalization and a corresponding increase in domestic and foreign private investments, especially in the housing industry. Since then, Accra, the national capital, has faced an overproduction of housing for high-income earners thus leading to a dramatic rise of gated communities. On the other hand however, there has been virtually no production of housing for low-income earners, thus exacerbating their continued dependence on the informal sector for housing provision in Accra. With this stark difference, the paper argues that the neoliberal policies of the 1980s have rendered government irrelevant in the housing market, especially in the provision of housing for low income earners, and for that reason accelerated the development of poor housing and slums in the city of Accra.edition: 1ststatus: publishe

Application of an Index-Based Approach in Geospatial Techniques for the Mapping of Flood Hazard Areas: A Case of Cape Coast Metropolis in Ghana

Floods remain one of the disasters that destroy properties, livelihoods, and in extreme situations, take lives. As a way of prevention, geospatial applications have been employed in many cities to map flood zones and predict floods. For a country such as Ghana, floods have been ranked as the second fatal disaster after epidemics leading to several kinds of research to resolve them. To date, the Cape Coast Metropolis (CCM) has received little attention in terms of research, though flood cases in the area continue to escalate. This study, therefore, examines the use of geospatial techniques as tools in addressing flood problems in the CCM of Ghana. From a Digital Elevation Model, hydrologic variables were generated using the ArcGIS software (Esri, Redlands, CA, USA). The soil drainage classification for the study was generated from a downloaded African Soil Grid Drainage map, while other important factors that influenced flooding in the CCM were obtained from Landsat 8 imagery. Over 21% of the CCM was classified as high flood hazard zones with areas around the river Kakum estuary being flood hotspots. It is, therefore, recommended that the CCM Assembly fund dredging of streams/rivers and promote afforestation along river banks to reduce the risk of flooding within the metropolis

Remittance and economic growth evidence from West Africa

The study was carried out in order to access the impact of migrant workers remittance inflows on economic growth in the ECOWAS sub-region. Annual panel data for 10 ECOWAS countries spanning from 2000 to 2013 were used for the study and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) Arellano-Bond (Xtabond test) was employed in order to address the problem of endogeneity among the explanatory variables and ensure robust estimates. In concurrence with existing literature, our study suggests that remittances have positive effect on the economic growth of ECOWAS member countries. Specifically, we found that a 1percent increase in migrant remittance leads to approximately 17 percent increase in growth

Isolation of nontuberculous Mycobacteria from the environment of Buruli ulcer endemic communities in Ghana

This study aimed to isolate nontuberculous mycobacterial species from environmental samples obtained from some selected communities in Ghana. To optimize decontamination, spiked environmental samples were used to evaluate four decontamination solutions and supplemented media, after which the best decontamination solution and media were used for the actual analysis. The isolates obtained were identified on the basis of specific genetic sequences, including heat shock protein 65, IS2404, IS2606, rpoB, and the ketoreductase gene, as needed. Among the methods evaluated, decontamination with 1 M NaOH followed by 5% oxalic acid gave the highest rate of recovery of mycobacteria (50.0%) and the lowest rate of contamination (15.6%). The cultivation medium that supported the highest rate of recovery of mycobacteria was polymyxin B-amphotericin B-nalidixic acid-trimethoprim-azlocillin-supplemented medium (34.4%), followed by isoniazid-supplemented medium (28.1%). Among the 139 samples cultivated in the main analysis, 58 (41.7%) yielded mycobacterial growth, 70 (50.4%) had no growth, and 11 (7.9%) had all inoculated tubes contaminated. A total of 25 different mycobacterial species were identified. Fifteen species (60%) were slowly growing (e.g., Mycobacterium ulcerans, Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium mantenii, and Mycobacterium malmoense), and 10 (40%) were rapidly growing (e.g., Mycobacterium chelonae, Mycobacterium fortuitum, and Mycobacterium abscessus). The occurrence of mycobacterial species in the various environmental samples analyzed was as follows: soil, 16 species (43.2%); vegetation, 14 species (38.0%); water, 3 species (8.0%); moss, 2 species (5.4%); snail, 1 species (2.7%); fungi, 1 species (2.7%). This study is the first to report on the isolation of M. ulcerans and other medically relevant nontuberculous mycobacteria from different environmental sources in Ghana.; Diseases caused by mycobacterial species other than those that cause tuberculosis and leprosy are increasing. Control is difficult because the current understanding of how the organisms are spread and where they live in the environment is limited, although this information is needed to design preventive measures. Growing these organisms from the environment is also difficult, because the culture medium becomes overgrown with other bacteria that also live in the environment, such as in soil and water. We aimed to improve the methods for growing these organisms from environmental sources, such as soil and water samples, for better understanding of important mycobacterial ecology