Research Articles

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A research article reports the results of original research, assesses its contribution to the body of knowledge in a given area, and is published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. The faculty publications through published and on-going articles/researches are captured in this community

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 22
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    In vivo and in vitro sensibility of P.falciparum to chloroquine in three communities in Ghana
    (Ghana Medical Journal, 1989-12) Afari, E.A.; Akanmori, B.D.; Nakano, T.; Ofori-Adjei, D.; Gyan, B.; Owusu-Adjei, S.; Adjei, A.A.
    In vivo and in vitro P. falciparum asexual parasite sensitivity to chloroquine tests were performed in three schools at Nima, Madina and Gomoo Fet· teh - urban, periurban and rural communities respectively in Ghana during the rainy season from June to October, 1988. Of the 144 in Vivo tests performed 116(80.6%) were sensitive to chloroquine and 28(19.4%) showed resistance to chloroquine at RI (3.5%) and RII (15.9%) levels. Fifty-four out of the 92 (.58.7%) successful in vitro tests carried out Concurrently with the in vivo test were resistant to chloroquine. P. falciparum resistance to chloroquine waS emerged in Ghana and what is urgently required now is intensive and sustained education on judicious selection and proper use of available antimalarials and the promotion of research activities that may provide more data for sound drug policy for miliaria treatment in Ghana.
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    In vitro response of P.falciparum to chloroquine, amodiaquine, quinine and sulfadoxine/pryrimethamine in Ghana.
    (Ghana Medical Journal, 1989-12) Akanmori, B.D.; Afari, E.A.; Nakano, T.; Ofori-Adjei, D.; Gyan, B.; Owusu-Adjei, S.; Adjei, A.A.
    In Vitro asexual parasite sensitivity to chloroquine, amodiaquine, quinine, and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (SDZ/PYR) combination was determined for Plasmodium falciparum isolates from children in three schools at Nima (Urban), Madina (Peri urban) and Gomoa Fetteh (Rural), during the rainy season. Chloroquine resistance was present in 625% of children at Nima, 69.6% (23136) of children at Madina and 50% (16132) of those in Gomoa Fetteh. Resistance of P. falciparum to amodiaquine was recorded in 30% (6/20),35.7% (5/14) and 12.5% (1/8) of children in Nima, Madina and Gomoa Fetteh respectively. In addition parasite resistance to SDX/PYR was found in children in Nima, Madina and in one child at Gomoa Fetteh. Resistance to both chloroquine and amodiaquine was present in 3 children at Nima, 5 at Madina and in a single child at Gomoa Fettteh. Resistance to both chloroquine and SDX/PYR and to Amodiaquine and SDXIPYR was restricted to only Nima (2/15, 1/15) .and Madina 3/14, 2/15). There was no resistance to quinine in any of the areas studied. A progressive increase in minimum inhibitory concentrations (IC9O) for chloroquine was observed from Nima and Madina to rural Gomma Fetteh. Similarly, IC90 for amodiaquine was highest in Madina. The presence of multiple-drug resistant P. falciparum in these children represents a challenge to the control and management of falciparum malaria and this data serves as a baseline for monitoring any changes in parasite sensitivity to antimalarial drugs in the study areas
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    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 controls
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    The role of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) in the control of communicable Diseases and malnutrition in Ghana
    (Ghana Medical Journal, 1990-03) Afari, E.A.
    The initial aim of the founding fathers of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR)was to develop the Institute into an international centre of medical research covering the entire scope of medical sciences. However in August 1984. an Evaluation Team from Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) recommended that in order to achieve immediate impact on the health and welfare of the people in greatest aced, the Institute was to carry out research on priority health problems in support of programmes for the control of communicable diseases and malnutrition
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    Antibody response to measles immunization at seven months old in rural Ghanaian infants
    (Ghana Medical Journal, 1990-03) Sakatoku, H.; Nakano, T.; Afari, E.A.
    A serological study was carried out in three rural communities in southern Ghana in order to determine the optimal age for measles immunization. The live hyperattenuated measles vaccine (Schwarz strain) was inoculated subcutaneously; into infants aged three to eleven months. The maternal measles antibodies in the infants started decreasing after 7 months, while the seroconversion rate after the immunization was increasing after 6 months. Forty seven infants were given the measles vaccines at the age of 7 months. The seroconversion rate was 91.5%. There were no side effects. These results indicate that measles immunization can be administered effectively at the age of 7 months.
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    A longitudinal study of malaria infection, morbidity and antibody titres in infants of a rural community in Ghana.
    (Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1995) Akanmori, B.D.; Afari, E.A.; Sakatoku, H.; Nkrumah, F.K.
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    Malaria infection, morbidity and transmission in two ecological zones Southern Ghana
    (1995-05) Afari, E.A.; Appawu, M.; Dunyo, S.; Baffoe-Wilmot, A.; Nkrumah, F.K.
    A one year survey was conducted in 1992 to compare malaria infection, morbidity and transmission patterns between a coastal savannah community (Prampram) and a community (Dodowa) in the forest zone in southern Ghana. The study population of 6682 at Prampram and 6558 at Dodowa were followed up in their homes once every two weeks and all episodes of clinical malaria recorded. Blood films for microscopy were prepared from 600 participants randomly selected in each community in April and in August representing dry and wet seasons respectively. Mosquitoes biting humans between 1800 hrs and 0600 hrs, as well as indoor and outdoor resting mosquitoes were collected weekly. All mosquitoes collected were classified into species and examined for sporozoites by dissection and ELISA. The incidence rate of clinical malaria was higher in Dodowa (106.6/1000 pop.) than in Prampram (68.5/1000 pop.) It was highest in < 10 year age groups in both communities. It was also higher in the wet season than in the dry season. The prevalence of patent parasitaemia at Prampram and Dodowa in April in the dry season. The prevalence of patent parasitaemia at Prampram and Dodowa in April 1992 was 19.8% (117/590) and 42.2% (253/599) respectively. The corresponding figures for August were 26.6%(160/602)at Prampram and 51.3% (309/602) at Dodowa. Plasmodium falciparum infection contributed 78-85% of the parasitaemia in April and 93-99% in August. The average man-biting rate for Anopheles gambiae s.l was higher at Prampram than at Dodowa (1.54 vs 0.79 bites/man/night) but the average sporozoite rate was higher at Dodowa than at Prampram (2% vs 0.7%). The peak of biting density at Prampram occurred in June whilst that of Dodowa occurred in November.
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    Human T-cell recognition of synthetic peptides representing conserved and variant sequences from the merozoite surface protein 2 of plasmodium falciparum
    (1997-06) Theander, T.G.; Hviid, L.; Dodoo, D.; Afari, E.A.; Jensen, J.B.; Rzepczyk, C.M.
    Merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP2) is a malaria vaccine candidate currently undergoing clinical trials. We analyzed the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) response to synthetic peptides corresponding to conserved and variant regions of the FCQ-27 allelic form of MSP2 in Ghanaian individuals from an area of hyperendemic malaria transmission and in Danes without exposure to malaria. PBMC from 20-39% of Ghanaians responded to each of the peptides by proliferation and 29-36% had PBMC which produced interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in response to peptide stimulation. In Danes, there was no proliferation to two of the peptides and only PBMC from 5% of the individuals proliferated to the other three peptides. IFN-gamma production was not detected to any peptide. In both Danes and Ghanaians in only a few instances was IL-4 detected in the PBMC cultures. Overall PBMC from 79% of the Ghanaians responded by proliferation and/or cytokine secretion to at least one of three peptides tested, whereas responses were only observed in 14% of Danes (P = 0.002). These data suggest that the Ghanaians had expanded peripheral blood T-cell populations recognizing the peptides as a result of natural infection. The findings are encouraging for the development of a vaccine based on these T-epitope containing regions of MSP2, as the peptides were broadly recognized suggesting that they can bind to diverse HLA alleles and also because they include conserved MSP2 sequences. Immunisation with a vaccine construct incorporating the sequences present in these peptides could thus be expected to be immunogenic in a high percentage of individuals and lead to the establishment of memory T-cells, which can be boosted through natural infection.
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    Antibody response to measles immunization in rural - Ghanaian infants
    (1994-10) Sakatoku, H.; Nakano, T.; Arai, S.; Afari, E.A.
    We investigated optimal age of measles immunization in infants aged 3-11 months in rural villages of Ghana, and determined seroconversion rate in the same infant population following further attenuated measles vaccination with Schwarz vaccine. The prevalence of passively acquired antibody was 11 per cent in infants younger than 6 months, 10 per cent in infants 6 months old, and 3 per cent in infants 7 months old or older. Seroconversion rates in each age group were less than 50, 87, and 92 per cent, respectively. We then immunized 47 7-month-old infants. The seroconversion rate was 92 per cent in this group. There were no clinical adverse effects due to the vaccination. We conclude that measles vaccination could be administered effectively at the age of 7 months with an excellent seroconversion rate.
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    Randomized, controlled trial of trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (sabin) starting at birth in Ghana
    (1995) Osei-Kwasi, M.; Afari, E.A.; Mimura, K.; Obeng-Ansah, I.; Ampofo, W.K.; Nkrumah, F.K.
    To evaluate the efficacy of the schedule currently recommended for immunization with trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (TOPV) (i.e., at birth, 6 weeks, 10 weeks, and 14 weeks after birth), we randomly assigned 452 infants into test (231 infants) and control (221 infants) groups. The test group received TOPV as currently recommended, and the dose at birth was omitted for the control group. At 10, 14, and 18 weeks of age, the levels of poliovirus neutralizing antibodies as well as seroconversion rates were consistently higher for the test group than for the control group. The final seroconversion rates against poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3 were 83.5%, 91% and 83%, respectively, for the test group and 75%, 83.2%, and 79.1%, respectively, for the control group. The TOPV immunization schedule starting at birth therefore produced better results. Seroconversion rates as well as antibody levels were highest in infants with low maternal antibodies