This study investigated the effects of climatic variables, particularly, rainfall and temperature, on malaria incidence using time series analysis. Our preliminary analysis revealed that malaria incidence in the study area decreased at about 0.35% annually. Also, the month of November recorded approximately 21% more malaria cases than the other months while September had a decreased effect of about 14%. The forecast model developed for this investigation indicated that mean minimum (P = 0.01928) and maximum (P = 0.00321) monthly temperatures lagged at three months were significant predictors of malaria incidence while rainfall was not. Diagnostic tests using Ljung-Box and ARCH-LM tests revealed that the model developed was adequate for forecasting. Forecast values for 2016 to 2020 generated by our model suggest a possible future decline in malaria incidence. This goes to suggest that intervention strategies put in place by some nongovernmental and governmental agencies to combat the disease are effective and thus should be encouraged and routinely monitored to yield more desirable outcomes.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of human mortality particularly in association with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Nocardia spp. has emerged as an opportunistic infection especially in HIV patients. The high prevalence of TB and HIV coupled with the lack of a definitive laboratory diagnosis for Nocardia spp. could lead to misdiagnosed pulmonary TB. This study determined the prevalence of pulmonary infections due to Nocardia spp. and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum of HIV and non-HIV patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis at KATH. A total of sixty sputum samples were obtained from HIV and non-HIV patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis. Samples were examined by fluorescence based Ziehl–Neelsen staining, culture, and PCR methods. The prevalence of Nocardia spp. and Mycobacterium tuberculosis was 18.3% and 20%, respectively, with the latter having the highest rate among patients aged 21–40 years (P=0.075). The prevalence of Nocardia spp. among HIV patients was 90.9% whilst 16.7% of the patients had HIV/Nocardia spp. coinfection. Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by fluorescence-based Ziehl–Neelsen staining, culture, and PCR yielded 9 (15%), 11 (18.3%), and 12 (20%), respectively. There is a high prevalence of nocardiosis especially in HIV patients. PCR is a better diagnostic method that detects both Nocardia spp. and Mycobacterium tuberculosis and should be incorporated into routine diagnosis for pulmonary infections.

IntroductionInsectivorous bats constitute about 70% of all bats and are characterized by generally using echolocation to detect prey items (Simmons and Conway, 2003). Nearly all insectfeeding bats are nocturnal (Speakman, 1995), occupy a diversity of habitat types, and exploit a wide variety of prey (Altringham, 1996;Kalko et al., 1996). Some authors have suggested that insect prey abundance influences the local occurrence of insectivorous bats (Rautenbach et al., 1996;Pavey et al., 2001). In other words, changes in the activity level of insects may influence the foraging behavior and activity levels of the bats. Hence, insectivorous bats time their foraging flight patterns to coincide with maximum nocturnal activity of their prey.Abiotic factors such as light, temperature (Russ et al., 2003;Barros et al., 2014), and wind speed (Russo and Jones, 2003;Johnson et al., 2011) exhibit high diurnal fluctuations and are thus likely to influence predator (bats) and prey (insects) activities directly or indirectly. The activity patterns of many nocturnal animals comprise trade-offs between prey availability and predation risk, which are likely to be modulated by light conditions in connection with the lunar cycle. Some studies have shown that moonlight decreases nocturnal activity in animals, including birds (Nelson, 1989), insects (Williams et al., 1956), and rodents (Clarke, 1983). This reduction in activity during periods of high lunar illumination is assumed to hold true for many other bat species (Erkert, 1974(Erkert, , 1978. In addition, Saldaña-Vásquez and Munguía-Rosas (2013) reported that the negative effect of moonlight on tropical bats is higher than on temperate species.According to Findley (1993) and Humphrey (1975), areas that offer a variety of trees and roosts often support the largest numbers of bat species and individuals. In recent years, croplands, plantations, and pastures have significantly expanded globally (Foley et al., 2005). Transformations of land-use types (e.g., forests) via anthropogenic activities are the major drivers behind species loss regionally and globally, through habitat destruction and modification. One such driver that occurs on a global scale is agricultural intensification. This system of farming, which is characterized by high tillage operations, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticide (i.e. agrochemicals) use, is accompanied by loss of

Habitat disturbance can have negative impacts on biodiversity, such as reducing species richness. The effects of habitat disturbances on parasite infections of host species, potentially altering their survival rate and thus abundance, are less well known. We examined the influence of forest logging in combination with seasonality, host abundance, host body condition, and host sex, on the community composition of gastrointestinal parasites infecting Edward’s swamp rat, Malacomys edwardsi. Community composition of parasites did not differ between logged and undisturbed sites, but the abundance of some nematodes (i.e., Ascaris and hookworm) was higher in undisturbed than logged sites. The higher abundance of these nematode species implies a changed host-parasite relationship, thus potentially influencing host persistence.

Aims: To determine the prevalence rate and some contributory factors of malaria in the Amenfi West District of Ghana. This study investigated the prevalence and determinants in predicting malaria status in the Amenfi West District. Place and Duration of Study: Asankrangwa Catholic Hospital in the Amenfi West District of the Western Region, Ghana between March 2016 and November 2016. Methodology: A purposive sampling technique was used to select 240 patients of both sexes aged 0-81 years old at Asankrangwa District Hospital. Venous blood was collected and presence of malaria parasites was observed microscopically on thick smears. Demographic data such as age, sex and the type of malaria control method(s) used were retrieved from patients. All data was recorded and analyzed using SPSS (version 23) statistical software. Categorical data was compared using Pearson's Chi-Square test set at a significant level of 5%. For parasite density, factor effects were examined using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests where appropriate to investigate statistical differences at 95% confidence interval. Regression analysis was also employed to model the presence (positive) or absence (negative) of malaria in a patient.