Prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with vision difficulties in Ghana, Gambia, and Togo: a multi-country analysis of recent multiple Indicator cluster surveys

Background: The sense of sight is one of the important human sensory abilities that is required for independent functioning and survival. The highest burden of sight-related problems is recorded in low-and middle-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the burden, nationally representative analyses to understand the prevalence and determinants of vision difficulties are hard to find. Therefore, this study addressed this knowledge gap by estimating the prevalence of vision difficulties and its correlates in gender-stratified models in three West African countries: Ghana, Gambia, and Togo. Methods: The study used the most recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys of Ghana (2017–2018), Gambia (2018), and Togo (2017). Summary statistics were used to describe the participants and logistic regression was used to perform the bivariate and multivariate analyses. The analyses were performed using Stata version 14 and the complex survey design of the datasets was accounted for using the ‘svyset’ command. Results: Gendered differences were observed for vision difficulties. More women than men reported vision difficulties in Ghana (men: 14.67% vs women: 23.45%) and Togo (men: 14.86% vs women: 23.61%), but more men than women reported vision difficulties in Gambia (men: 11.64% vs women: 9.76%). We also observed gender differences in how age, education, marital status, and region of residence were significantly associated with reported vision difficulties. The direction and magnitude of these relationships were different among men and women across the survey data in Ghana, Gambia, and Togo. Conclusion: The findings imply the need to tackle the existing gender inequities that are associated with vision difficulties to promote the quality of life of individuals, especially among older adults

No evidence for yaws infection in a small‐scale cross‐sectional serosurvey in Ghanaian monkeys

Abstract Background Treponema pallidum (TP) is a spirochaete bacterium with subspecies that in humans cause syphilis (subsp. pallidum), bejel (subsp. endemicum) and yaws (subsp. pertenue; TPE). The latter is target for eradication which requires detailed information on yaws epidemiology. It has been shown that African nonhuman primates (NHPs) are infected with TPE strains that are closely related to the human infecting yaws bacterium. While human yaws infection is known to be endemic in Ghana, there is a paucity of information regarding TPE infection of Ghana's native NHPs. Objectives The objective was to perform a small‐scale cross‐sectional serological screening for antibodies against TPE in Ghanaian monkeys. Due to the reports of TPE‐infected NHPs from neighbouring Côte d'Ivore, we hypothesised that monkeys in Ghana are infected with TPE and, therefore, are seropositive for antibodies against‐Treponema. Methods We sampled blood from 37 NHPs representing four species: Erythrocebus patas (16/37) 43.2%, Papio anubis (15/37) 40.5%, Chlorocebus sabaeus (3/37) 8.1% and Cercopithecus mona (3/37) 8.1%. Samples were tested using the NHP validated treponemal test ESPLINE TP. Results All 37 animals were seronegative for yaws infection. Conclusions We cannot exclude yaws infection in NHPs in Ghana at this point. Our study, in combination with the absence of reports of clinically infected NHPs in a yaws endemic country is, however, supportive for the current thinking that interspecies infection with TPE is extremely rare. This is an important finding for the current ongoing yaws eradication campaign

Antimicrobial susceptibility profile of oral and rectal microbiota of non‐human primate species in Ghana: A threat to human health

Abstract Background The potential for the transfer of zoonotic diseases, including bacteria between human and non‐human primates (NHPs), is expected to rise. It is posited that NHPs that live in close contact with humans serve as sentinels and reservoirs for antibiotic‐resistant bacteria. Objectives The objective was to characterize the oral and rectal bacteria in Ghanaian NHPs and profile the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolated bacteria. Methods Oral and rectal swabs were obtained from 40 immobilized wild and captive NHPs from 7 locations in Ghana. Standard bacteriological procedures were used in the isolation, preliminary identification, automated characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) of bacteria using the Vitek 2 Compact system. Results Gram‐negative bacteria dominated isolates from the rectal swabs (n = 76, 85.4%), whereas Gram‐positive bacteria were more common in the oral swabs (n = 41, 82%). Staphylococcus haemolyticus (n = 7, 14%) was the most occurring bacterial species isolated from the oral swabs, whereas Escherichia coli (n = 32, 36%) dominated bacteria isolates from rectal swabs. Enterobacter spp. had the highest (39%) average phenotypic resistance to antimicrobials that were used for AST, whereas a trend of high resistance was recorded against norfloxacin, Ampicillin and Tetracycline in Gram‐negative bacteria. Similarly, among Gram‐positive bacteria, Staphylococcus spp. had the highest (25%) average phenotypic resistance to antimicrobials used for AST, and a trend of high resistance was recorded against penicillin G and oxacillin. Conclusions This study has established that apparently healthy NHPs that live in anthropized environments in Ghana harbour zoonotic and antimicrobial resistant bacteria

Prevalence, progress, and social inequalities of home deliveries in Ghana from 2006 to 2018: insights from the multiple indicator cluster surveys.

BackgroundDelivery in unsafe and unsupervised conditions is common in developing countries including Ghana. Over the years, the Government of Ghana has attempted to improve maternal and child healthcare services including the reduction of home deliveries through programs such as fee waiver for delivery in 2003, abolishment of delivery care cost in 2005, and the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme in 2005. Though these efforts have yielded some results, home delivery is still an issue of great concern in Ghana. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify the risk factors that are consistently associated with home deliveries in Ghana between 2006 and 2017-18.MethodsThe study relied on datasets from three waves (2006, 2011, and 2017-18) of the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster surveys (GMICS). Summary statistics were used to describe the sample. The survey design of the GMICS was accounted for using the 'svyset' command in STATA-14 before the association tests. Robust Poisson regression was used to estimate the relationship between sociodemographic factors and home deliveries in Ghana in both bivariate and multivariable models.ResultsThe proportion of women who give birth at home during the period under consideration has decreased. The proportion of home deliveries has reduced from 50.56% in 2006 to 21.37% in 2017-18. In the multivariable model, women who had less than eight antenatal care visits, as well as those who dwelt in households with decreasing wealth, rural areas of residence, were consistently at risk of delivering in the home throughout the three data waves. Residing in the Upper East region was associated with a lower likelihood of delivering at home.ConclusionPolicies should target the at-risk-women to achieve complete reduction in home deliveries. Access to facility-based deliveries should be expanded to ensure that the expansion measures are pro-poor, pro-rural, and pro-uneducated. Innovative measures such as mobile antenatal care programs should be organized in every community in the population segments that were consistently choosing home deliveries over facility-based deliveries