STDs and AIDS in Ghana.

Pellow, Deborah

doi:10.1136/sti.70.6.418

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…As drivers travel from city to city, some have sex with commercial sex workers at transportation hubs or with partners in cities along their routes (Pellow 1994;Agyei-Mensah 2001). 58 Their sexual practices coupled with their mobility encouraged the spread of HIV along major transportation routes.…”

Section: Intersections Of Decay and Displacementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Objects as Objects: Materiality, Urban Space, and the Interpretation of AIDS Campaigns in Accra, Ghana

McDonnell

2010

American Journal of Sociology

117

106

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AIDS media lead unexpected lives once distributed through urban space: billboards fade, posters go missing, bumper stickers travel to other cities. The materiality of AIDS campaign objects and of the urban settings in which they are displayed structures how the public interprets their messages. Ethnographic observation of AIDS media in situ and interview data reveal how the materiality of objects and places shapes the availability of AIDS knowledge in Accra, Ghana. Significantly for AIDS organizations, these material conditions often systematically obstruct access to AIDS knowledge for particular groups. Attending to materiality rethinks how scholars assess the cultural power of media.

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Section: Intersections Of Decay and Displacementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Objects as Objects: Materiality, Urban Space, and the Interpretation of AIDS Campaigns in Accra, Ghana

McDonnell

2010

American Journal of Sociology

117

106

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“…The choice of a suitable testing algorithm will also depend on the epidemiology of treponemal infections in the area. Yaws has been endemic in Ghana over the past five decades [8, 9], while syphilis had been relatively rare [10] until recent HSS data indicated dramatic increases in “syphilis” (or more accurately, “treponemal infection”) seroprevalence following a change in the testing algorithm (from using RPR/TPHA to the use of two treponemal tests) [1, 2, 5]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, samples which were classified as having past or treated syphilis infection (RPR−/TPHA+) could have had either early, past or treated syphilis infection. However, given the epidemiology of yaws and syphilis in Ghana [1, 8–10], it is more likely that most of these samples were from individuals who were previously exposed to yaws rather than syphilis. It is worth noting that, whatever the true classification of these past or treated treponemal infections may be (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Syphilis is a global health problem but has not been a major clinical problem in Ghana since the 1960s [1, 10]. While clinicians in STI clinics and general hospital settings report attending to cases of the major STIs, they hardly appear to see any cases of syphilis [10].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While clinicians in STI clinics and general hospital settings report attending to cases of the major STIs, they hardly appear to see any cases of syphilis [10]. The very low occurrence of clinically recognisable syphilis has been attributed to the low prevalence of infection, which resulted in part from the mass penicillin treatment campaigns against yaws in the 1950s and 1960s [8, 10]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Performance of Syphilis Sentinel Surveillance in the context of endemic Treponematoses: experience from Ghana

2016

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BackgroundUse of treponemal tests to screen for syphilis (caused by Treponema pallidum pallidum) poses challenges with infection status classification, especially in settings where other treponemal infections are endemic. This study aimed to determine the validity of the syphilis surveillance testing strategy implemented since 2004 using two treponemal tests, and estimate the seroprevalence of active syphilis infection in Ghana where yaws (caused by Treponema pallidum pertenue) is endemic.MethodsWe retested sera from the 2007 HIV sentinel survey (HSS) using a traditional algorithm, quantitative rapid plasma reagin test followed by qualitative Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay. The adjusted seroprevalence of active syphilis was calculated by applying the proportions of active syphilis within identified categories of HSS samples during the retesting, to the entire population of HSS samples. The 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for each proportion, and the t-test was used to assess differences in proportions.ResultsOf 2,214 samples that were retested, 203 (9.2%) had active syphilis infection, 21 (0.9%) were biological false reactions, 640 (28.9%) were past or treated syphilis infections, and 1,350 (61%) were uninfected. The current syphilis testing strategy overestimated the seroprevalence of active syphilis infection by a third (HSS versus traditional algorithm: 6.0% (95% CI: 5.6–6.3) vs. 4.5% (95% CI: 4.2–4.8); p < 0.001), and had low positive predictive value (16.8%) for detecting active syphilis infection. More than half (51.9%) of HSS syphilis positive cases were actually past/treated treponemal infections, possibly previous exposure to yaws.ConclusionThere is an urgent need to review the current syphilis sentinel surveillance testing strategy in Ghana in the context of concurrent endemic treponematoses, to better inform policy.

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Twelve Years of HIV/AIDS in Ghana: Puzzles of Interpretation

Agyei‐Mensah¹

2001

Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des étud

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STDs and AIDS in Ghana.

Cited by 4 publications

References 5 publications

Cultural Objects as Objects: Materiality, Urban Space, and the Interpretation of AIDS Campaigns in Accra, Ghana

Cultural Objects as Objects: Materiality, Urban Space, and the Interpretation of AIDS Campaigns in Accra, Ghana

Performance of Syphilis Sentinel Surveillance in the context of endemic Treponematoses: experience from Ghana

Twelve Years of HIV/AIDS in Ghana: Puzzles of Interpretation

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