GHP Alumnus Published Graduate Work in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene

GHP Alumnus Published Graduate Work in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene

Iddrisu Bukari (Cohort of 2019) recently coauthored a paper in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. He and his fellow researchers from Taiwan and Africa wanted to study whether they can apply a standardized sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) case definition in West Africa in preparation for Lassa fever vaccine trials. The team found that more than 80% of the SNHL cases at a tertiary hospital in Ghana could be assigned the highest level of diagnostic certainty.

    Lassa fever is endemic in West Africa and survivors may develop transient or permanent SNHL. The Brighton Collaboration has developed a SNHL case definition to improve collection and comparability of immunization safety data, as multiple vaccine candidates against Lassa fever virus are/will soon be advanced into clinical trials. The research that Iddrisu conducted for the publication was done at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in October 2020 and is the first to show the feasibility in a West African setting to conduct surveillance for SNHL in the context of a Lassa fever vaccine trial or post introduction.

    Iddrisu began this graduate work in the early days of Covid-19. The field works were challenging, given the constrains and anxiety around the pandemic. He credited GHP greatly for helping him to develop his research skills and collaborate with his Ghanian peers to work around these conditions. This article was published in October 2022 and can be found here: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.22-0161.