Aims: This study aimed at establishing the prevalence of some viral Transfusion Transmissible Infectious (TTI) agents among blood donors in the Kintampo North municipality of Ghana. Study Design: A retrospective cross-sectional hospital based study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Laboratory unit of the Kintampo Municipal Hospital between May and August, 2013. Methodology: Archived results (from January 2010 to December 2012) on blood donation from the hospital's laboratory were reviewed manually. Data comprising age, sex and results on HBsAg, anti-HCV and anti-HIV tests of blood donors were reviewed. The data were analyzed using Microsoft excel 2007 statistical package. Results: A total of 3402 people were screened for blood donation. Out of this number 3139 (92.3%) were males while 263 (7.7%) were females. The combined sero-prevalence

Breast cancers that have negative or extremely low expression of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor and non-amplification of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)/neu are termed triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The majority of TNBC tumors belong to the biologically aggressive basal subtype, and they cannot be managed with targeted endocrine or anti-HER2/neu agents. In western, high resource environments, risk factors for TNBC include younger age at diagnosis and hereditary susceptibility. Women of African ancestry in the United States and in continental Africa have higher frequencies of TNBC, prompting speculation that this risk may have an inherited basis and may at least partially explain breast cancer survival disparities related to racial/ethnic identity. Efforts to document and confirm the breast cancer burden of continental Africa have been hampered by the limited availability of registry and immunohistochemistry resources. Our goal was to evaluate the breast cancers diagnosed in one of the largest health care facilities in western Africa, and to compare the frequencies as well as risk factors for TNBC versus non-TNBC in this large referral tertiary hospital. The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is affiliated with the University of Ghana and is located in Accra, the capital of Ghana. We conducted an institutional, Department of Pathology-based review of the breast cancer cases seen at this facility for the 2010 calendar year, and for which histopathologic specimens were available. The overall study population of 223 breast cancer cases had a median age of 52.4 years, and most had palpable tumors larger than 5 cm in diameter. More than half were TNBC (130; 58.3%). We observed similar age-specific frequencies, distribution of stage at diagnosis and tumor grade among cases of TNBC compared to cases of non-TNBC. Ghanaian breast cancer patients tend to have an advanced stage distribution and relatively younger age at diagnosis compared to Caucasian Americans and African Americans. The triple-negative molecular marker pattern was the most common subtype of breast cancer seen among this sample of Ghanaian women, regardless of age, tumor grade, or stage of diagnosis. Research into the molecular pathogenesis of TNBC may help elucidate the reasons for its increased prevalence among women with African ancestry.

Background: There are no official statistics on hanging as a method of suicide in Ghana. The aim of this study was to describe the proportions of deaths that were due to suicide by hanging, the gender and age characteristics and the type of ligature used and offer recommendations. Material and methods:This was a retrospective autopsy study from 2003 to 2013 in our institution. Results: About 0.34% of all autopsies performed were suicide by hanging. The male: female ratio was 7:1. The mean age of male victims was 35.6 years and that of females was 28.4 years. The modal age group of the females was 10-19 years (33.3%) while that of the males was 20-29 years (29.6%). There were no significant age differences between Male and female (p=0.08), male and the total study population (p=0.08) and also between female and the total population (p=0.73). The commonly used ligature by males was a nylon rope (46.9%), while that for female was electric cable (27.8%). In all 23.0% males and 33.3% females had no stated ligature used. For both males (52.3%) and females (22.2%) the common point of suspension was the branch of a tree. Many of the females have no stated point of suspension (55.6%). There were significant differences with regards to the type of ligature used and the point of suspension between male and female (p=0.018), male and the total study population (p=0.013) and also between female and the total study population (p=0.014). The reasons for suicide by hanging were not stated. There was a case each from the prison custody and the psychiatry hospital in Accra respectively. Conclusion: The study found that 0.34 % of all autopsies performed were suicide by hanging. The victims were mostly younger males. The commonly used ligature was a nylon rope, with tree branch as the point of suspension. As suicide by hanging is becoming common in Ghana, there is the need to develop strategies for its prevention.

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