Stephen Opoku Afriyie
Research Assistant at Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases Research Group at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.
Location Ghana
Activity
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Thank you very much! I have thoroughly enjoyed this course and learning about insecticide resistance has piqued my interest to consider IVM/IRM as a focus for my PhD studies.
I believe we can stay ahead by being proactive i.e. not waiting to manage resistance but rather being active in conducting routine susceptibility surveillance and implementing IRM...
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Capacity building of personnel involved in vector control, knowledge of the biology and ecology of local vectors, increased research, monitoring and evaluation of insecticide resistance, adopting local-based interventions, education and involvement of communities in resistance control activities, financial and political commitment from governments, and...
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Thank you very much Dr. Wipf for your answers. I’ll check the references you have provided to better understand the mechanisms and strategies adopted to overcome insecticide resistance.
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One key message I have learnt is that amount (or concentration) of insecticides decline over time hence there is the need to do regular indoor residual spraying and also replace ageing bed nets so as to slow down the risk of insecticide resistance.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Learned a lot this week! Been fascinated about the mechanisms of insecticide resistance, the susceptibility bioassays/tube tests and molecular identification of resistant alleles.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Very insightful article however it raises much more difficult and complex questions to be answered. Firstly, how do we convince farmers to be mindful of agrochemicals used to ward off pests? Secondly, since mosquitoes adopt behavioral modification (i.e. biting outside), use of mosquito coils can be resourceful outdoors to reduce disease transmission and hence...
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Very interesting presentation. I have experienced this behavioral resistance during field surveys with many individuals stating they get bitten outdoors before sleeping under ITNs. My question is that, how do you measure cuticular resistance? And with regards to detoxification mechanisms in the mosquito, do you reckon increasing the dose of insecticides may be...
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie replied to Mark Hoppé
Improved housing and clearance of vector breeding sites
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I learned about the impact of insecticides in the significant reduction of malaria incidence over the years, the different kinds of insecticides available and their sources. Lastly, I learned that chosen insecticides should be proven to be very effective against the disease vector and must be evidenced to significantly interrupt disease transmission.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Malaria remains endemic in Ghana and though I believe it may be eliminated in my region, I understand it will take time and some serious commitment by major stakeholders to make it happen. Vector control coupled with improved housing and sanitation will greatly help in my opinion. The impact of malaria elimination will be generally positive
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Hello, I'm Stephen from Ghana and very proud and excited to learn from our National Malaria Control Program Manager, Dr. Malm and Dr. Fedros. I am currently a Research Assistant at the Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases Research Group at KNUST and wish to obtain in-depth knowledge about the fascinating biology and ecology of mosquitoes!
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Fantastic delivery by all the speakers. Thank you all and hope to meet someday
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
So grateful to have the opportunity to learn from experts and to earn a digital certificate!
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Very interesting presentation. Changing human behavior is never easy and exemplified even in the current pandemic.
Often times, people do know what to do but the challenge is the will to do it! That's not to say education must be halted but we need to adapt it to approaches that the masses will buy into. One way is to involve sociologists/anthropologists...
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Great initiative. One I would definitely use and share.
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Excellent presentation. I find it baffling why researchers need to pay ludicrous amount of money for publication and also to gain access to literature. Conducting research is already hard as it is..some take years to complete and involve many operational costs not to talk about the time to draft manuscript and respond to reviewer's comments. Cost of publishing...
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Very well written and easy to understand.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Very good initiative to increase IRS uptake
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Sufficient funding, capacity building, inter-sectoral coordination and advocacy need to be intensified. It all however depends on political will. Not much can be done about human movement but people can be educated on proper care of the environment
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Very good presentation and GLP is definitely a necessity.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Great presentation. A very good technique but very costly in implementation. I think its best used in areas with low wild type population. Unfortunately there are not many insect breeding labs in most African countries and the collection and separation of live insects is a daunting task.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Lets gooo!
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Human Landing Catches and setting light traps are commonly used for studies by my research group to enable molecular xenomonitoring to incriminate vectors and also to provide vector epidemiology
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
"And if we’re thinking about the elimination of malaria, we will need much more than just ITNs." - my take home message.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
ITNs, topical repellents and burning of mosquito coils are the predominant practice here in Ghana.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Its been a great week. I've definitely learnt a lot about the various disease vectors and how they can be controlled.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Great presentation all round. Learnt a lot
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Learning more here!
I am happy to say Ghana has been certified trachoma-free since 2018 and is the first country within WHO African Region to do so. Ghana's success story involved the implementation of the WHO SAFE strategy.
The Ministry of health provided free surgery for trachoma, azithromycin for treatment, advocated for facial and environmental...
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Makes sense, thank you.
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Exactly.. till compelling evidence of vital ecological processes carried out by the kissing bugs is provided, the CRISPR/Cas9 technology should be a no-brainer to use.
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So much information here. Thank you! Quite impressed wearing chemical-impregnated clothes can protect from tick bites even after several wash. In my opinion, I think the CRISPR/Cas9 technology should be used in Chagas control
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Good overview of the "kissing bugs". Thankfully, they do not occur in Ghana. Question is, are their bites painful?
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Left wide-eyed by this exposition. Indeed, awareness of the threat of ticks must reach more and more people.
My question is Since hard ticks are slow feeders and feed "only once", how then are they able to cause more diseases than the soft ones? -
Very well said.. Would certainly look at the sero-prevalence of these arboviruses in future studies
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Very concise presentation. It appears misdiagnosis is common among the arboviruses. Surely, efforts should be made to ensure timely diagnosis and to know "the true epidemiology" of these diseases. Ghana is listed as endemic for arboviruses probably due to abundant population of Aedes species within the country however, arboviruses are rarely, if ever, reported...
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Aedes, Anopheles and Culex all occur in Ghana with Anopheles sp. wreaking the most havoc in terms of morbidity and mortality. Malaria morbidity keep rising probably due to more tests being conducted whereas mortality has seen significant decline since 2012 but much work remains to attain zero mortality rate. The National Malaria Control Program emphasize the...
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Very good presentation and I've learnt a lot. I will however like to know more about how genetic factors may predispose one to more mosquito bites.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Who else is excited to get started?! With so much knowledge and background in mosquito-borne diseases, I am very happy to learn more about other vectors like ticks, triatomine bugs and tsetseflies.
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thank you Alex! I will take a look
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Ambitious but attainable goals should ALL stakeholders make effective coordinated response.. annual reports must be prepared to measure progress and detect any gaps. "Using data from 2016 as baseline" - can anyone provide a document on 2016 burden of VBDs? Would be very much appreciated.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
I'm excited basic and applied research forms part of the foundations of the GVCR. Adequate funding should be allocated for such purposes to conduct large-scale research to provide better solutions. There is also the need for capacity building of active players in the local context
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
This has been very helpful. Massive thanks to the organizers and can't wait to learn more in the ensuing weeks
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@RebeccaPwalia Hello Rebecca!
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It refers to “reduction in deaths”. Per WHO World Malaria Reports, significant decrease in global morbidity and mortality occurred between 2000 to 2015 I think. From then to the present, progress in reducing malaria burden worldwide has more or less stalled. Read more...
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Different vector behavior and ecology in different settings may contribute to this phenomena. The rise of resistance to various classes of insecticides and non compliance in the usage of ITNs. Many people in endemic areas may have ITNs but in fact only a few sleep in them.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
I live in Ghana where malaria remains the leading cause of OPD admissions. Over the years, due to increased testing regime, we've seen a rise in morbidity. Conversely, the death toll has significantly decreased due to scale up of interventions such as ITN coverage and IRS
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Hello, I am Stephen from Ghana. Currently pursuing a Masters in Parasitology and affiliated to the Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases Research Group based in KNUST with special focus on malaria which is highly prevalent in my community.
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Stephen Opoku Afriyie made a comment
Looking forward to learning as much from everyone.
