Study of the aetiologic agents of meningitis in Kumasi, Ghana, with special reference to Cryptococcal neoformans
Frimpong, E.H.; Lartey, R.A.
East African Medical Journal 75(9): 516-519
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-835X PMID: 10493053 Document Number: 489942
To evaluate the importance of Cryptococcus neoformans, an opportunistic in meningitis, in healthy and HIV infected patients in Kumasi, Ghana. A prospective study; isolating the aetiologic agents of meningitis from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using standard methods. Kumasi city, Ashanti region of central Ghana. One thousand five hundred and seventy patients suspected of meningitis, including 28 HIV infected and AIDS patients. The pattern and distribution of the main etiologic agents of meningitis in Kumasi, Ghana shown. Of the 1570 CSF samples examined, 1256 (80%) showed no abnormality. Of the 314 (20%) with abnormalities, 147 were bacterial, and 167 diagnosed aseptic. No cryptococcal cells were found. There is a paucity of cryptococcal meningitis in Kumasi, Ghana, and it is not recommended to screen routinely for the fungus in meningitis investigations.