Browsing by Author "Tagoe, J."
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Item Breast cancer risk in patients with breast pain in Accra, Ghana(East African Medical Journal 84(5): 215-8, 2007) Clegg-Lamptey, J. N. A.; Edusa, C.; Ohene-Oti, N.; Tagoe, J.Item Detection of Tick-Borne Rickettsia Species in Ticks Collected from Cattle in Some Selected Sites in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Tagoe, J.Ticks continue to facilitate the spread of pathogens globally, thereby influencing the health of both humans and animals. Ticks have been documented to infest animals including pets and livestock, transmitting bacterial pathogens including Rickettsia species. It is common to find many Ghanaian households rearing animals, thus increasing the risk of infection. It is therefore important to identify the present tick species and determine their potential to transmit diseases. This study sought to collect, identify and analyse ticks from livestock for Rickettsia species across some selected sites in Guinea Savana and Coastal grassland of Ghana. The ticks were identified using available keys and pooled by sex and species. A total of 1,493 ticks were collected comprising of 516 (34.56%) females and 977 (65.44%) males. Seven tick species were identified with Amblyomma variegatum (73.14%) as the predominant species and Rhipicephalus boophilus (0.07%) as the least occurring species. There was a significant difference (p<0.001) between the tick species identified from the northern (Guinea Savanna) and southern (Coastal grassland) sectors. Out of the 541 pools, Rickettsia species was detected in 308 (56.93%) pools with Amblyomma variegatum (n=252 (69.61%)) being the most infected species. From the Rickettsia species positive pools, 238 (77.27%) were found to be positive for Rickettsia africae with A. variegatum (80.16%) recording the highest positivity. Using the PoolScreen software, Hyalomma truncatum was found to have the highest infection rate of 76.0% (95% CI, 30.0-99.0). However, the highest Rickettsia africae infection rate of 54.2% (95% CI, 47.8-60.7) was recorded in pools of A. variegatum. Further sequencing of Rickettsia positive pools revealed the presence of R. africae and R. aeschlimannii. This study reports the first molecular detection of R. africae and Rickettsia aeschlimannii in tick species in Ghana. There is the need to employ control measures to prevent infections from occurring in human populations within the two study areas.Item Ticks and prevalence of tick‑borne pathogens from domestic animals in Ghana(Parasites & Vectors, 2022) Nimo‑Paintsil, S.C.; Mosore, M.; Addo, S.O.; Lura, T.; Tagoe, J.; Ladzekpo, D.; Addae, C.; Bentil, R.E.; Behene, E.; Dafeamekpor, C.; Asoala, V.; Fox, A.; Watters, C.M.; Koehler, J.W.; Schoepp, R.J.; Arimoto, H.; Dadzie, S.; Letizia, A.; Diclaro, J.W.Background: Ticks are important vectors of various pathogenic protozoa, bacteria and viruses that cause serious and life-threatening illnesses in humans and animals worldwide. Estimating tick-borne pathogen prevalence in tick populations is necessary to delineate how geographical differences, environmental variability and host factors influence pathogen prevalence and transmission. This study identified ticks and tick-borne pathogens in samples collected from June 2016 to December 2017 at seven sites within the Coastal, Sudan and Guinea savanna ecological zones of Ghana. Methods: A total of 2016 ticks were collected from domestic animals including cattle, goats and dogs. Ticks were morphologically identified and analyzed for pathogens such as Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Alkhurma haemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV), Rickettsia spp. and Coxiella burnetii using polymerase chain reaction assays (PCR) and sequence analysis. Results: Seven species were identifed, with Amblyomma variegatum (60%) most frequently found, followed by Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (21%), Rhipicephalus spp. (9%), Hyalomma truncatum (6%), Hyalomma rufpes (3%), Rhipicephalus evertsi (1%) and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) sp. (0.1%). Out of 912 pools of ticks tested, Rickettsia spp. and Coxiella burnetii DNA was found in 45.6% and 16.7% of pools, respectively, whereas no CCHFV or AHFV RNA were detected. Co-infection of bacterial DNA was identified in 9.6% of tick pools, with no statistical difference among the ecozones studied. Conclusions: Based on these data, humans and animals in these ecological zones are likely at the highest risk of exposure to rickettsiosis, since ticks infected with Rickettsia spp. displayed the highest rates of infection and co-infection with C. burnetii, compared to other tick-borne pathogens in Ghana.