Bacterial Contamination Levels of Lettuce Irrigated with Waste Water in the Kumasi Metropolis

Consumption of vegetables contaminated with pathogenic micro organisms, particularly, in areas where urban waste water is used to irrigate vegetable crops is suspected to be a factor in outbreaks of some public health diseases. The microbiological quality of lettuce on three farms where waste water is used in the Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana was therefore studied for their Total colifoms, faecal coliforms, enterococci, E. coli and Salmonella CFU levels using standard methods. Total coliforms on the lettuce varied from 4.93×104CFU to 6.17×104CFU. Faecal coliforms ranged from 3.48×103CFU to 4.66×104CFU and E. coli 2.98×103CFU to 3.86×104CFU. Samonella and enterococci levels ranged from 2.50×102CFU to 2.72×102CFU and 0.68×100CFU to 2.05×100CFU respectively. In most cases the highest bacterial contamination was associated with lettuce grown at Atonsu and the lowest was at Karikari farms located within the Kumasi Metropolis. The differences in total colifom counts at the two locations were significant (P < 0.001). Differences in bacteria counts for faecal colifoms (P < 0.000) and E. coli (P < 0.000) were significantly higher than counts associated with the other bacteria from all the three farms. In general, bacterial counts on farm lettuce exceeded the recommended World Health Organization (WHO) and International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Food (ICMSF) standards of 103. Wastewater use on farms therefore, could be the main contributor to lettuce contamination and outbreak of communicable diseases. Education on use of effective de-contamination methods before eating will help reduce the risk associated with the consumption of such contaminated vegetables. Key Words: lettuce, contamination, bacteria, Kumasi, Ghana

Determinants of propensity of tertiary agricultural students in Ghana to enter agribusiness as a self-employment venture

The study aimed to identify factors that affect the decision of tertiary agricultural students in Ghana to enter agribusiness as a self-employment venture after graduation. The results showed that tertiary agricultural students in Ghana were predominantly males with little or no farming background. They had a rather moderate propensity to enter self-employed agribusiness. The propensity was based on the perception that agribusiness was beneficial, sustainable, and had a bright future. A significant and positive relationship was found between the propensity to enter self-employed agribusiness and availability of inputs, training received by students and supportive policies. However, a significant and negative relationship was found between students' propensity to enter self-employed agribusiness and the desire for other competing enterprises as well as risks and constraints in agribusiness. The most important determinants of the decision of tertiary level agricultural students to enter into agribusiness were found to be attraction to other businesses such as NGOs, non-agricultural manufacturing industries and banks; training received; perceived constraints; and needs for self- employment in agribusiness. The results indicate that the propensity of agricultural graduates to enter self-employed agribusiness may be increased by (1) making agribusiness attractive by increasing its competitiveness with respect to other enterprises, ( 2) modifying the curricula to make agricultural training at the tertiary level more practical, (3) making it easier to acquire production inputs for agribusiness, and (4) improving the policy environment with supportive policies to minimize risk and constraints in agribusiness.. La recherche était entreprise pour identifier les facteurs qui influencent la decision d'étudiants agricoles du niveau supérieur au Ghana de s'établir dans les agro-industries comme une entreprise de travailleur indépendant après l'obtention du diplôme. Les résultats montraient que les étudiants agricoles de l'enseignement supérieur au Ghana étaient principalement mâles avec peu ou sans expérience d'agriculture. Ils avaient plutôt une propension modérée de s'établir dans l'agro-industrie de travailleur indépendant. Cette propension est fondée sur l'idée que l'agro-industrie est bénéfique, durable et avait un avenir brillant. Un rapport considérable et positif était découvert entre la propension de s'établir dans l'agro-industrie de travailleur indépendant et la disponibilité d'intrants, la formation reçue par les étudiants et les politiques d'appui. Un rapport considérable et négatif était toutefois découvert entre la propension d'étudiants de s'établir dans les agro-industries indépendantes et le désir pour d'autres entreprises en concurrence ainsi que les risques et les contraintes d'agro-industries. Les déterminants les plus importants de la decision d'étudiants agricoles du niveau supérieur de s'établir dans les agro-industries étaient découverts d'être l'attrait aux autres entreprises telles que les ONGs, les industries manufacturières non-agricoles et les banques; la formation reçue; les contraintes remarquées; et les besoins requis pour l'indépendant en agro-industrie. Les résultats indiquent que la propension de licenciés agricoles de s'établir dans l'agro-industrie comme travailleurs indépendants pourrait être augmenté par (1) la transformation d'agro-industrie en la rendant attirante par l'augmentation de sa compétitivité relativement aux autres entreprises, (2) la modification du programme scolaire pour rendre la formation agricole au niveau supérieur plus pratique, (3) la facilitation de l'acquisition de resources de production pour l'agro-industrie, et (4) l'amélioration de l'environnement politique avec les politiques d'appui pour réduire au minimum le risque et les contraintes d'agro-industrie. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science Vol. 39 (1) 2006: pp. 41-5

The Association between Adult Sport, Fitness, and Recreational Physical Activity and Number and Age of Children Present in the Household: A Secondary Analysis Using NHANES

Article describes how only one in three adults in the United States meets the weekly recommendation for physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between adult moderate and vigorous sport, fitness, and recreational physical activities and the number and age (0–5 and 6–17) of children in their household

Bronchiectasis in African children : challenges and barriers to care

Bronchiectasis (BE) is a chronic condition aecting the bronchial tree. It is characterized by the dilatation of large and medium-sized airways, secondary to damage of the underlying bronchial wall structural elements and accompanied by the clinical picture of recurrent or persistent cough. Despite an increased awareness of childhood BE, there is still a paucity of data on the epidemiology, pathophysiological phenotypes, diagnosis, management, and outcomes in Africa where the prevalence is mostly unmeasured, and likely to be higher than high-income countries. Diagnostic pathways and management principles have largely been extrapolated from approaches in adults and children in high-income countries or from data in children with cystic fibrosis. Here we provide an overview of pediatric BE in Africa, highlighting risk factors, diagnostic and management challenges, need for a global approach to addressing key research gaps, and recommendations for practitioners working in Africa.http://www.frontiersin.org/Pediatricsdm2022Paediatrics and Child Healt

Exploitation of TerraSAR-X Data for Land use/Land Cover Analysis Using Object-Oriented Classification Approach in the African Sahel Area, Sudan.

Recently, object-oriented classification techniques based on image segmentation approaches are being studied using high-resolution satellite images to extract various thematic information. In this study different types of land use/land cover (LULC) types were analysed by employing object-oriented classification approach to dual TerraSAR-X images (HH and HV polarisation) at African Sahel. For that purpose, multi-resolution segmentation (MRS) of the Definiens software was used for creating the image objects. Using the feature space optimisation (FSO) tool the attributes of the TerraSAR-X image were optimised in order to obtain the best separability among classes for the LULC mapping. The backscattering coefficients (BSC) for some classes were observed to be different for HH and HV polarisations. The best separation distance of the tested spectral, shape and textural features showed different variations among the discriminated LULC classes. An overall accuracy of 84 % with a kappa value 0.82 was resulted from the classification scheme, while accuracy differences among the classes were kept minimal. Finally, the results highlighted the importance of a combine use of TerraSAR-X data and object-oriented classification approaches as a useful source of information and technique for LULC analysis in the African Sahel drylands

HIV/AIDS-related mortality in Africa and Asia: evidence from INDEPTH health and demographic surveillance system sites

BACKGROUND: As the HIV/AIDS pandemic has evolved over recent decades, Africa has been the most affected region, even though a large proportion of HIV/AIDS deaths have not been documented at the individual level. Systematic application of verbal autopsy (VA) methods in defined populations provides an opportunity to assess the mortality burden of the pandemic from individual data. OBJECTIVE: To present standardised comparisons of HIV/AIDS-related mortality at sites across Africa and Asia, including closely related causes of death such as pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and pneumonia. DESIGN: Deaths related to HIV/AIDS were extracted from individual demographic and VA data from 22 INDEPTH sites across Africa and Asia. VA data were standardised to WHO 2012 standard causes of death assigned using the InterVA-4 model. Between-site comparisons of mortality rates were standardised using the INDEPTH 2013 standard population. RESULTS: The dataset covered a total of 10,773 deaths attributed to HIV/AIDS, observed over 12,204,043 person-years. HIV/AIDS-related mortality fractions and mortality rates varied widely across Africa and Asia, with highest burdens in eastern and southern Africa, and lowest burdens in Asia. There was evidence of rapidly declining rates at the sites with the heaviest burdens. HIV/AIDS mortality was also strongly related to PTB mortality. On a country basis, there were strong similarities between HIV/AIDS mortality rates at INDEPTH sites and those derived from modelled estimates. CONCLUSIONS: Measuring HIV/AIDS-related mortality continues to be a challenging issue, all the more so as anti-retroviral treatment programmes alleviate mortality risks. The congruence between these results and other estimates adds plausibility to both approaches. These data, covering some of the highest mortality observed during the pandemic, will be an important baseline for understanding the future decline of HIV/AIDS

‘Fish out of water’: a cross-sectional study on the interaction between social and neighbourhood effects on weight management behaviours

Objective: To analyse whether an individual’s neighbourhood influences the uptake of weight management strategies and whether there is an interaction between individual socio-economic status and neighbourhood deprivation. Methodology: Data were collected from the Yorkshire Health Study (2010–2012) for 27 806 individuals on the use of the following weight management strategies: ‘slimming clubs’, ‘healthy eating’, ‘increasing exercise’ and ‘controlling portion size’. A multi-level logistic regression was fit to analyse the use of these strategies, controlling for age, sex, body mass index, education, neighbourhood deprivation and neighbourhood population turnover (a proxy for neighbourhood social capital). A cross-level interaction term was included for education and neighbourhood deprivation. Lower Super Output Area was used as the geographical scale for the areal unit of analysis. Results: Significant neighbourhood effects were observed for use of ‘slimming clubs’, ‘healthy eating’ and ‘increasing exercise’ as weight management strategies, independent of individual- and area-level covariates. A significant interaction between education and neighbourhood deprivation was observed across all strategies, suggesting that as an area becomes more deprived, individuals of the lowest education are more likely not to use any strategy compared with those of the highest education. Conclusions: Neighbourhoods modify/amplify individual disadvantage and social inequalities, with individuals of low education disproportionally affected by deprivation. It is important to include neighbourhood-based explanations in the development of community-based policy interventions to help tackle obesit

The global burden of adolescent and young adult cancer in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In estimating the global burden of cancer, adolescents and young adults with cancer are often overlooked, despite being a distinct subgroup with unique epidemiology, clinical care needs, and societal impact. Comprehensive estimates of the global cancer burden in adolescents and young adults (aged 15–39 years) are lacking. To address this gap, we analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, with a focus on the outcome of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), to inform global cancer control measures in adolescents and young adults. Methods: Using the GBD 2019 methodology, international mortality data were collected from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and population-based cancer registry inputs modelled with mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs). Incidence was computed with mortality estimates and corresponding MIRs. Prevalence estimates were calculated using modelled survival and multiplied by disability weights to obtain years lived with disability (YLDs). Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated as age-specific cancer deaths multiplied by the standard life expectancy at the age of death. The main outcome was DALYs (the sum of YLLs and YLDs). Estimates were presented globally and by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintiles (countries ranked and divided into five equal SDI groups), and all estimates were presented with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). For this analysis, we used the age range of 15–39 years to define adolescents and young adults. Findings: There were 1·19 million (95% UI 1·11–1·28) incident cancer cases and 396 000 (370 000–425 000) deaths due to cancer among people aged 15–39 years worldwide in 2019. The highest age-standardised incidence rates occurred in high SDI (59·6 [54·5–65·7] per 100 000 person-years) and high-middle SDI countries (53·2 [48·8–57·9] per 100 000 person-years), while the highest age-standardised mortality rates were in low-middle SDI (14·2 [12·9–15·6] per 100 000 person-years) and middle SDI (13·6 [12·6–14·8] per 100 000 person-years) countries. In 2019, adolescent and young adult cancers contributed 23·5 million (21·9–25·2) DALYs to the global burden of disease, of which 2·7% (1·9–3·6) came from YLDs and 97·3% (96·4–98·1) from YLLs. Cancer was the fourth leading cause of death and tenth leading cause of DALYs in adolescents and young adults globally. Interpretation: Adolescent and young adult cancers contributed substantially to the overall adolescent and young adult disease burden globally in 2019. These results provide new insights into the distribution and magnitude of the adolescent and young adult cancer burden around the world. With notable differences observed across SDI settings, these estimates can inform global and country-level cancer control efforts. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, St Baldrick's Foundation, and the National Cancer Institute

Global, regional, and national sex-specific burden and control of the HIV epidemic, 1990–2019, for 204 countries and territories: the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019

Background: The sustainable development goals (SDGs) aim to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Understanding the current state of the HIV epidemic and its change over time is essential to this effort. This study assesses the current sex-specific HIV burden in 204 countries and territories and measures progress in the control of the epidemic. Methods: To estimate age-specific and sex-specific trends in 48 of 204 countries, we extended the Estimation and Projection Package Age-Sex Model to also implement the spectrum paediatric model. We used this model in cases where age and sex specific HIV-seroprevalence surveys and antenatal care-clinic sentinel surveillance data were available. For the remaining 156 of 204 locations, we developed a cohort-incidence bias adjustment to derive incidence as a function of cause-of-death data from vital registration systems. The incidence was input to a custom Spectrum model. To assess progress, we measured the percentage change in incident cases and deaths between 2010 and 2019 (threshold >75% decline), the ratio of incident cases to number of people living with HIV (incidence-to-prevalence ratio threshold <0·03), and the ratio of incident cases to deaths (incidence-to-mortality ratio threshold <1·0). Findings: In 2019, there were 36·8 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 35·1–38·9) people living with HIV worldwide. There were 0·84 males (95% UI 0·78–0·91) per female living with HIV in 2019, 0·99 male infections (0·91–1·10) for every female infection, and 1·02 male deaths (0·95–1·10) per female death. Global progress in incident cases and deaths between 2010 and 2019 was driven by sub-Saharan Africa (with a 28·52% decrease in incident cases, 95% UI 19·58–35·43, and a 39·66% decrease in deaths, 36·49–42·36). Elsewhere, the incidence remained stable or increased, whereas deaths generally decreased. In 2019, the global incidence-to-prevalence ratio was 0·05 (95% UI 0·05–0·06) and the global incidence-to-mortality ratio was 1·94 (1·76–2·12). No regions met suggested thresholds for progress. Interpretation: Sub-Saharan Africa had both the highest HIV burden and the greatest progress between 1990 and 2019. The number of incident cases and deaths in males and females approached parity in 2019, although there remained more females with HIV than males with HIV. Globally, the HIV epidemic is far from the UNAIDS benchmarks on progress metrics. Funding: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Institute on Aging of the NIH

The application of a biometric identification technique for linking community and hospital data in rural Ghana

Background: The reliability of counts for estimating population dynamics and disease burdens in communities depends on the availability of a common unique identifier for matching general population data with health facility data. Biometric data has been explored as a feasible common identifier between the health data and sociocultural data of resident members in rural communities within the Kintampo Health and Demographic Surveillance System located in the central part of Ghana. Objective: Our goal was to assess the feasibility of using fingerprint identification to link community data and hospital data in a rural African setting. Design: A combination of biometrics and other personal identification techniques were used to identify individual's resident within a surveillance population seeking care in two district hospitals. Visits from resident individuals were successfully recorded and categorized by the success of the techniques applied during identification. The successes of visits that involved identification by fingerprint were further examined by age. Results: A total of 27,662 hospital visits were linked to resident individuals. Over 85% of those visits were successfully identified using at least one identification method. Over 65% were successfully identified and linked using their fingerprints. Supervisory support from the hospital administration was critical in integrating this identification system into its routine activities. No concerns were expressed by community members about the fingerprint registration and identification processes. Conclusions: Fingerprint identification should be combined with other methods to be feasible in identifying community members in African rural settings. This can be enhanced in communities with some basic Demographic Surveillance System or census information