Browsing by Author "Mensah, I.G."
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Item Evidence of Rift Valley Fever Virus Circulation in Livestock and Herders in Southern Ghana(MDPI, 2023-06) Mensah, I.G.; Johnson, S.A.M; Asmah, R.; et alRift Valley fever (RVF) is a re-emerging zoonotic disease of domestic ruminants and humans. While neighbouring countries have reported outbreaks of RVF, Ghana has not yet identified any cases. The aim of this study was to determine whether RVF virus (RVFV) was circulating in livestock and herders in the southern part of Ghana, to estimate its seroprevalence, and to identify associated risk factors. The study surveyed 165 livestock farms randomly selected from two districts in southern Ghana. Serum samples of 253 goats, 246 sheep, 220 cattle, and 157 herdsmen were tested to detect IgG and IgM antibodies against RVFV. The overall seroprevalence of anti-RVF antibodies in livestock was 13.1% and 30.9% of farms had RVFV seropositive animals. The species-specific prevalence was 24.1% in cattle, 8.5% in sheep, and 7.9% in goats. A RVFV IgG seroprevalence of 17.8% was found among the ruminant herders, with 8.3% of all herders being IgM positive. RVFV was shown, for the first time, to have been circulating in southern Ghana, with evidence of a recent outbreak in Kwahu East; however, it was clinically undetected despite significant recent human exposure. A One Health approach is recommended to better understand RVF epidemiology and socio-economic impact in Ghana.Item Recombinant ESAT-6-CFP10 Fusion Protein Induction of Th1/Th2 Cytokines and FoxP3 Expressing Treg Cells in Pulmonary TB(PLoS ONE, 2013-06) Jackson-Sillah, D.; Cliff, M.J.; Mensah, I.G.; Dickson, E.; Sowah, S.; Tetteh, A.K.J.; Addo, K.K.; Ottenhoff, H.M.T.; Bothamley, G.; Dockrell, H.M.Early secretory antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6) and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10) are Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)–specific antigens that are secreted by actively metabolising bacteria and contribute to the virulence of the bacteria. Their ability to induce Treg and Th2 responses, particularly during the first two weeks of treatment, has not been comprehensively examined to date. The purpose of this work was to characterise Th1, Th2 and Treg responses to rESAT-6-CFP10 fusion protein in TB patients before and during the intensive phase of treatment and in healthy M.bovis BCG vaccinated donors. Methods: Forty-six newly diagnosed, HIV-negative, smear-positive pulmonary TB patients and 20 healthy donors were recruited in the UK and Ghana. Their peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were used in ex vivo ELISPOT and in vitro cultures to identify immunological parameters of interest. Results: The study confirmed that protective immune responses to rESAT-6-CFP10 are impaired in active TB but improved during treatment: circulating antigen-specific IL-4-producing T-cells were increased in untreated TB but declined by two weeks of treatment while the circulating antigen-specific IFN-c producing T cells which showed a transient rise at one week of treatment, persisted at baseline levels at two months of treatment. In vitro T cell proliferation and IFN-c production were reduced, while IL-4 and CD4+FoxP3+CD25hi cell expression were increased in response to rESAT-6-CFP10 fusion protein in untreated TB. These responses were reversed during early treatment of TB. Conclusions: These observations support further investigations into the possible utility of these parameters as markers of active disease and favourable treatment outcomes.Item Seroprevalence of Q fever in cattle, sheep and goats in the Volta region of Ghana(Veterinary Medicine and Science, 2019-03) Johnson, S.A.M.; Kaneene, J.B.; Asare-Dompreh, K.; Tasiame, W.; Mensah, I.G.; Afakye, K.; Simpson, S.V.; Addo, K.Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused byCoxiella burnetii,a causative agent of abortion in livestock and febrileillness in humans. Outbreaks of human cases of Q fever have been reported in Australia and the Netherlands,which was linked to abortions in goat and sheep farms. In Ghana, information on Q fever in both livestock andhumans is scanty. This study sought to determine the seroprevalence of Q fever in livestock in the Tongu areaof the Volta region of Ghana. It was a cross sectional study with blood sampled from 204 cattle, 158 sheep and100 goats. An indirect ELISA test was performed to detect Q fever antibodies in the serum of livestock. A totalof 20 farms were sampled across the municipalities and an overall prevalence of Q fever was 21.6%. Specie-specific prevalence was 28.4% (45/158) for sheep, 21.7% (45/204) for cattle and 10% (10/100) for goats. Abor-tions were reported on all the farms sampled and most farmers lived in close proximity to the farms sampled.Q fever is prevalent in the North Tongu area and requires the attention of the veterinary and health authori-ties, using the One- Health approach in order to control its occurrence and save lives.