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Rufai T, Aninagyei E, Akuffo KO, Ayin CTM, Nortey P, Quansah R, Cudjoe FS, Tei-Maya E, Osei Duah Junior I, Danso-Appiah A. Malaria and typhoid fever among patients presenting with febrile illnesses in Ga West Municipality, Ghana. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0267528. [PMID: 37228010 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clinicians in areas where malaria and typhoid fever are co-endemic often treat infected patients irrationally, which may lead to the emergence of drug resistance and extra cost to patients. This study determined the proportion of febrile conditions attributable to either malaria and/or typhoid fever and the susceptibility patterns of Salmonella spp. isolates to commonly used antimicrobial agents in Ghana. METHODS One hundred and fifty-seven (157) febrile patients attending the Ga West Municipal Hospital, Ghana, from February to May 2017 were sampled. Blood samples were collected for cultivation of pathogenic bacteria and the susceptibility of the Salmonella isolates to antimicrobial agents was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method with antibiotic discs on Müller Hinton agar plates. For each sample, conventional Widal test for the detection of Salmonella spp was done as well as blood film preparation for detection of Plasmodium spp. Data on the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the study participants were collected using an android technology software kobo-collect by interview. RESULTS Of the total number of patients aged 2-37 years (median age = 6 years, IQR 3-11), 82 (52.2%) were females. The proportion of febrile patients with falciparum malaria was 57/157 (36.3%), while Salmonella typhi O and H antigens were detected in 23/157 (14.6%) of the samples. The detection rate of Salmonella spp in febrile patients was 10/157 (6.4%). Malaria and typhoid fever coinfection using Widal test and blood culture was 9 (5.7%) and 3 (1.9%), respectively. The isolates were highly susceptible to cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and amikacin but resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, co-trimoxazole, gentamicin, cefuroxime, chloramphenicol, and meropenem. CONCLUSION Plasmodium falciparum and Salmonella spp coinfections were only up to 1.9%, while malaria and typhoid fever, individually, were responsible for 36.3% and 6.4%, respectively. Treatment of febrile conditions must be based on laboratory findings in order not to expose patients to unnecessary side effects of antibiotics and reduce the emergence and spread of drug resistance against antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanko Rufai
- Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Enoch Aninagyei
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
| | - Kwadwo Owusu Akuffo
- Department of Optometry and Visual Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
| | - Christian Teye-Muno Ayin
- Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Priscillia Nortey
- Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Reginald Quansah
- Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Francis Samuel Cudjoe
- School of Biomedical and Allied Health Science, University of Ghana, Korle-Bu, Accra
| | - Ernest Tei-Maya
- Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Isaiah Osei Duah Junior
- Department of Optometry and Visual Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
- Purdue University Biological Sciences, West-Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Anthony Danso-Appiah
- Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
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