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Item Associations Of Blood Glucose Levels With Some Diabetes Risk Factors (Body Mass Index, Blood Pressure And Total Body Fat) In Inhabitants Of Ho Municipality, Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Survey(African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 2021) Kortei, N.K.; Koryo-Dabrah, A.; Akonor, P.T.; et al.One complex metabolic disorder that can unenviably affect normal human physiology is diabetes mellitus (DM). It is indeed one of the most common noncommunicable diseases that have heightened to an epidemic level worldwide. For diseases like DM, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, type II DM, and other chronic diseases, body mass index (BMI) is identified as a positive and independent risk factor associated with morbidity and mortality. The study's objective was to determine the relationships between BMI, blood pressure, and total body fat among inhabitants of peri-urban Ho, Ghana. A cross-sectional survey was carried out between May and June 2018, among 132 inhabitants of Ho to determine the prevalence and associations among DM risk factors. The participants were selected by systematic random sampling. Standardized international protocols measured BMI, blood pressure, blood glucose, and total body fat. Out of 132 respondents, 96 (72.7%) were female and the most common age group was 54-60 (31.1%). From the BMI classifications, 65 (49.2%) people were of normal weight while 6 (4.5%) were underweight. Total body fat (%) and blood pressure, likewise total body fat and BMI recorded significant associations of values (0.299, p<0.001-systolic; 0.298, p=0.001-diastolic), and 0.585 (p<0.001), respectively. On the contrary, there were insignificant associations found between blood glucose and diastolic blood pressure and also blood glucose and systolic blood pressure (0.100, p=0.253) and (0.057. p=0.514), respectively using Spearman’s correlation analysis. Lastly, the test of association of socio-demographics and anthropometrics revealed there was a significant (p<0.001) correlation between total body fat and BMI using Pearson’s correlation analysis. BMI is closely related to total body fat and blood pressure; hence, education on lifestyle modification needs to be intensified to create awareness among the inhabitants of Ho municipality of Ghana. It is imperative to educate Ghanaians and beyond about the risk factor associations that predispose an individual to DM.Item Exploring The Knowledge And Awareness Of Diabetes Mellitus Among Inhabitants Of Ho Municipality In Ghana A Cross-Sectional Study(African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 2021) Annan-Asare, J.; Koryo-Dabrah, A.; Berko Nartey, E.; et al.One of the fast-growing major non-communicable diseases (NCD) that poses a danger to global public health is Diabetes mellitus (DM). Trends in the incidence of DM indicate a disproportionate increase in developing countries due to the current rapid demographic transitions from traditional to more westernized and urbanized lifestyles. Knowledge of DM is vital for curbing or control. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the level of knowledge and awareness of DM among the Ho municipality general population, identify areas of deficiency for targeted health education efforts, and identify respondent characteristics that may be associated with knowledge of diabetes. A survey involving 132 respondents (aged over 18 years) was conducted in the Ho municipality of the Volta region of Ghana. A 42-item pre-tested questionnaire was administered to participants to evaluate general and specific knowledge and awareness of DM. The Pairwise Multiple Comparison and Fisher’s Exact tests were used to test the hypotheses and associations between the respondents’ knowledge level and groups respectively. Of the 132 respondents, 22% were in the age range of 40-46 years; 72.7% were female. The mean overall diabetes knowledge composite score was poor: 32.99% (CI; 27.5, 38.5). Respondents performed best in the symptoms section: the mean score was 36.247% (CI; 29.0, 43.4); and worst in the section on complications: the mean score was 30.909% (CI; 23.6, 38.2). In multiple linear regression analyses, education level, older age, own self having diabetes, and having a family member/relative/friend with diabetes were significantly associated with knowledge of diabetes. Knowledge of diabetes among the inhabitants of Ho municipality respondents was interpreted as being inadequate at 32.99% (CI; 27.5, 38.5). Some deficient portions and factors associated with knowledge of diabetes were identified. Relevant information for targeted health education programs in Ghana and beyond may be considered as one of such benefits of these findings.Item Street Foods Contribute To Nutrient Intakes Among Children From Rural Communities In Winneba And Techiman Municipalities, Ghana(African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 2012) Micah, E.B.; Colecraft, E.K.; Lartey, A.; et al.The contribution of Street Foods (SF) to the energy and nutrient intake of young children in rural African communities has been understudied. Under the Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Food Management (ENAM) project, a microcredit and nutrition education intervention with caregivers of children 2-to 5- years old in rural Ghana, the prevalence of SF consumption by young children and the contribution SF makes to children’s energy, nutrient, and Animal Source Food (ASF) intakes were assessed. A simple random sample of 172 caregiver-child pairs residing in the ENAM intervention communities in Winneba and Techiman municipalities participated in this study. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview caregivers about SF purchased for their 2- to 5-year-old children in the previous week. During two non-consecutive 12-hour home observations, all foods consumed by a subsample of the children (n=45) were weighed. The energy and nutrient content of weighed foods were estimated using the Ghanaian food composition table. About 80% of caregivers purchased SF for their child at least once that previous week. Most (76%) SF purchased were grain-based and were purchased as complete meals. The children’s total ASF intake was 69.9 ± 11.0 g; the quantity of ASF consumed was similar but their sources of ASF differed between the two municipalities. In Techiman, SF contributed 36% of the ASF consumed over the two observation days compared to 4.2% in Winneba (P=0.003). Overall, SF contributed 35% of energy and 43% of vitamins. A, 20% of vitamin B12, 30% of zinc, 34% of iron, and 54% of calcium consumed by children. The contribution of SF to young children’s dietary intakes, especially their ASF intakes and hence micronutrient intakes, may improve overall dietary quality. This study provides evidence that SF is an important part of children’s diets in rural Ghana could be an important target for food-based interventions to enhance nutrition in young children.Item Nutrition intakes and nutritional status of school age children in Ghana(Journal of Food Research, 2017) Owusu, J.S.; Colecraft, E.K.; Aryeetey, R.; et al.This paper compares the nutrition intake and nutritional status of school children from two public schools in neighbouring communities of Ghana with different school feeding programmes. One hundred and eighty-two caregiver and school-age child pairs were interviewed concerning socio-demographics, dietary practices, and food security in a cross-sectional design. The independent t-test was used to compare the contribution of the publicly funded Ghana School Feeding Programme and Private School Feeding Programme meals to the total daily nutrient intakes of the children. Predictors of the nutritional status of the children were assessed using logistic regression models. The private school feeding programme contributed more energy, protein, and micronutrients as compared to the government school feeding programme. About two-thirds (67.0%) of the children were stunted, underweight, or anaemic. The child’s age was a significant predictor of stunting. Undernutrition was prevalent among children from both programmes. Improved quality of diet from the feeding programmes may contribute to addressing malnutrition in these children.Item Comparison of Two School Feeding Programmes in Ghana, West Africa(International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition, 2016) Owusu, J.S.; Colecraft, E.K.; Aryeetey, R.N.O.; et al.Background: Malnutrition of children in Ghana continues during school years. There is limited information on how school meals meet nutrient recommendations in Ghana. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the energy and nutrient content of meals served by Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) and Non-Governmental School Feeding Programme (NGSFP) and adherence to nutrient recommendations. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study design involving the observation of school meals at two sites: GSFP and NGSFP. The average weights of a week’s meal were converted to energy and nutrient equivalence and compared with international recommendations. Differences were assessed with t-tests. Results: NGSFP provided significantly higher portion size (416 ± 96 g vs. 243 ± 50 g; p=0.007), energy (776 ± 427 kcal vs. 315 ± 24 kcal; p=0.042) and fats (17± 8 vs. 6 ± 2; p=0.019) but similar micronutrient contributions to GSFP. NGSFP met energy and macronutrient recommendations set by the World Food Programme; whereas, GSFP did not meet the recommendations. Conclusion and Recommendations: The NGSFP had more energy and macronutrients per serving size than the GSFP. Regulation of meals served by GSFP should be reviewed to ensure they contribute to the adequacy of children’s diets as well as meet recommendations set by the World Food Programme.Item Assessing The Diversity Of Insects In A Quarry Operational Area In The Ashanti Region Of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2022-11) Addae, S.Quarrying activities have negative impacts on invertebrate biodiversity and threaten local species through a variety of factors, such as habitat loss and pollution. Quarrying is a common practice in Ghana, but little is known about its impact on local insect diversity and abundance. In this study, the relationship between quarrying activities and insect communities at an active quarrying site, the Mowire quarry site in the Ashanti region of Ghana, was assessed. Transect counts, aerial netting, pitfalls, FIT, and Charaxes trapping have been employed to assess arthropod assemblages, particularly insects as surrogate arthropod communities. A total of 2,902 individual insects from 56 families and eleven orders were recorded at all transect points of the three zones. The quarry operational area habitat in the East Zone (EZ) supported a high abundance (N = 974) of insects and high species richness (S = 49), corresponding to a large diversity of flowering plants at this site, which is a food source for pollinators and herbivorous insects. The western zone of the quarry's operational area was not conducive to insect assemblage as the lowest abundance, diversity and richness occurred at the transect point (TP) 400 m, consistent with the low abundance of host plants as well as the amounts of dust settling in the western zone after each blast, as dust travels toward the zone. It is recommended that interventions to prevent the loss of biodiversity habitats in and around the quarry site must be focused on policies that ensure and enforce the establishment of a dust control mechanism system in the extractive industry.Item Evaluating The Performance Of CMRI For Estimating The Spatial Distribution Of Mangroves At The Keta Lagoon Complex In The Volta Region Of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2020-10) Sackey-Addo, S.Data obtained from remote sensing is useful for evaluating and mapping infrastructure and natural resources including vegetation. Over the past years, a number of vegetation indices have been developed to detect vegetation with the use of satellite imageries to monitor the distribution and phenology of mangroves. Forest managers and environmental scientists have developed a wide range of indices for delineating and assessing the health of different vegetation and forest cover. This study will evaluate the performance of Combined Mangrove Recognition Index (CMRI) for estimating and distinguishing mangroves in the Keta Lagoon Complex. The CMRI was compared to the Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI), a widely used vegetation index and supervised classification (maximum likelihood) which were selected based on their classification accuracies of about 80% in the estimation of vegetation. Sentinel-2 imagery was used to generate vegetation maps for the NDVI and CMRI indices and a land cover map generated using the supervised classification (maximum likelihood) technique. The threshold value method was used to extract the values of mangrove areas for each index and used to delineate areas of mangrove and non-mangrove using binary data with the use of UAV imagery for validation. Random points with their coordinates were generated as reference points on the UAV imagery and overlaid on the other maps. Areas of mangroves were denoted “1” and areas with non-mangroves were denoted “0”. The Cochran’s Q test, used for statistical analysis of binary data was used to derive the p-value after which the area coverage of mangroves in the study area was estimated. From the study, the threshold values used to mask out mangroves were observed to be between 0.27 and 0.37, and between 0.51 and 0.70 for NDVI and CMRI respectively. UAV imagery was used to validate the area coverage due to its high resolution. The imagery covered an area of 1.8 km2 and was used as a subset for the mangrove area coverage comparison. Mangrove area coverage was estimated to be 0.32km2, 0.30km2, and 0.25km2 for NDVI, supervised classification and CMRI respectively. All techniques used in classification showed no statistical significance (>0.05) when compared to ground truth data. The CMRI was observed to have performed better and hence confirmed its sensitivity in estimating mangroves and that other satellite missions with optical sensors and multiple bands can be used to generate the index with high accuracy.Item Detection Of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus And Rickettsia Spp. In Ticks And Disease Exposure Of Livestock Handlers In The Greater Accra And Upper East Regions Of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2022-10) Bentil, R.E.Ticks are important blood-sucking arthropod vectors. They are known to spread a wide range of diseases that cause severe and life-threatening illnesses in humans and animals all over the world through feeding. In population-dense and trade-dominant areas such as the Greater Accra and Upper East Regions, the risk of zoonotic infections may be on the rise. This study, therefore, sought to identify the circulating tick species, assess the pathogens they carry and the risk of exposure of primary animal handlers. A total of 705 ticks were collected from cattle (n=188) and horses (n=11). Three tick genera (Hyalomma, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus) were observed in the study with the predominant species being Hyalomma rufipes (n=290, 41.13%), followed by Amblyomma variegatum (n=157, 22.27%) and the least, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (n=1, 0.14%). It was also observed that the preferred point of attachment of all identified ticks was predominantly the Anal region (n=469, 68.37%) with the least site being the Abdominal region (n=5, 0.73%) for cattle except for Horses that had the least site being the chest (n=1, 5.26%). Out of the 705 tick samples, it was observed that in the Upper East Region, higher percentage of ticks collected (62.67%) were infected with Rickettsia as compared to ticks from Greater Accra (42.13%). Similarly, slightly more ticks were infected with Rickettsia africae in the Upper East Region (91.8%) than Greater Accra (91.38%). In addition, although Amblyomma variegatum was the second most prevalent species identified, the highest Rickettsia and Rickettsia africae infection rates were recorded in this species. The highest CCHFV infection rates were observed in Hyalomma rufipes. Serology carried out for a total of 120 human sera samples, for Rickettsia using an in-house ELISA revealed that 27.50% had been exposed to Spotted Fever Group (SFG) and 4.17% to Typhus Group (TG) and none exposed to the Scrub Typhus group (STG). Furthermore, preliminary analysis for antibodies to CCHFV IgG was detected in 42.5% of the human serum (n=120) samples pending confirmatory Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT). This study further reports the first whole-genome sequencing of CCHFV in tick species within Ghana with sequence analysis revealing genotype III (Africa III) may be circulating in the Upper East Region of Ghana. This suggests the possible importation of the CCHFV virus into the country through trade and thus puts livestock and humans who may have primary contact with livestock at risk of infection of these diseases.Item Weather Pattern And Diarrhoea Disease Vectors In Some Coastal Areas In Southern Ghana(University Of Ghana, 2021-12) Amekugee, N.E.Dipterans belonging to Muscidae, Sarcophagidae and Calliphoridae families may mechanically transmit many microorganisms to humans like diarrhoea causing pathogens. It was imperative to determine seasonal variations in the diversity and density of dipteran vectors of diarrhoeal diseases in some coastal communities in the southern part of Ghana namely Anyako, Anyanui, Opetekwei and Mumford. This study investigated the seasonal variations in the diversity and density of dipteran vectors of diarrhoeal diseases relative to climatic factors in these coastal communities. The flies were collected by the use of plastic water bottle fly traps baited with mango, fish and meat. The collection was done in two seasons, dry (January-March) and wet (April-June). The flies were grouped into pools based on insect family, the month of collection and study sites then morphological identification of the flies was done using keys from Kirk-Spriggs & Sinclair (2017). These flies were swabbed for bacteria culture on T.C.B.S agar, S.S agar and Chromogenic UTI clarity agar. Identification of bacteria was performed using biochemical tests. The seasonality of flies was assessed throughout 6 months with baited traps in these 4 communities. A total of 8817 insects were collected and identified, consisting of 3 families and 3 genera – Muscidae (87.10%), Sarcophagidae (2%), Calliphoridae (10.66%). The greatest number of Muscidae, Sarcophagidae and Calliphoridae peaked from April to May. The abundance levels of Muscidae and Sarcophagidae were positively correlated with relative humidity with p value of p<0.01 and p<0.05 respectively whiles Calliphoridae had a positive correlation with precipitation with a p value of p<0.01 in Anyako. Muscidae abundance level had a positive correlation with a p value of p<0.05 with temperature only in Anyanui and Mumford while no correlation was seen in Opetekwei. Escherichia coli, a diarrhoea-causing bacteria was isolated from all insect genera from all the communities in both the dry and wet seasons. The study has found that there was a seasonal variation in the density of flies across the different sites and these vary with climatic factors such as temperature and precipitation and most flies carried E. coli, a diarrhoea-causing bacteria.Item Consumption Patterns Of Energy Drinks At Lorry Stations In Accra And Concentration Of Their Main Constituents(University Of Ghana, 2022-08) Oscar, N.Y.C.Energy drinks are beverages that are rich in caffeine and sugars and contain other constituents. Energy drink consumption has become popular in Ghana in the last five years, and are mostly retailed at lorry stations in Accra. In spite of this, there is little information on the consumption patterns or reasons for consumption among consumers. There is also poor data on the concentrations of the main constituents (sugar and caffeine) of energy drinks in Ghana. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the consumption patterns of energy drinks at lorry stations in Accra, and the concentrations of the main constituents of energy drink. This was a combined cross sectional survey done at three lorry stations in Accra and laboratory analysis of main constituents (sugar and caffeine) of energy drink samples. The energy drinks that were analyzed were; Local (Rush, Storm, Run, BigBoss and 5Star energy drink) and imported (Red Bull, Xploza, Bullet, Lucozade). A total of 360 participants were surveyed in the study. Most of the participants (78.3 %) were consumers of energy drink and males were dominant. The dominant age for the consumers was (21-30 years, 39.4 %), with JHS (33 %) and SHS (30.5 %) being the dominant level of education. Commercial drivers (25.5 %) and traders (25.2 %) were the top occupations amongst the consumers. Most of the consumers drank 1-2 bottles of energy drinks in a week (29.7%), and the energy drinks were mostly drunk in the afternoons (55.3 %). The foreign energy drinks had higher caffeine concentrations than the local ones. The caffeine concentrations of imported energy drinks were above 300mg/L except for Lucozade that was below 150 mg/L whereas the local energy drinks were below 300 mg/L except Rush, which was above 320 mg/L. The sugar concentrations of the energy drinks were within similar ranges; majority of them were above 100 g/L and less than 120 g/L. The sugar concentrations of the energy drinks were within similar ranges; majority of them were above 100 g/L and less than 120 g/L. The local energy drinks were mostly consumed by the participants in the study than the foreign ones due to their cheaper price, and also they were very accessible because they were sold by hawkers at lorry stations but the foreign ones were mostly sold at marts and big malls. Energy drink consumption is highly prevalent at lorry stations in Accra. In spite of the consumption rate being excessive, few experienced adverse health effects. Some of the adverse effects were insomnia, accelerated heartbeat and sexual weakness. Most consumers of energy drink perceived it to be helpful whiles most non-consumers perceived them to be harmful.