Cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) is a public health burden in Ghana that causes up to 10% mortality in confirmed cases annually. About 20% of those who survive the infection suffer permanent sequelae. The study sought to understand the predictive signs and symptoms of bacterial meningitis implicated in its outcomes. Retrospective data from the Public Health Division, Ghana Health Service on bacterial meningitis from 2015 to 2019 was used for this study. A pre-tested data extraction form was used to collect patients’ information from case-based forms kept at the Disease Control Unit from 2015 to 2019. Data were transcribed from the case-based forms into a pre-designed Microsoft Excel template. The data was cleaned and imported into SPSS version 26 for analysis. Between 2015 and 2019, a total of 2446 suspected bacterial meningitis cases were included in the study. Out of these, 842 (34.4%) were confirmed. Among the confirmed cases, males constituted majority with 55.3% of the cases. Children below 14 years of age were most affected (51.4%). The pathogens commonly responsible for bacterial meningitis were Neisseria meningitidis (43.7%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (53.0%) with their respective strains Nm W135 (36.7%), Nm X (5.1%), Spn St. 1 (26.2%), and Spn St. 12F/12A/12B/44/4 (5.3%) accounting for more than 70.0% of the confirmed cases. The presence of neck stiffness (AOR = 1.244; C.I 1.026–1.508), convulsion (AOR = 1.338; C.I 1.083–1.652), altered consciousness (AOR = 1.516; C.I 1.225–1.876), and abdominal pains (AOR = 1.404; C.I 1.011–1.949) or any of these signs and symptoms poses a higher risk for testing positive for bacterial meningitis adjusting for age. Patients presenting one and/or more of these signs and symptoms (neck stiffness, convulsion, altered consciousness, and abdominal pain) have a higher risk of testing positive for bacterial meningitis after statistically adjusting for age.

Background: Bacterial meningitis is a dangerous infection that can kill children and adults alike. An estimated 1.2 million instances of bacterial meningitis are anticipated to occur globally each year, despite the discovery of polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines in recent years [1]. The study aimed to find out which bacteria isolates are linked to meningitis and to compare the culture method to the rT-PCR method. Method: This study examined data on bacterial meningitis from the Ghana Health Service’s Public Health Division from 2015 to 2019. Patients’ information was collected from case-based forms held at the Tamale Public Health and Reference Laboratory. The data from the case-based forms was transcribed into a pre-designed Microsoft Excel template. For analysis, the data was cleaned and loaded into Minitab version 18. Results: There were 2,446 CSM cases documented in all, 34.4 percent were confirmed. Males (52.7%) were more suspected than females (47.3%). Age group 15-44 were affected most (37.5%). The predominant pathogens were Neisseria meningitidis (W135) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (St.1) with NMX, St.14, St.19, and St. 12F/12A/12b as new emerging strains. Notwithstanding that, low NPV (72.6%), NLR (0.69), and sensitivity (31.8%) of culture method for detected pathogens of bacterial meningitis were found to produce a statistically significant false negatives compared to the gold standard (rT-PCR). Conclusion: Emergence of new strains of bacterial meningitis and the false negative results chained out by the culture method is alarming.

Weyori EW, et al. J Glob Health Sci. 2025 Nov;7:e19. https://doi.org/10.35500/jghs.2025.7.e19

Background: Cerebrospinal meningitis (CSM) is a public health burden in Ghana that causes up to 10% mortality of the disease annually. About 20% of those who survive cerebrospinal meningitis suffer permanent sequelae. The study sought to understand the predictive signs and symptoms of bacterial meningitis implicated in its outcomes. Method: Retrospective data from the Public Health Division, Ghana Health Service on bacterial meningitis from 2015 to 2019 used for this study. A pre-tested data extraction form was used to collect patients’ information from case-based forms kept at the Disease Control Unit from 2015 to 2019. Data were transcribed from the case-based forms into a pre-designed Microsoft Excel template. The data was cleaned and imported into SPSS version 26 for analysis. Results: Between 2015-2019, a total of 2,446 CSM cases were reported. Out of these, 842 were confirmed. Among the confirmed cases, males constituted 55.3%. Children below 14 years of age were most affected (51.4%). The pathogens commonly responsible for bacterial meningitis were Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus pneumoniae with their respective strains especially Nm W135, Nm X, Spn St. 1 , and Spn St. 12F/12A/12B/44/4 being responsible for most of the confirmed cases. The most predictive sign and symptom for bacterial meningitis was fever ( X ² =5 . 738 ^a ; p <0 . 05; AOR=1 . 303 ). Identified signs that were associated but less likely to cause disease were abdominal pain ( X ² =12 . 038 ^a ; p <0 . 05; AOR=0 . 597) , neck stiffness ( X ² =6 . 447 ^a ; p <0 . 05; AOR=0 . 788) , altered consciousness ( X ² =15 . 438 ^a ; p <0 . 05; AOR=0 . 673) , and convulsion ( X ² =15 . 084 ^a ; p <0 . 05; AOR=0 . 678) . Conclusion: The confirmed cases of bacterial meningitis from 2015 to 2019 had fever as the main predictive symptom. It is therefore noticed that abdominal pain, neck stiffness, altered consciousness and convulsion did not associate with CSM within the study period.

Background/Objectives: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria represent a significant public health concern worldwide, particularly in resource-limited settings. In Ghana’s Tamale Metropolis, limited data exist on the prevalence and trends of MDR bacteria, posing challenges to effective antimicrobial stewardship. Methods: This study analyzed microbiological data from 2020 to 2023 to address these knowledge gaps. Results: Among the 4859 clinical samples analyzed, 1570 (33.7%) yielded Gram-negative bacterial isolates, with an MDR prevalence of 40.6%. The most frequently isolated organisms were Klebsiella spp. (28.9%) and Escherichia coli (20.4%). Resistance to cephalosporins (51%) and ciprofloxacin (46%) was particularly pronounced, highlighting the diminishing efficacy of commonly used antibiotics. Older adults (aged 60 years and above) presented the highest MDR prevalence, reflecting the vulnerability of this demographic group. Conclusion:These findings underscore the urgent need for enhanced antimicrobial stewardship programs, improved infection prevention and control measures, and continuous resistance monitoring to combat the growing threat of MDR bacteria in the region. Strengthening laboratory capacity and adherence to strict antibiotic usage policies are crucial for reducing the burden of MDR infections and improving patient outcomes.