Dorothy kyerewah Yeboah-Manu

• PhD
• Director at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research

As World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, 2025, approaches, global health authorities yet again find themselves at a crucial juncture in efforts to tackle the continuing global emergency of tuberculosis. 2023 saw 10·8 million new tuberculosis cases and 1·25 million deaths—including 161 000 deaths among HIV-infected individuals.1 The decision by the US...

As the fifth anniversary of the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 approaches in December, 2024, the global landscape is overburdened by recurring epidemics, supply chain disruptions, climate change, biodiversity loss, geopolitical tensions, migration, deepening inequities, malnutrition, and eroded trust in global institutions.1–3 These crises now overshadow...

Background Patients with tuberculosis (TB) often harbor diverse bacteria in their sputum, including both commensal and opportunistic pathogens. This study aimed to characterize the sputum microbiota of TB patients before and after the intensive phase of anti-TB treatment and assess changes in bacterial diversity and antibiotic resistance profiles....

Introduction Adolescent girls are more sensitive to hormonal imbalance with major impact on their nutritional, reproductive, physical, psychosocial, and academic wellbeing. This study explored adolescent girls’ knowledge and perceptions of causes and management of symptoms of hormonal imbalance. Materials and methods Using a qualitative approach,...

Background The lockdown measures in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have led to a wide range of unintended consequences for women and children. Until the outbreak of COVID-19, attention was on reducing maternal and infant mortality due to pregnancy and delivery complications. The aim of this study was to interrogate the impact of loc...

Trachoma is targeted for global elimination as a public health problem by 2030. Measurement of IgG antibodies in children is being considered for surveillance and programmatic decision making. There are currently no guidelines for applications of serology, which represents a generalizable problem in seroepidemiology and disease elimination. We coll...

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) result from lifestyle and genetic factors and are not infectious. They include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancers, mental illnesses, and chronic respiratory, liver, and kidney diseases. NCDs account for 74% of global deaths, predominantly in low- and middle-income countries, with a significant rise...

Viral infections, ranging from the common cold to severe illnesses like HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and SARS-CoV-2, are a major public health concern. The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) has a comprehensive research program on viral diseases. During the seventh annual research meeting (ARM), presentations highlighted NMIMR's role in Gh...

Malaria is a leading cause of mortality in Ghana, especially among children under five and pregnant women. The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) has collaborated with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) to meet control and elimination targets. The seventh Annual Research Meeting (ARM) of the NMIMR highlighted the...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is rapidly advancing, surpassing the development of new control measures and posingsignificant threats to patient care, public health, agriculture, economic growth, and global security, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Bacterial infections, responsible for about 7.7 million deaths annually, are often caused by AMRb...

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) is a semi-autonomous institute of the University of Ghana.1 It was established in 1979 by the Government of Japan and donated to the Government and the people of Ghana in memory of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, the famous Japanese scientist who succumbed to yellow fever, a disease he was researching...

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a group of 20 diseases associated with poverty that the World Health Organization aims to control or eliminate. Significant progress has been made in the past two decades with international commitments towards their control and elimination. NTDs in Africa, which account for 40% of the global burden, affect chi...

Health system research is crucial for identifying problems and evaluating solutions, ensuring the robustness, safety, effectiveness, and accessibility of health systems. It incorporates people-centred approaches, integrating individual and community perspectives into co-designed interventions. Community engagement in health services promotes equity...

Objective This study aimed to investigate the impact of diabetes mellitus (DM) on tuberculosis (TB) treatment response using bacterial clearance as a surrogate marker. Method We compared smear microscopy, culture, and tuberculosis molecular bacterial load assay (TB-MBLA) for treatment monitoring. Following that, bacterial clearance was longitudina...

Integrated approaches to managing co-endemic neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) of the skin within primary healthcare services are complex and require tailoring to local contexts. We describe formative research in Atwima Mponua District in Ghana’s Ashanti Region designed to inform the development of a sustainable intervention to improve access to s...

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) result from lifestyle and genetic factors and are not infectious. They include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancers, mental illnesses, and chronic respiratory, liver, and kidney diseases. NCDs account for 74% of global deaths, predominantly in low-and middle-income countries, with a significant rise i...

Drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern globally, complicating TB control and management efforts. West Africa has historically faced difficulty in combating DR-TB due to limited diagnostic skills, insufficient access to excellent healthcare, and ineffective healthcare systems. This has aided in the emergence and disse...

Background Stigma related to skin neglected tropical diseases like Buruli ulcer (BU) and yaws has remained underexplored and existing studies are limited to individual diseases despite the WHO call for integration in disease management. Within two districts in central Ghana, we explored stigma associated with BU and yaws to understand overlaps and...

Integrated strategies are recommended to tackle neglected tropical diseases of the skin (skin NTDs), which pose a substantial health and economic burden in many countries, including Ghana. We describe the development of an integrated and decentralised skin health strategy designed to improve experiences of skin NTDs in Atwima Mponua district in Ash...

Background The lockdown measures in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have led to a wide range of unintended consequences for women and children. Until the outbreak of COVID-19, attention was on reducing maternal and infant mortality due to pregnancy and delivery complications. The aim of this study was to interrogate the impact of loc...

Background We describe two contamination cases of Mycobacterium ulcerans clinically infected lesions by Rhodococcus erythropolis, a bacterium of environmental origin with rare cases of human infection. Methods Two lesion swabs collected from clinically characterized Buruli ulcer-like patients were submitted to molecular (IS2404-PCR) and biological...

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) maybe a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) and negatively affect outcome of treatment. We investigated the impact of DM on TB treatment outcome in a longitudinal study. Methods The diabetic status of all microbiologically confirmed TB patients was determined at baseline (t0). The DM group consisted of known DM and...

Background The epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) lineage 5 (L5) infections in Ghana revealed a significantly increased prevalence in Ewes compared to other self-reported ethnic groups. In that context, we sought to investigate the early phase of tuberculosis (TB) infection using ex vivo infection of macrophages derived from...

In settings with high tuberculosis (TB) endemicity, distinct genotypes of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) often differ in prevalence. However, the factors leading to these differences remain poorly understood. Here we studied the MTBC population in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania over a six-year period, using 1,082 unique patient-derived MTBC...

To assess dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in Greater Accra Region, Ghana, we analyzed SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences from persons in the community and returning from international travel. The Accra Metropolitan District was a major origin of virus spread to other districts and should be a primary focus for interventions against future infectious disease outbr...

Background: The gut microbiota is known to play a critical role in shaping the host immunity, and metabolism and influences the onset and progression of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. This study assessed the gut microbiome of tuberculosis (TB) cases with diabetes mellitus (DM) or HIV comorbidities before anti-TB therapy and after...

World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, March 24th, 2023, will commemorate the day in 1882 when Professor Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) when TB ravaged Europe. Over a century later, in 1993, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared TB a global health emergency. Since then, there have been 60 million deaths due to...

Background : Buruli ulcer (BU) can lead to disfiguring ulcers and permanent disability. The 2030 World Health Organization (WHO) road map for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) calls for major scaling up in diagnosis and management to eliminate disability due to the disease. Current treatment for BU is with daily oral rifampicin (10mg/kg dose) and...

The increasing incidence of human tuberculosis (TB) caused by new mycobacterial strains such as Mycobacterium orygis and the syndemic relationship between TB and other endemic diseases have renewed interest in zoonotic TB (zTB) especially in Africa where control strategies and data are very limited. Furthermore, the animal-adapted mycobacterial spe...

Background: Resistance to tuberculosis (TB) drugs has become a major threat to global control efforts. Early case detection and drug susceptibility profiling of the infecting bacteria are essential for appropriate case management. The objective of this study was to determine the drug susceptibility profiles of difficult-to-treat (DTT) TB patients...

Background : Buruli ulcer (BU) can lead to disfiguring ulcers and permanent disability. The 2030 World Health Organization (WHO) road map for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) calls for major scaling up in diagnosis and management to eliminate disability due to the disease. Current treatment for BU is with daily oral rifampicin (10mg/kg dose) and...

Buruli ulcer is one of the 20 neglected tropical diseases in the world. This necrotizing hypodermitis is a chronic debilitating disease caused by an environmental Mycobacterium ulcerans. At least 33 countries with tropical, subtropical and temperate climates have reported Buruli ulcer in African countries, South America and Western Pacific regions....

Among western African countries, the Republic of Ghana has maintained an economic growth rate of 5% since the 1980s and is now categorized as a middle-income country. However, as with other developing countries, Ghana still has challenges in the effective implementation of surveillance for infectious diseases. Facing public health emergencies of in...

In settings with high tuberculosis (TB) endemicity, various genotypes of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) often differ in prevalence. However, the factors leading to these differences remain poorly understood. Here we studied the MTBC population in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania over a six-year period, using 1,082 unique patient-derived MTBC...

We have a long-term vision to develop drug discovery research capacity within Ghana, to tackle unmet medical needs in Ghana and the wider West African region. However, there are several issues and challenges that need to be overcome to enable this vision, including training, human resource, equipment, infrastructure, procurement, and logistics. We...

Objective We conducted an abattoir-based cross-sectional study in the five administrative regions of Northern Ghana to determine the distribution of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) among slaughtered carcasses and identify the possibility of zoonotic transmission. Methods Direct smear microscopy was done on 438 tuberculosis-like lesions from selected cat...

Background: The unavailability of cheap but rapid, highly sensitive and specific diagnostic tools for tuberculosis (TB) remains a major setback for the global efforts to end TB by the year 2035. Nucleic acid-based TB diagnostic assays remain the most recommended and the Gene Xpert MTB/RIF (Cepheid Sunnyvale, United States) is the most widely used w...

Background: The gut microbiota is known to play critical role in shaping the host immunity, and metabolism and influences the onset and progression of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. This study assessed the gut microbiome of tuberculosis (TB) cases with diabetes mellitus (DM) or HIV comorbidities before anti-TB therapy and after th...

Background: The gut microbiota is known to play critical role in shaping the host immunity, and metabolism and influences the onset and progression of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. This study assessed the gut microbiome of tuberculosis (TB) cases with diabetes mellitus (DM) or HIV comorbidities before anti-TB therapy and after th...

Diarrheal disease remains a major global health problem particularly in children under 5 years and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of causative pathogens could slow control efforts, particularly in settings where treatment options are limited. This surveillance study conducted in Ghana aimed to determine the prevalence and antimicrobi...

Objective : Identification to differentiate non tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is crucial for case management with the appropriate antimycobacterials. This study was carried out in three West/Central African countries to understand NTMs associated with pulmonary tuberculosis in the sub-region. Methods...

Objectives: Investments into 'blue skies' fundamental TB research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have not been forthcoming. We highlight why blue skies research will be essential for achieving global TB control and eradicating TB. Methods: We review the historical background to early TB discovery research and give examples of where...

Background: The diversity in the lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) was initially considered insignificant. However, comparative genomics analysis of MTBC have found genomic variation among the genotypes with potential phenotypic implications. Objective: Therefore, this viewpoint seeks to discuss the impact of the identified geno...

Background The unprecedented and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exposed weaknesses in African countries’ health systems. The impact of shifted focus on COVID-19 for the past 2 years on routine health services, especially those for the epidemics of Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria, have been dramatic in both quantity and quality. Methods In this a...

Despite advancements made toward diagnostics, tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium africanum (Maf) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensu stricto (Mtbss) remains a major public health issue. Human host factors are key players in tuberculosis (TB) outcomes and treatment. Research is required to probe the interplay between host and bacterial genomes. H...

Despite advancements made toward diagnostics, tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium africanum (Maf) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensu stricto (Mtbss) remains a major public health issue. Human host factors are key players in tuberculosis (TB) outcomes and treatment. Research is required to probe the interplay between host and bacterial genomes. H...

Malaria and tuberculosis (TB) though curable and preventable, remain serious public health problems globally, with devastating consequences. Co-infection of these two deadly diseases worsens the situation and particularly makes treatment very difficult. The current mainstay for malaria treatment is gradually losing their potency due to the developm...

Introduction: Pulpal and periapical infections are initiated by microorganisms when they gain access to the dental pulp. The success of root canal treatment principally depends on the eradication of the micro-organisms in the root canal system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the viable microbial profile of root canals with various stages of...

Background Tuberculosis (TB) and COVID-19 pandemics are both diseases of public health threat globally. Both diseases are caused by pathogens that infect mainly the respiratory system, and are involved in airborne transmission; they also share some clinical signs and symptoms. We, therefore, took advantage of collected sputum samples at the early s...

Nearly two years since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which has caused over 5 million deaths, the world continues to be on high COVID-19 alert. The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with national authorities, public health institutions and scientists have been closely monitoring and assessing the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 since...

Primary isolation of Mycobacterium ulcerans is the separation and growth of the bacterium from a mixed population either in clinical specimen or environmental specimen in pure cultures. It is a crucial activity as it can be used to monitor antimicrobial treatment, surveillanceSurveillance for antimicrobial resistanceAntimicrobial resistance, and mo...

Background Tuberculosis (TB) and drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) continue to persist as a serious public health challenges in Ghana. Although several research has evaluated the drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBc) strains across the country, there is a paucity of data on its magnitude as well as the various lineages circulating in...

Studies have shown an association between bacterial load and virulence; however, not much is known about the diversity in this phenotypic characteristic of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). This study was therefore aimed to determine the differences in bacterial load of the three most prevalent MTBC genotypes (L4, L5, and L6) in West Afric...

Introduction To date, eleven countries have been validated as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, including Ghana in 2018. Surveillance for recrudescence is needed both pre- and post-validation but evidence-based guidance on appropriate strategies is lacking. We explored two potential surveillance strategies in Ghana. Methodolog...

Findings from previous comparative genomics studies of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) suggest genomic variation among the genotypes may have phenotypic implications. We investigated the diversity in the phenotypic profiles of the main prevalent MTBC genotypes in West Africa. Thirty-six whole genome sequenced drug susceptible MTBC iso...

Tuberculosis (TB), an airborne infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), remains a global health problem. West Africa has a unique epidemiology of TB that is characterized by medium- to high-prevalence. Moreover, the geographical restriction of M. africanum to the sub-region makes West Africa have an extra burden to de...

Acute gastroenteritis associated with diarrhea is considered a serious disease in Africa and South Asia. In this study, we examined the trends in the causative pathogens of diarrhea and the corresponding gut microbiota in Ghana using microbiome analysis performed on diarrheic stools via 16S rRNA sequencing. In total, 80 patients with diarrhea and 3...

Pathogens of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) are considered to be monomorphic, with little gene content variation between strains. Nevertheless, several genotypic and phenotypic factors separate strains of the different MTBC lineages (L), especially L5 and L6 (traditionally termed Mycobacterium africanum) strains, from each other. How...

Objective : We conducted a cross sectional study in the five administrative regions of Northern Ghana to determine the diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) sub/lineages and their susceptibility to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF). Methods : Sputum specimens were collected and cultured from 566 pulmonary tuberculosis patients...

Both Streptococcus agalactiae [group B streptococcus (GBS)] and Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) remain significant pathogens as they cause life threatening infections mostly in children and the elderly. The control of diseases caused by these pathogens is dependent on antibiotics use and appropriate vaccination. The introduction of the pneu...

Background: Lineage 1 (L1) and 3 (L3) are two lineages of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) causing tuberculosis (TB) in humans. L1 and L3 are prevalent around the rim of the Indian Ocean, the region that accounts for most of the world’s new TB cases. Despite their relevance for this region, L1 and L3 remain understudied. Methods: We an...

Context Available molecular epidemiological data from recent studies suggest significant genetic variation between the different lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and the MTBC lineages might have adapted to different human populations. Aim This study sought to determine the population structure of clinical MTBC isolates from th...

Objective We investigated the cause of recurring tuberculosis (rcTB) among pulmonary TB participants recruited from a prospective population-based study conducted between July 2012 and December 2015. Methods Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates obtained from rcTB cases were characterized by standard mycobacterial genotyping tools in additio...

Despite slow reductions in the annual burden of active human tuberculosis (TB) cases, zoonotic TB (zTB) remains a poorly monitored and an important unaddressed global problem. There is a higher incidence in some regions and countries, especially where close association exists between growing numbers of cattle (the major source of Mycobacterium bovi...

In this perspective, we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on tuberculosis (TB)/HIV health services and approaches to mitigating the growing burden of these three colliding epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). SSA countries bear significantly high proportions of TB and HIV cases reported worldwide, compared to countries in the West. Whilst COVID-19 e...

Human tuberculosis (TB) is caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). The MTBC comprises several human-adapted lineages known as M. tuberculosis sensu stricto , as well as two lineages (L5 and L6) traditionally referred to as Mycobacterium africanum . Strains of L5 and L6 are largely limited to West Africa for reasons unkno...

Background: Lineage 1 (L1) and 3 (L3) are two lineages of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) causing tuberculosis (TB) in humans. L1 and L3 are prevalent around the rim of the Indian Ocean, the region that accounts for most of the world’s new TB cases. Despite their relevance for this region, L1 and L3 remain understudied. Methods: We an...

Background Tuberculosis (TB) worldwide re-emergence constitutes a major public health problem with multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains becoming a greater threat. Genotyping and drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) are important in order to improve the control of the disease. This study sought to determine drug susceptibil...

Aims and objectives Tuberculosis (TB) worldwide re-emergence constitutes a major public health problem with multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains becoming a greater threat. Genotyping and drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) are important in order to improve the control of the disease. This study sought to determine drug su...

Aims and objectives The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis as well as Non Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM), has been on the increase worldwide. In order to improve the control of the disease, genotyping and drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) are important. This study sought to determine drug susceptibility and genetic...

Background: Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease caused by the Mycobacterium ulcerans. BU is an endemic disease in many communities in sub-Saharan Africa where population have long history of using medicinal plants for treatment. Indeed, several medicinal plants have been documented against BU and related conditions. The present study...

The World Health Organization defines a zoonosis as any infection naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. The pandemic of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been classified as a zoonotic disease, however, no animal reservoir has yet been found, so this classification is premature. We propose that COVID-19 sho...

Lineage 1 (L1) and 3 (L3) are two lineages of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), causing tuberculosis (TB) in humans. L1 and L3 are endemic to the Rim of the Indian Ocean, the region that accounts for most of the world’s new TB cases. Despite their relevance for this region, L1 and L3 remain understudied. Here we analyzed 2,938 L1 and 2...

Lockdown measures have been introduced worldwide to contain the transmission of COVID-19. However, the term ‘lockdown’ is not well-defined. Indeed, WHO’s reference to ‘so-called lockdown measures’ indicates the absence of a clear and universally accepted definition of the term ‘lockdown’. We propose a definition of ‘lockdown’ based on a two-by-two...

Lockdown measures have been introduced worldwide to contain the transmission of COVID-19. However, the term ‘lockdown’ is not well-defined. Indeed, WHO’s reference to ‘so-called lockdown measures’ indicates the absence of a clear and universally accepted definition of the term ‘lockdown’. We propose a definition of ‘lockdown’ based on a two-by-two...

Lockdown measures have been introduced worldwide to contain the transmission of COVID-19. However, the term ‘lockdown’ is not well-defined. Indeed, WHO’s reference to ‘so-called lockdown measures’ indicates the absence of a clear and universally accepted definition of the term ‘lockdown’. We propose a definition of ‘lockdown’ based on a two-by-two...

Background The re-emergence of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide, compounded by multi-drug resistance (MDR) of the causative agents constitutes a major challenge to the management of the disease. Rapid diagnosis and accurate strain identification are pivotal to the control of the disease. This pilot study investigated the genetic diversity of Mycobacteri...