Biomedical and Public Health Unit This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it    Office: [+233-302-779514] Mobile: [+233-24-473-1240 ]   DEGREES BSc, MPhil, PhD (Walter Sisulu University) Awards and Recognitions 2015 – 2020: Walters Sisulu University

 Profile of Dr. Yaw Adjei Anane 
Research Scientist. Biomedical and Public Health Research Unit. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Water Research Institute

Dr. Yaw Adjei Anane is a Research Scientist, of the Biomedical and Public Health Research Unit of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research- Water Research Institute (CSIR-WRI). He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 2005 and Master’s degree in Clinical Microbiology in 1997, also Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He had his PhD in Medical Microbiology in 2020 at the Walter Sisulu University in South Africa.

He has a vast experience in Antimicrobial resistance, with various expertise including Molecular epidemiology and medical microbiology. Using these expertise, my research focuses on: antimicrobial susceptibility testing, molecular analysis of genes encoding for carbapenem resistance, phylogenetic relationship, mechanisms of resistance and epidemiology of multidrug resistance for detection of pathogens of infectious diseases as well as drug resistance to facilitate monitoring and surveillance of infectious diseases. He has supervised one post-graduate students at both honours levels at Walter Sisulu University.

He has published over 8 peer-reviewed articles in international journals including Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases, International Journal of Microbiology, Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy, International Journal of Molecular Sciences etc.

Research Interest: 

• Molecular analysis of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii from clinical, abattoir and aquatic samples: Public Health Impact

Current Research:

• Research in my laboratory focuses on the study of identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, molecular analysis of genes encoding for carbapenem resistance, phylogenetic relationship, mechanisms of resistance and epidemiology of multidrug resistance Acinetobacter baumannii from clinical and aquatic sources. The work encompasses both laboratory and field studies of bacterial genomics and monitoring their antimicrobial resistant levels. This organism is important hospital-acquired pathogen, frequently associated with morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients causing a wide range of clinical complications, such as pneumonia, septicaemia, urinary tract infection, wound infection, and meningitis. Much of the interest in A. baumannii has been attributed to its remarkable rapid acquisition of resistance mechanisms. Carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii is a growing public health concern and represents a serious problem for treatment of the infection. The frequency of carbapenemase-encoding genes as well as the roles of ISAba1/blaOXA-23 and ISAba1/blaOXA-51 and class 1 integrons in 100 non-repetitive MDR A. baumannii clinical isolates recovered will be evaluated. The detection of Metallo-?-lactamase (blaIMP-1, blaVIM, blaNDM-1 and blaSIM) and the four groups of OXA carbapenemases (blaOXA23, blaOXA-24, blaOXA-51 and blaOXA-58) as well as blaampC was carried out by real-time PCR assay The correlation analysis further demonstrated the significance of IS elements in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in the A. baumannii genomes. As a whole, whole genome sequence data may provide an informative and efficient approach to generating a more comprehensive picture to study the resistance mechanism of the epidemic strains. We have extensive collaborations with experts in South Africa laboratories involved in genes encoding for carbapenem resistance, phylogenetic relationship, and mechanisms of resistance and epidemiology of multidrug resistance Acinetobacter baumannii.

  My research is in the area of molecular pharmacology of infectious diseases. Current research projects in my laboratory include:

  1. Prevalence and molecular analysis of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in the extra-hospital environment in Mthatha, South Africa.
  2. In vitro Antimicrobial Photodynamic Inactivation of Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii biofilm using Protoporphyrin IX and Methylene blue.
  3. Molecular detection of carbapenemase-encoding genes in multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from clinical isolates in South Africa. International Journal of Microbiology.
  4. Phylogenetic analysis of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from different sources using Multilocus Sequence Typing Scheme.
  5. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy applications against bacterial biofilms. 

 Current Projects:

• Molecular analysis and Photodynamic inactivation of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii from clinical, abattoir and aquatic samples.

Publications

1. Respiratory viruses in children hospitalized for acute lower respiratory tract infection in Ghana. WEBSITE: http://www.virologyj.com/content/9/1/78 Date of publication: 10th April 2012

2. Prevalence and molecular analysis of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in the extra-hospital environment in Mthatha, South Africa. Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases. WEBSITE: http://www.bjid.org.br/en-prevalence-molecular-analysis-multidrug-resistant-acinetobacter-articulo-S141386701930460X

3.  Molecular detection of carbapenemase-encoding genes in multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from clinical specimens obtained from Patients in OR Tambo District, Eastern Cape, South Africa. (Manuscript under second review, International Journal of Microbiology, Manuscript Number? 7380740).

4. In vitro Antimicrobial Photodynamic Inactivation of Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii biofilm using Protoporphyrin IX and Methylene blue (Manuscript under review, Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy).
5. Phylogenetic analysis of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from different sources using Multilocus Sequence Typing Scheme.(Manuscript submitted, Manuscript Number CMIC-D2001147, CurrentMicrobiology)

6. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy applications against bacterial biofilms. Manuscript ID: ijms-1607165. Type of manuscript: Review Authors: Sandile Phinda Songca *, Yaw Anane Adjei