Molecular speciation of mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) from pulmonary TB patients in Southern regions of Ghana

Abstract

Tuberculosis is a historic infectious disease of serious public health importance accounting for about 25% of all avoidable adult death in poor countries. Tuberculosis continues to be a serious public health threat in Ghana infecting about 211 per 100,000 residents. The estimated new cases of all forms of tuberculosis in the country by 2013 were 44,041, ranking the country 15th most burdened African countries. The study speciated MTBC Sub-species in obtained sputum from pulmonary TB patients from Southern regions of Ghana. A total of seventy-six (76) archived sputum isolates from five regions collected between May and July, 2013; Greater Accra (14), Central (7), Western (9), Volta (10), and Eastern (8) of Southern Ghana were used to determine the species of MTBC using Hain Genotype technique. The results obtained were 99% (75) of the total 76 isolates were M. tuberculosis and 1% (1) was for M. africanum and no other Sub-species of MTBC were identified from the isolates. The dominance of tuberculosis was higher in males than females, 62% and 38% respectively. Volta region had the highest number of tuberculosis (34%) followed by Greater Accra (20%), Eastern region (18%), Western region (17%) and the least predominant was in Central region (10%). The age groups with highest tuberculosis predominant were 41 to 50 years with 20% followed by 21 to 30 with 18%. The other age group predominant was as follows, 61 to 70 with 16%, 51 to 60 15%, 71 and above 13% and lastly 31 to 40 had 8%. The study concluded that M. tuberculosis and M. africanum were the prevailing MTBC species in five regions of Southern Ghana, while other species of MTBC were not detected during this study.