Samuel Fosu Gyasi

The Search for an Efficient Black Fly Trap for Xenomonitoring of Onchocerciasis

Onchocerciasis is a neglected tropical disease that has plagued mankind for decades with pathologies that involve the eyes and the skin. The WHO and the global health community have earmarked the disease for global elimination by 2045. However, as control programmes shift focus from reduction of the burden of the disease to elimination, new tools and strategies may be needed to meet targets. Monitoring Onchocerca volvulus larvae in the black fly vectors is an important tool needed to monitor disease dynamics and certify elimination. For decades, human landing collections have been the sole means of acquiring vectors for monitoring of the disease. This procedure has been plagued with ethical concerns and sometimes the inability to harvest enough black flies needed to carry out effective monitoring. Since the 1960s, the WHO recognized the need to replace human landing collections but relatively few field studies have designed and tested alternative traps. This review article systematically discusses some of the key traps tested, their successes, and their challenges. It is the aim of the review to direct research and development focus to the most successful and promising vector traps which could potentially replace the human landing collections.

A Perspective Analysis of Dams and Water Quality: The Bui Power Project on the Black Volta, Ghana

Large dams play an important role in promoting economic and social development in many countries. However, the construction of such dams can have a detrimental effect on the environment. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of drinking water quality among inhabitants of selected communities within the Bui Dam environs. With the help of questionnaires, 100 respondents from communities “near to the dam” were randomly selected and interviewed. Their responses were compared with another 100 respondents selected from “far from the dam” communities. These were augmented with in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and personal observation. Analysis of the results showed that, there were greater proportions (31%) of the participants who lived in “near communities” within the age category 20–25 compared to 19% of their “far communities” counterparts. There were significantly greater proportions of female respondents in the “near to the dam” (57%) compared to respondents in the “far from the dam” communities (52%). The study further showed that the perception of risk of consuming contaminated drinking water was more common among “far from the dam” communities (odds ratio = 4.57). The perception of the quality of water based on some physical properties was investigated as part of our study. Analysis of the results showed that significantly greater proportion of the “far from the dam” communities (35%) perceived their water had an objectionable smell compared to 7% of inhabitants of their other counterparts (p value = 0.001). The study further showed that significantly greater proportion of the study participants in the far from the communities perceived that their water had colour (65%) and they did not drink water from any other source (63%) apart from their stream. The study demonstrated that generally, inhabitants within the study communities perceived the construction of the Bui Power Project has negatively affected their drinking water quality.