Seta Group

Group leaders: Prof Yaw Adu-Sarkodie and Prof Ellis Owusu-Dabo

Phone: + 23365280
Fax: + NA
E-Mail:  yasax@hotmail.com

Project Coordinator:
Dr Isaac Osei

Doctoral Students:
Godfred Acheampong

Masters student:
Portia Okyere Boakye
Caleb Osei-Wusu

Technical Staff:
Dr Michael Owusu (Laboratory supervisor)
Japhet Senyo Kamasah (Laboratory)
Kwadwo Sarfo (Laboratory)
Dominic Kanin (Field)
Francis Aminkiah (Field)
Betty Nyamekye (Field)
Isaac Aguna (Field)
Emmanuel Boateng (Field)

Professor Yaw Adu-Sarkodie leads this group that is examining the burden of severe typhoid Disease in Africa. The idea is to profile from both conventional microbiological techniques as well as using molecular techniques to identify household infection rates. Additionally, real costs resulting from the management of the disease would be examined. The plan is to implement this as part of a WHO plan to implement a new typhoid vaccine for Africa in the not too distant future.

Title for project : Severe Typhoid in Africa Program (SETA)

The Severe Typhoid in Africa Program (SETA) aims to implement a surveillance program that will allow for the collection of data on typhoid through a comprehensive integrated design in several sites across SSA.

The program employs a combination of active and passive surveillance activities for febrile diseases at tertiary, secondary, and primary healthcare facilities where clinical and microbiological data are collected from suspected Typhoid Fever (TF) and invasive Non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) febrile patients. In addition to TF and iNTS, the etiology of fever caused by paratyphoid fever (PF) , other invasive bacteria and malaria parasites, are also being investigated. The program design also includes a follow-up period of 1 year for blood culture-confirmed TF and iNTS cases and selected controls, which will allow for longitudinal assessment of disease outcomes and the development of natural immunity. The program also is also evaluating the novel diagnostic assays to detect TF, iNTS, and PF. Apart from the main active laboratory based activities, the programme is also investigating the utilization of healthcare services and documenting verbal autopsy reports from relative of patients who have died of typhoid.

As at the end of March 2018, the project has recruited about 1500 participants and has isolated 64 Salmonella Typhi cases from two sites; Agogo and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

1. Owusu M, Owusu-Dabo E, Acheampong G, Osei I, Amuasi J, et al. Pseudomonas oryzihabitans sepsis in a 1-year-old child with multiple skin rashes: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2017 Mar 23;11(1):77. doi: 10.1186/s13256-017-1230-6.
2. Owusu M, Sarfo Marfo K, Osei I, Amuasi J, Sarpong N, Tawiah Mensah K, et al. An Ileal Perforation Associated with Extended Spectrum β-Lactamases-Producing Escherichia Coli: Medical Case Report. 2016, November; 3:140. https://doi.org/DOI: 10.23937/2378-3656/1410140.
3. Michael Owusu, Kwadwo Sarfo Marfo, Godfred Acheampong, Abednego Arthur, Nimako Sarpong, et al., Gonococcal sepsis in a 32-year-old female: a case report. BMC Research Notes (In-press)

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through IVI (International Vaccine Institute)