Contrasting Hygiene-Related Gastrointestinal Infections and Stress-Related Diseases at a Primary Health Care Facility within a Sub-Saharan African City: Before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, protocols such as social distancing and upscaling of hygiene practices were implemented to limit the spread of the disease. Meanwhile, along with COVID-19 came stress due to restrictions on movement, trade and transport, and closure of schools, among others. AIM: This study compared the prevalence of hygiene-related gastrointestinal infections and stress-related diseases before (March 2019-February 2020) and during (March 2020-February 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODOLOGY: This was a retrospective single-center review of deidentified patient data from the Korle Bu Polyclinic, Accra, Ghana. RESULTS: Comparing the pre-COVID-19 era to the COVID-19 era, there was a statistically nonsignificant change in the number of cases and prevalence of gastroenteritis and enteric fever (p = 0.084 and 0.081, respectively), although for gastroenteritis, the prevalence was higher for the pre-COVID-19 era compared to during COVID-19 by 1.8 per 1000 cases, while that of enteric fever was higher during the COVID-19 era compared to the pre-COVID-19 era by 1.0 per 1000 cases. Of the stress-related diseases, statistically significant increases in the prevalence of anxiety disorders (p = 0.028), insomnia (p = 0.001), and headache (p = 0.010), were noted, with 2.3, 5.5, and 2.4 per 1000 cases, respectively. There were more female cases than male cases recorded for depression (p = 0.001), headache (p = 0.010), and hypertension (p = 0.001) during the pandemic, and these were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: During the pandemic, a significant increase in the prevalence of stress-related diseases was observed. However, a statistically nonsignificant change was recorded for gastrointestinal infections, with females reporting more of these disorders. Consequently, it is important to strengthen the capacity for managing stress-related conditions alongside diseases that cause pandemics when they arise.

Microbial Contamination of Herbal Preparations on the Ghanaian Market, Accra.

In developing countries, an estimated 80% of the population use traditional herbal medicines as part of their primary health care. As the market for herbal medicine expands in many African countries, partly due to their use in the treatment of COVID-19, there is the need to address all the associated safety issues. The aim of the study was to evaluate the microbial contamination of locally prepared, as well as imported foreign herbal products sold in Accra. Standard microbiological methods were employed in the enumeration of coliforms and the identification of pathogenic microbes in 60 herbal preparations that were sampled. A larger proportion (76.7%) of local herbal preparations was contaminated with bacteria as compared with imported ones (63.3%). Bacillus species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the predominant bacteria obtained from foreign and locally manufactured herbal preparations, respectively. A proportion of 36.7% (11) of the local samples were positive for coliform and the coliform counts ranged from 3.0 × 101 cfu/ml to 2.0 × 104 cfu/ml. Two foreign herbal samples (6.7%) were positive for coliforms; one had a count of 1.7 × 105 cfu/g while the other had 2 × 104 cfu/g. Herbal preparations sold in markets of Accra harbour several microbial pathogens; the risk is relatively higher for locally produced herbal preparations compared to imported herbal preparations. As a result, it is recommended that quality assurance in the production of local herbal preparations should be thoroughly monitored from the beginning of production to the final selling of the preparations. There is also the need to strengthen microbiological safety monitoring of imported herbal preparations.

Microbial Contamination of Herbal Preparations on the Ghanaian Market, Accra

In developing countries, an estimated 80% of the population use traditional herbal medicines as part of their primary health care. As the market for herbal medicine expands in many African countries, partly due to their use in the treatment of COVID-19, there is the need to address all the associated safety issues. The aim of the study was to evaluate the microbial contamination of locally prepared, as well as imported foreign herbal products sold in Accra. Standard microbiological methods were employed in the enumeration of coliforms and the identification of pathogenic microbes in 60 herbal preparations that were sampled. A larger proportion (76.7%) of local herbal preparations was contaminated with bacteria as compared with imported ones (63.3%). Bacillus species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the predominant bacteria obtained from foreign and locally manufactured herbal preparations, respectively. A proportion of 36.7% (11) of the local samples were positive for coliform and the coliform counts ranged from 3.0 × 101 cfu/ml to 2.0 × 104 cfu/ml. Two foreign herbal samples (6.7%) were positive for coliforms;one had a count of 1.7 × 105 cfu/g while the other had 2 × 104 cfu/g. Herbal preparations sold in markets of Accra harbour several microbial pathogens;the risk is relatively higher for locally produced herbal preparations compared to imported herbal preparations. As a result, it is recommended that quality assurance in the production of local herbal preparations should be thoroughly monitored from the beginning of production to the final selling of the preparations. There is also the need to strengthen microbiological safety monitoring of imported herbal preparations.