KNUST's Filariasis team conducts hydrocele surgeries for 60 patients in Western Region

The Filariasis Team at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research into Tropical Medicine (KCCR) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, in collaboration with Nana Hima Dekyi Government Hospital in the Ahanta West District, has conducted hydrocele surgeries for about 60 patients from Nzema East, Ahanta West, and Ellembelle districts in the Western Region of Ghana.

This noble initiative sponsored by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) forms part of the “Tackling the Obstacles to Fight Filarial infections and podoconiosis” (TAKeOFF).

Hydrocele, a condition characterised by the abnormal enlargement of the scrotum resulting from the accumulation of fluid in the tunica vaginalis, affects about 40% of males infected with lymphatic filariasis.

Dr. (Mrs.) Linda Batsa Debrah, the Principal Investigator for the TAKeOFF project talking about the transmission of the disease emphasised that the same mosquitoes that transmit malaria are also able to transmit hydrocele-causing parasites (Wuchereria bancrofti). When an infected mosquito bites a person, it can transmit the parasite's infective form, which can then grow and settle in the lymphatic vessels. This, in turn, leads to blockages in the lymphatic vessels, resulting in the person developing various disease conditions associated with the infection such as edema in various parts of the body, including the legs, hands, breasts, vulva, and scrotum.

Professor Alex Yaw Debrah, the Director of the TAKeOFF consortium and the Dean of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, highlighted the extensive commitment of the Filariasis Team, in serving LF endemic communities in the Western Region of Ghana. He mentioned that the Filariasis Team has over the past 25 years provided treatment to infected individuals against the adult worms because the drug of choice for the treatment of the disease, Ivermectin, only affects baby worms and it must be taken as long as the adult worm lives (over 6 years). He stressed that while the community is now free from lymphatic filariasis infection, individuals suffering from hydrocele still require standard morbidity management.

Professor Debrah expressed gratitude to the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and their German partners, the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology (IMMIP) of Bonn University Hospital for the financial support.

Dr. Nana Asampong Brobbey, the Medical Superintendent of Nana Hima Dekyi Government Hospital, expressed his gratitude for the collaborative effort, recognising the financial constraints faced by the Ghana Health Service. He commended the initiative and hoped that other research institutions would follow suit in providing essential medical services.

One of the beneficiaries of the hydrocele surgeries, Stephen Cobbinah, shared his two-year battle with the condition and expressed profound gratitude to the Filariasis Team for their dedicated care and for ultimately providing him with the best care for their condition.

In affirming the success of the surgical interventions, Dr. Henry Atawura, a Senior Lecturer from the University of Cape Coast Medical School and the Lead Surgeon, extended his heartfelt gratitude to the Filariasis Team for their unwavering commitment, to ensuring the accomplishment of this critical medical endeavour.