The Filariasis Team at the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research into Tropical Medicine (KCCR) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in collaboration with Nana Hima Dekyi Government Hospital in the Ahanta West District, have conducted surgeries for 60 patients with abnormally enlarged scrotum caused by lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) in the Western Region of Ghana.

Nzema East, Ahanta West, and Ellembelle were the beneficiary districts.

The initiative forms part of the project dubbed: “Tackling the obstacles to fight Filarial infections and podoconiosis”(TAKeOFF).

The abnormal enlargement of the scrotum known as hydrocele affects about 40% of males infected with lymphatic filariasis.

The mosquitoes that transmit malaria are also able to transmit lymphatic filariasis-causing parasites known as 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 swelling in various parts of the body, including the legs, hands, breasts, vulva, and scrotum,” Dr. (Mrs.) Linda Batsa Debrah, the Principal Investigator for the TAKeOFF project explained.

Professor Alex Yaw Debrah, the Director of the TAKeOFF consortium and the Dean of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, highlighted the commitment of the Filariasis Team, in serving Lymphatic filariasis endemic communities in the Western Region of Ghana.

“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).

“While the community is now free from lymphatic filariasis infection, individuals suffering from hydrocele still require standard morbidity management,” he said.

Dr. Nana Asampong Brobbey, the Medical Superintendent of Nana Hima Dekyi Government Hospital, expressed gratitude for the collaborative effort and hoped that other research institutions would follow suit.

One of the beneficiaries, Stephen Cobbinah, shared his two-year battle with the condition and expressed gratitude to the team for the gesture.

Dr. Henry Atawura, a Senior Lecturer from the University of Cape Coast Medical School and the Lead Surgeon, commended the Filariasis Team for their commitment towards ensuring the success of the medical intervention.

The exercise is funded by 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.