Browsing by Author "Tetteh, M."
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Acute Phase Responses Vary Between Children of HbAS and HbAA Genotypes During Plasmodium falciparum Infection(Dovepress, 2021) Tetteh, M.; Addai-Mensah, O.; Siedu, Z.; Kyei-Baafour, E.; Lamptey, H.; Williams, J.; Kupeh, E.; Egbi, G.; Kwayie, A.B.; Abbam, G.; Afrifah, D.A.; Debrah, A.Y.; Ofori, M.F.Purpose: Haemoglobin genotype S is known to offer protection against Plasmodium falciparum infections but the mechanism underlying this protection is not completely under stood. Associated changes in acute phase proteins (APPs) during Plasmodium falciparum infections between Haemoglobin AA (HbAA) and Haemoglobin AS (HbAS) individuals also remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate changes in three APPs and full blood count (FBC) indices of HbAA and HbAS children during Plasmodium falciparum infection. Methods: Venous blood was collected from three hundred and twenty children (6 months to 15 years) in Begoro in Fanteakwa District of Ghana during a cross-sectional study. Full blood count (FBC) indices were measured and levels of previously investigated APPs in malaria patients; C-reactive protein (CRP), ferritin and transferrin measured using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays. Results: Among the HbAA and HbAS children, levels of CRP and ferritin were higher in malaria positive children as compared to those who did not have malaria. The mean CRP levels were significantly higher among HbAA children (p=0.2e-08) as compared to the HbAS children (p=0.43). Levels of transferrin reduced in both HbAA and HbAS children with malaria, but the difference was only significant among HbAA children (p=0.0038), as compared to the HbAS children. No significant differences were observed in ferritin levels between HbAA and HbAS children in both malaria negative (p=0.76) and positive (p=0.26) children. Of the full blood count indices measured, red blood cell count (p=0.044) and haemoglobin (Hb) levels (p=0.017) differed between HbAA and HbAS in those without malaria, with higher RBC counts and lower Hb levels found in HbAS children. In contrast, during malaria, lymphocyte and platelet counts were elevated, whilst granulocytes and Mean Cell Haematocrit counts were reduced among children of the HbAS genotypes. Conclusion: Significant changes in APPs were found in HbAA children during malaria as compared to HbAS children, possibly due to differences in malaria-induced inflammation levels. This suggests that the HbAS genotype is associated with better control of P. falciparum infection-induced inflammatory response than HbAA genotype.Item BLUETOOTH-BASED WIRELESS DIGITAL STETHOSCOPE with MOBILE INTEGRATION(World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd, 2018) Degbedzui, D.K.; Tetteh, M.; Kaufmann, E.E.; Mills, G.A.Acoustic stethoscopes are used to monitor signals from patients. Incidentally, the connecting tube between the chest-piece and the ear-piece of common stethoscopes is known to serve as a medium for transmitting pathogens from patients to physicians or from one patient to another patient. This work presents a wireless stethoscope design with mobile integration that transmits heart sounds to mobile devices for evaluation and analysis, thus, eliminates the connecting tube. This is an extension of the previous work that presented the proof of concept of a wireless stethoscope with Bluetooth transmission. In this work, however, the chest-piece of the traditional stethoscope is integrated with microcontroller unit and Bluetooth communication device. Captured signals are processed and transmitted wirelessly to a mobile device with interface application software for recording, listening and visual display of waveforms. Following numerical simulation, a prototype was developed. Testing conducted on the prototype device using a class 2 Bluetooth device with 4dBm transmission power showed good quality received signals when the mobile device was placed 20m within indoor environments and 42m in open-space outdoor environment, beyond which degradation in quality occurs. It is worth pointing out that a smart Bluetooth device with high transmission range and data speed may produce much longer operating distance. Hence, for applications that require operating ranges beyond 50m, smart Bluetooth devices may be well suited for such systems. This system may serve as the means for monitoring patients from remote locations particularly quarantine units and can also be useful for training health personnel through broadcasting of recorded signals for analysis and evaluation by members of a medical team. © 2018 National Taiwan UniversityItem The Effects of Tax Awareness and Tax Knowledge on Tax Compliance in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2019-08) Tetteh, M.The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of tax awareness and knowledge on tax compliance among SMEs., The researcher employed simple random sampling to arrive at the actual participants considered in the study. Structured questionnaire with close-ended questions were used to solicit data from 150 respondents. Structural Equation Modelling was employed in the analysis of the data. The results showed that majority of the participants had no knowledge or attended any educational and sensitization programmes’ aimed at creating tax knowledge and awareness. The findings of the study revealed that electronic means, print media programmes and stakeholder sensitization programmes were statistically significant and positively influenced tax compliance among SMEs. The study recommends that government and tax administrators should adopt innovative and technological systems of dealing with tax payers. The systems should be capable of reducing bureaucracies and corruption-related issues in tax processes including payment taxes as well as employing more electronic means of creating awareness and tax knowledge to enhance tax compliance. Again, the study recommends that Ghana Revenue Authority should institute reward package system that will see SMEs who regularly honor their tax obligations over certain period being given some rewards to serve as an encouragement for other tax payers to emulateItem Ex vivo Sensitivity Profile of Plasmodium falciparum Clinical Isolates to a Panel of Antimalarial Drugs in Ghana 13 Years After National Policy Change(Dovepress, 2021) Ofori, M.F.; Kploanyi, E.E.; Mensah, B.A.; Dickson, E.K.; Kyei-Baafour, E.; Gyabaa, S.; Tetteh, M.; Koram, K.A.; Abuaku, B.K.; Ghansah, A.Purpose: Malaria continues to be a major health issue globally with almost 85% of the global burden and deaths borne by sub-Saharan Africa and India. Although the current artemisinin derived combination therapies in Ghana are still efficacious against the Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) parasite, compounding evidence of artemisinin and amodiaquine resistance establish the need for a full, up-to-date understanding and monitoring of antimalarial resistance to provide evidence for planning control strategies. Materials and Methods: The study was cross-sectional and was conducted during the peak malaria transmission seasons of 2015, 2016, and 2017 in two ecological zones of Ghana. Study participants included children aged 6 months to 14 years. Using ex vivo 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) drug sensitivity assay, 330 Pf isolates were used to investigate susceptibility to five antimalarial drugs: chloroquine (CQ), amodiaquine (AMD) dihydroartemisinin (DHA), artesunate (ART) and mefloquine (MFQ). Results: The pooled geometric mean IC50S (GMIC50) of the five drugs against the parasites from Cape Coast and Begoro were 15.5, 42.4, 18.9, 4.6 and 27.3nM for CQ, AMD, DHA, ART, and MFQ, respectively. The GMIC50 values for CQ (p<0.001), ART (p<0.011) and DHA (p<0.018) were significantly higher for Cape Coast isolates as compared to Begoro isolates. However, GMIC50 estimates for MFQ (p<0.022) were significantly higher for Begoro isolates. Positive correlations were found between each pair of drugs with the weakest found between MFQ and DHA (r = 0.34;p<0.001), and the strongest between ART and DHA (r =0.66; p<0.001). Conclusion: The parasites showed reduced sensitivities to three (AMD, DHA and MFQ) out of the five drugs assessed. The study also demonstrated the continual return of chloroquine-sensitive parasites after 13 years of its withdrawal as the first-line drug for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Ghana. The ex vivo DAPI assay is a reliable method for assessing antimalarial drug sensitivities of Pf field isolates under field settings.Item Impact of malaria diagnostic refresher training programme on competencies and skills in malaria diagnosis among medical laboratory professionals: evidence from Ghana 2015–2019(Malaria Journal, 2021) Tetteh, M.; Dwomoh, D.; Asamoah, A.; Kupeh, E.K.; Malm, K.; Nonvignon, J.Background: The quality of malaria test results is crucial for optimal patient treatment and care. The Ghana Health Service is successfully shifting from presumptive clinical diagnosis and treatment of malaria to the Test, Treat and Track (T3) initiative. In line with the initiative, the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) set out to improve the capacity of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana through a five-day Malaria Diagnostic Refresher Training (MDRT) to build competencies and skills in malaria diagnosis, especially in the three components of microscopy: parasite detection, species identification and parasite quantification. This study evaluates the impact of the training on malaria microscopy. Methods: The training which was based on the World Health Organization basic malaria microscopy training guide employed presentations and practical approaches to malaria diagnosis. A total number of 765 medical laboratory professionals from various health facilities across the country were trained every other year from 2015 to 2019 and were included in this evaluation. Evaluation of this training was done using pre-test and post-test microscopy scores. The Negative Binomial fixed effect model was used in determining the overall effect of the training in improving the competencies of the participants on malaria microscopy. Results: The ability of the medical laboratory professionals to correctly detect malaria parasites increased signifi- cantly from a median score of 64% prior to the training to 87% after the training (p < 0.001). The competencies of the medical laboratory scientists to correctly identify malaria parasite species and quantify the number of malaria parasites increased significantly from a median score of 17% and 20% pre-test to 78% and 50% post-test, respectively (p < 0.001). The results showed that participants’ competency level and skill to perform malaria microscopy (species identification, parasite quantification and detection of malaria parasites) increased by approximately two folds after the training compared to the no-training scenario (adjusted rate ratio = 2.07, 95% CI 2.01–2.13, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The MDRT programme significantly improved participants’ performance of malaria microscopy over a short period of time.