Epidemiology, ecology and human perceptions of snakebites in a savanna community of northern Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, snakebite envenomations total ~2.7 million reported cases annually with ~100,000 fatalities. Since 2009, snakebite envenomation has intermittently been classified as a very important 'neglected tropical disease' by the World Health Organisation. Despite this emerging awareness, limited efforts have been geared towards addressing the serious public health implications of snakebites, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where baseline epidemiological and ecological data remain incomplete. Due to poverty as well as limited infrastructure and public health facilities, people in rural Africa, including Ghana, often have no other choice than to seek treatment from traditional medical practitioners (TMPs). The African 'snakebite crisis' is highlighted here using regionally representative complementary data from a community-based epidemiological and ecological study in the savanna zone of northern Ghana. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: Our baseline study involved two data collection methods in the Savelugu-Nanton District (in 2019 the district was separated into Savelugu and Nanton districts) in northern Ghana, comprising a cross-sectional study of 1,000 residents and 24 TMPs between December 2008 and May 2009. Semi-structured interviews, as well as collection of retrospective snakebite and concurrent rainfall records from the Savelugu-Nanton District Hospital and Ghana Meteorological Authority respectively over 10-years (1999-2008) were used in the study. Variables tested included demography, human activity patterns, seasonality, snake ecology and clinical reports. Complementary data showed higher snakebite prevalence during the rainy season, and a hump-shaped correlation between rainfall intensity and snakebite incidences. Almost 6% of respondents had experienced a personal snakebite, whereas ~60% of respondents had witnessed a total of 799 snakebite cases. Out of a total of 857 reported snakebite cases, 24 (~2.8%) died. The highest snakebite prevalence was recorded for males in the age group 15-44 years during farming activities, with most bites occurring in the leg/foot region. The highest snakebite rate was within farmlands, most severe bites frequently caused by the Carpet viper (Echis ocellatus). CONCLUSION: The relatively high community-based prevalence of ~6%, and case fatality ratio of ~3%, indicate that snakebites represent an important public health risk in northern Ghana. Based on the high number of respondents and long recording period, we believe these data truly reflect the general situation in the rural northern savanna zone of Ghana and West Africa at large. We recommend increased efforts from both local and international health authorities to address the current snakebite health crisis generally compromising livelihoods and productivity of rural farming communities in West Africa.

Spatio-temporal variation in small mammal species richness, relative abundance and body mass reveal changes in a coastal wetland ecosystem in Ghana.

Coastal wetlands in Ghana are under severe threat of anthropogenic drivers of habitat degradation and climate change, thereby increasing the need for assessment and monitoring to inform targeted and effective conservation of these ecosystems. Here, we assess small mammal species richness, relative abundance and body mass in three habitats at the Muni-Pomadze Ramsar site of Ghana, and compare these to baseline data gathered in 1997 to evaluate changes in the wetland ecosystem. Small mammals were live-trapped using Sherman collapsible and pitfall traps. We recorded 84 individuals of 10 species in 1485 trap-nights, whereas the baseline study recorded 45 individuals of seven species in 986 trap-nights. The overall trap-success was therefore greater in the present study (5.66 %) than the baseline study (4.56 %). The species richness increased from one to four in the forest, and from zero to eight in the thicket, but decreased from six to four in the grassland. The total number of individuals increased in all habitats, with the dominant species in the grassland shifting from Lemniscomys striatus to Mastomys erythroleucus. Three species, Malacomys edwardsi, Grammomys poensis and Praomys tullbergi are the first records for the Muni-Pomadze Ramsar site. Generally, the average body mass of individual species in the grassland was lower in the present study. The considerable changes in small mammal community structure suggest changes in the wetland ecosystem. The conservation implications of our findings are discussed.