Browsing by Author "Kreuels Benno"

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    Prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in school children from two districts of Ghana earmarked for indoor residual spraying: a cross-sectional study
    (BioMed Central, 2015) Sarpong Nimako; Owusu-Dabo Ellis; Kreuels Benno; Fobil N Julius; Segbaya Sylvester...et al
    Background: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is considered a valuable transmission control measure against malaria but exact efficacy data are not available for many epidemiological settings. This study was conducted to determine indicators for malaria epidemiology and transmission among school children as baseline assessment before IRS imple‑ mentation in Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Adansi South District of the Ashanti Region and Wa West District of the Upper West Region of Ghana. Malarial parasitaemia and anaemia were determined in pupils between the ages of 2 and 14 years from Early Childhood Development Centres and primary schools. Plasmodium falciparum parasitae‑ mia was detected by light microscopy. Results: Out of 1,649 pupils who were enrolled at participating schools, 684 were positive for plasmodia resulting in a baseline parasitaemia prevalence of 41.5%. Parasite rate was similar in the two districts (42.0% in Adansi South and 40.7% in Wa West), but differed across the nine sentinel schools ranging from 21 to 63% (p < 0.001). The mean haemoglobin concentration was 11.3 g/dl [standard deviation (SD) ±2.1]. Pupils who had moderate to mild anaemia (7.0–10.9 g/dl) constituted 41.7% of the study sample. Conclusion: The burden of parasitaemia, malaria and anaemia is a major public health problem among school chil‑ dren in rural Ghana with extensive heterogeneity between schools and warrants further investment in intervention measures.
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    Urbanicity and Paediatric Bacteraemia in Ghana—A Case-Control Study within a Rural Urban Transition Zone
    (PLOS ONE, 2015) Sothmann Peter; Krumkamp Ralf; Kreuels Benno; Owusu-Dabo Ellis; Fobil Julius; Jaeger Anna....et al
    Background Systemic bacterial infections are a major cause of paediatric febrile illness in sub-Saharan Africa. Aim of this study was to assess the effects of social and geographical determinants on the risk of bacteraemia in a rural-urban transition zone in Ghana. Methods Children below 15 years of age with fever were recruited at an outpatient department in the suburban belt of Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city. Blood was taken for bacterial culture and malaria diagnostics. The socio-economic status of participants was calculated using Principle Component Analysis. A scale, based on key urban characteristics, was estab lished to quantify urbanicity for all communities in the hospital catchment area. A case-con trol analysis was conducted, where children with and without bacteraemia were cases and controls, respectively. Results Bacteraemia was detected in 72 (3.1%) of 2,306 hospital visits. Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS; n = 24; 33.3%) and Salmonella typhi (n = 18; 25.0%) were the most common isolates. Logistic regression analysis showed that bacteraemia was negatively associated with urbanicity (odds ratio [OR] = 0.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.7–1.0) and socio-eco nomic status (OR = 0.8; 95% CI: 0.6–0.9). Both associations were stronger if only NTS infections were used as cases (OR = 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3–0.8 and OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4–1.0, respectively).
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    Urbanicity and Paediatric Bacteraemia in Ghana—A Case-Control Study within a Rural Urban Transition Zone
    (PLOS ONE, 2015) Sothmann Peter; Krumkamp Ralf; Kreuels Benno; Owusu-Dabo Ellis; Gyau Kennedy; Fobil Julius.....et al
    Systemic bacterial infections are a major cause of paediatric febrile illness in sub-Saharan Africa. Aim of this study was to assess the effects of social and geographical determinants on the risk of bacteraemia in a rural-urban transition zone in Ghana. Methods Children below 15 years of age with fever were recruited at an outpatient department in the suburban belt of Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city. Blood was taken for bacterial culture and malaria diagnostics. The socio-economic status of participants was calculated using Principle Component Analysis. A scale, based on key urban characteristics, was estab lished to quantify urbanicity for all communities in the hospital catchment area. A case-con trol analysis was conducted, where children with and without bacteraemia were cases and controls, respectively. Results Bacteraemia was detected in 72 (3.1%) of 2,306 hospital visits. Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS; n = 24; 33.3%) and Salmonella typhi (n = 18; 25.0%) were the most common isolates. Logistic regression analysis showed that bacteraemia was negatively associated with urbanicity (odds ratio [OR] = 0.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.7–1.0) and socio-eco nomic status (OR = 0.8; 95% CI: 0.6–0.9). Both associations were stronger if only NTS infections were used as cases (OR = 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3–0.8 and OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4–1.0, respectively).