Browsing by Author "Aryeetey, M.E."
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Item Health education and community participation in the control of urinary schistosomiasis in Ghana.(East African Medical Journal, 1999) Aryeetey, M.E.; Aholu, C.; Wagatsuma, Y.; Bentil, G.; Nkrumah, F.K.; Kojima, S.This paper examines the role of health education and community participation in the control of urinary schistosomiasis in Ghana. The study population included individuals 14 years old and above living in three rural communities drained by the Densu river. Focus group discussions were employed in the pre-intervention and evaluation phases of the study. Meanwhile, interventions include passive and active health education on schistosomiasis and chemotherapeutic treatment with praziquantel. One of the communities served as a control where no health education was employed. The investigation found out that most community members were aware of schistosomiasis, not as a disease but simply as a sign of manhood. Still others associate the condition with eating red sugar cane, sexual intercourse with infected partner and so on. The health education program gave the communities the opportunity to enrich their knowledge on urinary schistosomiasis, its causes, treatment, and prevention. As evidence, hand-dug wells and toilets were constructed and the residents in the communities cleaned riverbanks. Health education also made the people realize that Bilharzia is a curable and preventable public health problem.Item Highly symptom-aware children were heavily infected with urinary schistosomiasis in southern Ghana(The Central African Journal of Medicine, 2003) Wagatsuma, Y.; Aryeetey, M.E.; Nkrumah, F.K.; Sack, D.A.; Kojima, SOBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between the infection status of children and their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices (KABP) related to urinary schistosomiasis. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey. SETTING: Nine schools in eight rural communities (total population: 4,636) in Ga and South Akuapem Districts, Ghana. SUBJECTS: Four hundred and six children attending primary and secondary schools. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Schistosoma haematobium infection status of children and their KABP. RESULTS: Of 354 children who responded and also submitted their urine samples, 297 (83.9%) tested positive for S. haematobium and the intensity of infection was 90 (95% CI: 74 to 110) eggs per 10 ml urine. General knowledge variables such as the knowledge of symptoms (p < 0.001), and knowledge of swimming or bathing in the river as a transmission route (p < 0.001) showed significant association for higher prevalence and intensity of infection. Treatment-seeking behaviour was not associated with the lower prevalence or intensity of infection. Practice variables such as washing clothes in the stream (p < 0.001) and fishing in the stream (p < 0.01) were significantly associated with both higher prevalence and higher intensity of infection. Children who knew of contact with river water as a transmission route reported more water contact activities (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study showed that highly symptom-aware people were heavily infected, and people frequently exposed to infested water were heavily infected. Moreover, highly symptom-aware people never constituted a group whose exposure was slight. Why was awareness of disease symptoms and general knowledge of the disease not linked to low infectivity? Why didn't awareness result in avoidance of infested water sources? This report highlights the urgent need to address these important questions in future research.Item Importance of Bulinus Globosus Snails in the Transmission of Urinary Schistosomiasis in Eight Villages in Southern Ghana.(Ghana Medical Journal, 1999-06) Aryeetey, M.E.; Wagatsuma, Y.; Yeboah, G.K.; Asante, M.; Mensah, G.; Kojima, S.Snail survey was carried OUI al water contact siles (WCSs) of 8 villages in southern Ghana 10 establish freshwater snails responsible for schistosomiasis transmission in the area. Bulinus globosus, one of the intermediate host snails of Schistosoma haematobium was found at the WCSs in all 8 villages although those infected were identified at sites in 5 of the villages. The snails were confined to the Densu river itself, its tributaries (streams) and ponds. These snails were found during the minor rainy season. at the beginning of and during the dry season. They were found to be focal in distribution. Also found in the Densu river and the ponds were uninfected Biomphalaria pfeifferi snails. In addition to those indicated above, non·schistosome transmitting snails were also found.Item Parasitological findings in stool Samples of children under five years in An inland rural community in Ghana(Ghana Medical Journal, 1990-03) Aryeetey, M.E.; Anteson, R.K.Diarrhoea is one of the causes of childhood morbidity and mortality through dehydration in the developing countries. For this reason a 12- month study was undertaken to investigate the role of parasitic agents in diarrhoea among children under five year! in an inland rural community. Four hundred and sixty five (465) stool samples made up of 203 diarrhoea and 262 non-diarrhoea cases were examined, using the direct smear and the formol-ether-concentration techniques for the presence 0f parasitic agents. Out of the 203 diarrhoea samples 70 (34.5%) were found to contain parasitic agents while 133 (65.5%) were free from such organisms. Eighty nine samples (34.0%) of the 262 non-diarrhoea subjects were also found to be positive and 173 (66.0%) were negative. The parasitic agents detected were Ascaris lumbricoides followed by Chilomastix mesnili, Giardia lamblia, hookworm and Strongyloides stercoralis. Entamoeba histolytica and Trichuris trichiura were also detected. Concurrent infection was common. The youngest among the positive cases was a five month old child with a mix infection of Ascaris lumbricoides and hookworm, agents transmitted through the soil. According to these results there was no significant difference between the number of positive cases among both the diarrhoeal and non-diarrhoeal subjects but a prevalence rate of 44.2% and 20.2% of G. lamblia among the diarrhoeal and controls respectively is significant.Item Predicting the timing of second praziquantel treatment and its effect on reduction of egg counts in southern Ghana. Nsowah-(Acta Tropica, 2004) Nsowah-Nuamah, N.N.N.; Aryeetey, M.E.; Jolayemi, E.T.; Wagatsuma, Y.; Mensah, G.; Dontwi, I.K.; Nkrumah, F.K.; Kojima, S.Schistosoma haematobium infection could be associated with morbidity. Generally, the cost of schistosomiasis control is high and it becomes a burden for governments or non-governmental organisations to repeat control programs so as to reduce morbidity. There is therefore, the need to optimise the available meagre resources for its control. From 1993 to 1997 the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research of the University of Ghana carried out a schistosomiasis control program in southern Ghana. Using the generated data, an attempt is made to determine the timing of the second praziquantel treatment and the period needed after the second chemotherapy to have egg counts reduced to low levels in southern Ghana. It was revealed that the second praziquantel treatment in areas 1, 2, and 3 should be administered latest at 13.8, 11.8 and 13.2 months, respectively after the first one. Most importantly, it takes 24.4 months to bring egg counts to zero in area 3 while in area 1, it takes about 29 months after the second praziquantel treatment. Egg counts were not reduced to zero in area 2 after the second chemotherapy. At least passive health education and continuous safe water supply should support the chemotherapy in addition to weed removal at the water contact sites.Item The relative susceptibilities of juvenile and adult Bulinus globosus and Bulinus truncatus to the molluscicidal activities in the fruit of Ghanaian Blighia sapida, Blighia unijugata and Balanites aegyptiaca(Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 2005-04) Anto, F.; Aryeetey, M.E.; Anyorigiya, T.; Asoala, V.; Kpikpi, J.The relative susceptibilities of juvenile (2- to 3-week-old) and adult (5- to 7-week-old) Bulinus globosus and Bu. truncatus to the molluscicidal activities of aqueous preparations of the powdered, dried fruits of Blighia sapida, Bl. unijugata and Balanites aegyptiaca were investigated under laboratory conditions. For the extract prepared from the freeze-dried, semi-ripe fruits of Bl. sapida, the concentrations killing 95% of the snails after an exposure for 24 h (LC95) were, respectively, 232.7 and 161.2 ppm for the juveniles and adults of Bu. globosus and 187.6 and 140.2 ppm for the juveniles and adults of Bu. truncatus. The corresponding values for Bl. unijugata were 136.9 and 98.7 ppm for Bu. globosus and 132.2 and 98.5 ppm for Bu. truncatus, respectively. Extracts of the freeze-dried, ripe fruit of Bu. aegyptiaca were much more active, however, giving LC95 of just 16.9 and 19.7 ppm for the juveniles and adults of Bu. globosus, and 14.2 and 12.0 ppm for the juveniles and adults of Bu. truncatus, respectively. In general, similar results were obtained when the fruit were oven-dried rather than freeze-dried but the potency of Balanites extracts produced from oven-dried fruit was relatively low. That the juvenile snails appeared less susceptible than the adults to the molluscicidal activity in each Blighia extract is interesting. This observation may have implications for snail control, in terms of the optimal frequency, timing and concentration of molluscicides applied in a particular habitat. © 2005 The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.Item Survey of enteropathogenic agents in children with and without diarrhoea in Ghana(1990-12) Nakano, T.; Binka, F.N.; Afari, E.A.; Agbodaze, D.; Aryeetey, M.E.; Mingle, J.A.A.; Sakurai, M.A survey was carried out over 1 year in a rural area of Ghana on the isolation, detection and/or identification of enteric pathogens from children under 5 years of age with and without diarrhoea. The isolation and detection rate of Shigella flexneri, Shigella dysenteriae, Giardia lamblia and Rotavirus were higher in children with diarrhoea than in controls. Yersinia enterocolitica, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus were not isolated during the period of this survey. The incidence of other enteropathogenic bacteria and parasites identified in the diarrhoeal and non-diarrhoeal children was calculated and is discussed in this studyItem Survey of enteropathogenic agents in children with and without diarrhoea in Ghana.(Ghana Medical Journal, 1990-03) Nakano, T.; Sakatoku, H.; Binka, F.N.; Afari, E.A.; Agbodaze, D.; Aryeetey, M.E.; Mingle, J.A.A.; Kamiya, H.; Sakurai, M.A survey was carried out over a period of one year in a rural setting in Ghana on isolation, detection and/or identification of enteric pathogens from children under five years of age with and without diarrhea. The isolation and detection rates of Shigella flexneri, Giardia lamblia and Rotavirus were significantly higher in children with diarrhea than in controlsItem Urinary schistosomiasis in southern Ghana: 1. Prevalence and morbidity assessment in three (defined) rural areas drained by the Densu river.(Parasitology International, 2000) Aryeetey, M.E.; Wagatsuma, Y.; Yeboah, G.; Asante, M.; Mensah, G.; Nkrumah, F.K.; Kojima, S.Epidemiological studies on urinary schistosomiasis were carried out in eight villages in the Ga and Akuapem South districts in Ghana. Single urine samples were collected from individuals aged 5 years and above between 10.00 and 14.00 h. The samples were examined for the presence of Schistosoma haematobium eggs using a filtration technique. Indirect morbidity was determined as the presence of microhaematuria and proteinuria using reagent strips, and macrohaematuria was recorded with the naked eye. Out of the study population of 3912 subjects, 2562 (65.5%) submitted urine samples. The prevalence of a Schistosoma haematobium infection ranged between 54.8 and 60.0%. Infection rates increased by age with a peak in the 10–19 years category, and decreased with increasing age. Disease prevalence was higher in males aged 15 years and above in Areas 2 (Ntoaso and Sansami Amanfro) and 3 (Dom Faase, Papase, Chento and Gidi Kope), whereas it was higher among males aged 10 years and above in Area 1 (Ayikai Doblo and Akramaman). The intensity of infection was highest among children aged 10–14 years in most of the villages. More than half of egg-positive children in this age group had a heavy infection (100 eggs and above in 10 ml of urine). Although both egg-positive and egg-negative individuals manifested variable degrees of macro- or micro-haematuria, microhaematuria was more prevalent among egg-positives (χ2=918.5, d.f.=1, P<0.01). The degree of microhaematuria and proteinuria were significantly associated with the intensity of the infection. These results indicate a high transmission of disease in the study area.Item Urinary schistosomiasis in southern Ghana: A logistic regression approach to data from a community-based integrated control program(American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2001-11) Nsowah-Nuamah, N.N.N.; Mensah, G.; Aryeetey, M.E.; Wagatsuma, Y.; Bentil, G.The data for this analysis are based on the schistosomiasis control project of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana, designed to study the feasibility and effectiveness of an integrated schistosomiasis control program. It embraced chemotherapy and health education for community motivation. The study was carried out from 1993 to 1997. This paper presents observations made 24 months after intervention. Eight communities in southern Ghana were grouped into three areas. Individuals in all the areas received praziquantel after the baseline data collection in 1992-1993. Area 1 had passive while Area 3 received active health education. Area 2 received no education. Prevalence of schistosomiasis was the response variable of interest while age, sex, and area were considered as possible influencing variables. The model for the baseline data indicated no significant difference in prevalence among the three areas. The model 24 months after intervention indicated a significant difference among the three areas, suggesting a possible influence of the health education that motivated community participation in the provision of facilities for the control of schistosomiasis.