Charity Wiafe Akenten

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

51 publications · 710 citations · ORCID 0000-0001-6113-7391

Antibiotic Resistance in BacteriaSalmonella and Campylobacter epidemiologyAntibiotic Use and ResistanceMalaria Research and ControlParasites and Host Interactions

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Charity Wiafe Akenten is a microbiology researcher focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and infectious diseases in Ghana. Akenten investigates the molecular epidemiology of resistant bacteria, particularly ESBL-producing Enterobacterales, at the human-animal interface and in clinical settings such as chronic wounds and febrile illness. The research portfolio includes assessing antibiotic usage in poultry, characterizing pathogens in Buruli ulcer lesions, and evaluating diagnostic tools for pediatric infections.

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How do specific maternal microbiota profiles (gut, oral, or vaginal) during gestation correlate with the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and subsequent long-term metabolic health in offspring?

Why this gap exists: While recent reviews [8] confirm GDM alters maternal gut microbiota and neonatal health, and older studies [0] note dysbiosis across maternal sites, the retrieved evidence lacks direct, longitudinal studies correlating specific gestational maternal microbiota profiles with the *long-term* metabolic health of offspring, leaving the core question unresolved.

Sources

Dysbiosis of maternal and neonatal microbiota associated with gestational diabetes mellitus — Gut, 2018
Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in disease — Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease, 2015
Temporal development of the gut microbiome in early childhood from the TEDDY study — Nature, 2018
Microbiota in health and diseases — Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 2022
Maternal Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Congenital Heart Disease in Offspring: A Meta-Analysis — Hormone and Metabolic Research, 2024
Perinatal phlorizin alleviates maternal high-fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome in female mouse offspring and is associated with modulation of the gut microbiota. — Frontiers in nutrition, 2026
Offspring long-term infectious morbidity following pregnancies with cervical cerclage. — Archives of gynecology and obstetrics, 2026
Interaction between microbiota and immunity in health and disease — Cell Research, 2020
Gestational diabetes mellitus and maternal-infant microbiome axis: mechanistic insights and therapeutic interventions. — Journal of translational medicine, 2026
Microbes in the Moonlight: How the Gut Microbiota Influences Sleep — arXiv preprint, 2025

How do specific cultural beliefs regarding 'insufficient milk' in rural South African communities mediate the relationship between maternal dietary diversity and the introduction of prelacteal feeds?

Why this gap exists: While the retrieved papers discuss general breastfeeding barriers in South Africa [8] and cultural influences in other regions like Ethiopia [6] and Malaysia [9], none specifically address the mediation of 'insufficient milk' beliefs on the relationship between maternal dietary diversity and prelacteal feeds in rural South African communities.

Sources

African Political Systems. — American Sociological Review, 1940
Maternal nutrition counselling is associated with reduced stunting prevalence and improved feeding practices in early childhood: a post-program comparison study — Nutrition Journal, 2019
Trends and determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding in Ethiopia from 2000 to 2016 — International Breastfeeding Journal, 2019
Marketing of commercial milk formula: a system to capture parents, communities, science, and policy — The Lancet, 2023
Facilitators, barriers, and factors determining the willingness to donate human milk among postpartum mothers in a tertiary women's hospital in Nepal: a cross-sectional study. — International breastfeeding journal, 2026
Assessment of Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices among Mothers Attending Maternal and Child Health Clinic at a Tertiary Hospital, North Karnataka, India - A Cross-sectional Study. — Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 2025
Sociocultural and structural influences on infant and young child feeding in pastoralist communities of Afar, Ethiopia: a qualitative phenomenological study. — BMJ open, 2026
Knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in East Africa: a systematic review — International Breastfeeding Journal, 2020
Facilitators and barriers associated with breastfeeding among mothers attending primary healthcare facilities in Mpumalanga, South Africa. — Frontiers in nutrition, 2023
Assessing the Influence of Cultural Beliefs and Practices on Early Breastfeeding Initiation Rates in Rural Sarawak Communities, Malaysia — Scientific Journal of Pediatrics, 2023

What are the comparative efficacy and adherence rates of new short-course latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) regimens versus traditional long-course therapies in high-burden, low-resource settings?

Why this gap exists: While a 2023 network meta-analysis [6] synthesizes general efficacy and adherence data for LTBI regimens, the retrieved evidence lacks direct comparative studies specifically focused on high-burden, low-resource settings, leaving the specific constraints of these environments unresolved.

Sources

New developments in tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment — Breathe, 2022
Latent Tuberculosis and HIV Infection — Current Infectious Disease Reports, 2020
Epidemic and pandemic viral infections: impact on tuberculosis and the lung — European Respiratory Journal, 2020
Overcoming barriers to patient adherence: the case for developing innovative drug delivery systems — Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2023
Drug resistant tuberculosis: Implications for transmission, diagnosis, and disease management — Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2022
Updates on the Treatment of Drug-Susceptible and Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: An Official ATS/CDC/ERS/IDSA Clinical Practice Guideline — American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2024
Efficacy and safety of different regimens in the treatment of patients with latent tuberculosis infection: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials — Archives of Public Health, 2023
Improving Tuberculosis Medication Adherence: The Potential of Integrating Digital Technology and Health Belief Model — Tuberculosis & respiratory diseases, 2023
Mind the gap – Managing tuberculosis across the disease spectrum — EBioMedicine, 2022
Tuberculosis Preventive Treatment in High TB-Burden Settings: A State-of-the-Art Review — Drugs, 2024

To what extent do changes in the maternal microbiota (gut, oral, or vaginal) during pregnancy mediate the relationship between maternal perinatal anxiety/depression and the neurodevelopmental outcomes of the offspring?

Why this gap exists: While recent studies confirm associations between maternal mental health and microbiota composition (Abstract 5, 8) and suggest the microbiome-gut-brain axis influences neurodevelopment (Abstract 0, 2), the retrieved evidence does not contain studies that directly test the mediating role of maternal microbiota changes between perinatal anxiety/depression and offspring neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Sources

Parental microbiome programming of early-life neurodevelopment: multi-niche contributions through the microbiome-gut-brain axis. — Gut microbes, 2026
Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in disease — Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease, 2015
Stress during pregnancy alters temporal and spatial dynamics of the maternal and offspring microbiome in a sex-specific manner — Scientific Reports, 2017
The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids From Gut Microbiota in Gut-Brain Communication — Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2020
Ultra-processed food consumption across early life: implications for pediatric health and disease risk. — Frontiers in nutrition, 2026
Mental health in early pregnancy: Interplay of objectively measured lifestyles, gut microbiota, and metabolomics. — iScience, 2026
The impact of maternal high-fat diet on offspring neurodevelopment — Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2022
Maternal education and offspring birthweight for gestational age: the mediating effect of smoking during pregnancy — arXiv preprint, 2020
Is Gut Microbiota Altered in Depression and Anxiety? — 2025
Vaginal Microbiota: A Critical Component of Reproductive Health and Pregnancy Outcomes — Vaginal Microbiota: A Critical Component of Reproductive Health and Pregnancy Outcomes, 2025

What is the comparative efficacy of household water treatment interventions versus improved water source infrastructure in reducing stunting among children under five in low- and middle-income countries?

Why this gap exists: While the retrieved literature confirms associations between water quality and child growth (e.g., Abstracts 2, 5, 8), no study directly compares the efficacy of household water treatment interventions against improved water source infrastructure for reducing stunting, leaving the specific comparative question unresolved.

Sources

Determinants of stunting in Indonesian children: evidence from a cross-sectional survey indicate a prominent role for the water, sanitation and hygiene sector in stunting reduction — BMC Public Health, 2016
Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study — The Lancet Global Health, 2020
Effects of water quality, sanitation, handwashing, and nutritional interventions on diarrhoea and child growth in rural Kenya: a cluster-randomised controlled trial — The Lancet Global Health, 2018
Effects of Water Pollution on Human Health and Disease Heterogeneity: A Review — Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2022
Associated factors with malnutrition among children under-5 years old in Somaliland: evidence from Somaliland health and demographic survey of 2020. — BMC public health, 2026
Safe Drinking Water and Its Impact on Children's Growth and Development: A Systematic Review. — International journal of environmental research and public health, 2026
Modelling the impact of dietary diversity on child nutrition in Pakistan: a machine learning analysis with Shapley Additive exPlanations and Boruta interpretability. — Journal of global health, 2026
Effectiveness of interventions to improve drinking water, sanitation, and handwashing with soap on risk of diarrhoeal disease in children in low-income and middle-income settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis — The Lancet, 2022
Effect of Household Source of Drinking Water on Malnutrition among under Five Children in Ethiopia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis — 2026
Water Bridging Dynamics of Polymerase Chain Reaction in the Gauge Theory Paradigm of Quantum Fields — Water 2017, 9, 339, 2018

How does the aggressive marketing of breastmilk substitutes in low-income countries specifically modify the effectiveness of workplace breastfeeding interventions on exclusive breastfeeding rates?

Why this gap exists: While the retrieved literature addresses workplace barriers [7] and the negative impact of breastmilk substitute marketing [2, 9] separately, no study directly investigates the interaction effect or modification of workplace intervention effectiveness by aggressive marketing in low-income countries.

Sources

The cost of not breastfeeding: global results from a new tool — Health Policy and Planning, 2019
Breastfeeding indicators trends in Brazil for three decades — Revista de Saúde Pública, 2017
The World Health Organization Code and exclusive breastfeeding in China, India, and Vietnam — Maternal and Child Nutrition, 2018
Breastfeeding: crucially important, but increasingly challenged in a market-driven world — The Lancet, 2023
"People who have money feed formula to their infants": a qualitative study of exclusive breastfeeding barriers and potential interventions in Lao People's Democratic Republic. — BMC public health, 2026
The politics of breastfeeding: a feminist analysis of breastfeeding policies and promotion in Nigeria. — International breastfeeding journal, 2026
Pumps, patriarchy, and profits: the rise of breast pumping and "human milk feeding" and why preserving "breastfeeding" is important. — International breastfeeding journal, 2026
Examining working mothers’ experience of exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana — International Breastfeeding Journal, 2020
Prenatal Hand Expression of Breastmilk to Help Increase Breastfeeding Initiation and Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates — 2022
Assessing Compliance: Violations of WHO Code in Breast Milk Substitute Marketing, Ecuador. — Maternal & child nutrition, 2025

Publications

“Bacterial aetiology in the lower respiratory tract of TB-negative patients with respiratory symptoms: implications for tuberculosis control in Ghana”

BMC Microbiology · 2026

Molecular characterization of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli among children and farm animals in Agogo, Ghana

BMC Microbiology · 2026 · corresponding author

Exploring and enhancing community awareness on antimicrobial resistance: perspectives from world antimicrobial resistance awareness week celebration in Ghana

BMC Public Health · 2026 · corresponding author

In vitro activity of the antimalarial, antibiotic drugs fosmidomycin and clindamycin against clinical isolates of bacterial bloodstream infections in febrile, hospitalized Ghanaian children

Malaria Journal · 2026

In vitro activity of the antimalarial, antibiotic drugs fosmidomycin and clindamycin against clinical isolates of bacterial bloodstream infections in febrile, hospitalized Ghanaian children

Figshare · 2026

Additional file 1 of In vitro activity of the antimalarial, antibiotic drugs fosmidomycin and clindamycin against clinical isolates of bacterial bloodstream infections in febrile, hospitalized Ghanaian children

Open MIND · 2026

In vitro activity of the antimalarial, antibiotic drugs fosmidomycin and clindamycin against clinical isolates of bacterial bloodstream infections in febrile, hospitalized Ghanaian children

Figshare · 2026

Non-typhoidal Salmonella transmission reservoirs in sub-Saharan Africa: a genomic assessment from a One Health perspective

Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control · 2025 · 12 citations

Improved protocols for isolation of Mycobacterium ulcerans from clinical samples

BMC Microbiology · 2025 · 3 citations

Antimicrobial resistant bacteria isolated from Buruli ulcer lesions in Ghana

PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025 · corresponding author · 2 citations

Exploring the Current Situation and Developing Strategies for Behavior Change to Improve Antibiotic Use in West Africa: Protocol for a Multidisciplinary Interventional Research Project

JMIR Research Protocols · 2025

Genomic insights into the diversity, antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic potential of Campylobacter fetus across diverse hosts and geographies

Microbial Genomics · 2025

Genomic Insights into the Diversity, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Zoonotic Potential of Campylobacter fetus Across Diverse Hosts and Geographies

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025

The nexus between employee budget participation and employee performance

Economic sustainability and business practices · 2025

Modeling pediatric antibiotic use in an area of declining malaria prevalence

Scientific Reports · 2024 · 3 citations

Bacterial diversity in Buruli ulcer lesions in Ghana

Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases · 2024 · 2 citations

Improving antibiotics use in West Africa: exploring current situation and developing strategies for behaviour change. A study protocol for a multidisciplinary interventional research project (Preprint)

2024

Carriage of ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli among children in rural Ghana: a cross-sectional study

Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control · 2023 · 25 citations

Prevalence, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Resistance of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli from Domestic Free-Range Poultry in Agogo, Ghana

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease · 2023 · 15 citations

Molecular characterization of Arcobacter butzleri isolates from poultry in rural Ghana

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology · 2023 · 13 citations

Salmonella enterica in farm environments in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

BMC Microbiology · 2023 · 10 citations

Pathogens associated with hospitalization due to acute lower respiratory tract infections in children in rural Ghana: a case–control study

Scientific Reports · 2023 · 10 citations

Antibiotic-Resistant Arcobacter spp. in commercial and smallholder farm animals in Asante Akim North Municipality, Ghana and Korogwe Town Council, Tanzania: a cross-sectional study

Gut Pathogens · 2023 · 4 citations

Fever in focus: Symptoms, diagnoses and treatment of febrile children in Ghana—A longitudinal hospital study

Tropical Medicine & International Health · 2023 · 2 citations

Reviewer response for version 2

2023 · corresponding author

PA-817 Relationship between microbiome and clinical outcome in Buruli ulcer disease

2023

Comparison of Complete Campylobacter fetus Genomes Derived from Public Repositories

Research Square · 2023

Dataset and R script: a longitudinal hospital study of febrile children in Ghana

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2023

Dataset and R script: a longitudinal hospital study of febrile children in Ghana

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2023

Prevalence and Antibiotic Resistance in Campylobacter spp. Isolated from Humans and Food-Producing Animals in West Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Pathogens · 2022 · 28 citations

Epidemiology of Plasmids in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae with Acquired Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Genes Isolated from Chronic Wounds in Ghana

Antibiotics · 2022 · 22 citations

Antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni in commercial and smallholder farm animals in the Asante Akim North Municipality of Ghana

Frontiers in Microbiology · 2022 · 10 citations

Intestinal Helminth Infections in Ghanaian Children from the Ashanti Region between 2007 and 2008—A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Real-Time PCR-Based Assessment

Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease · 2022 · 7 citations

Characterization of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia Coli From Domestic Free-Range Poultry In Agogo, Ghana

Research Square · 2022 · 1 citations

Reviewer response for version 1

2022 · corresponding author

Antimicrobial Usage in Commercial and Domestic Poultry Farming in Two Communities in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Antibiotics · 2021 · 47 citations

Clonal Clusters, Molecular Resistance Mechanisms and Virulence Factors of Gram-Negative Bacteria Isolated from Chronic Wounds in Ghana

Antibiotics · 2021 · 10 citations

Bloodstream infection with Acinetobacter baumanii in a Plasmodium falciparum positive infant: a case report

Journal of Medical Case Reports · 2021 · corresponding author · 2 citations

Antimicrobial Resistance; The Subtle Killer, in the Mid of Covid-19

Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research · 2021 · corresponding author

Transmission of Cryptosporidium Species Among Human and Animal Local Contact Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multicountry Study

Clinical Infectious Diseases · 2020 · 54 citations

Spectrum of antibiotic resistant bacteria and fungi isolated from chronically infected wounds in a rural district hospital in Ghana

PLoS ONE · 2020 · 30 citations

Molecular Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Chronic Infected Wounds in Rural Ghana

Microorganisms · 2020 · 18 citations

Spectrum of antibiotic resistant bacteria and fungi isolated from chronically infected wounds in a rural district hospital in Ghana

Research Square (Research Square) · 2020 · 14 citations

Performance of a rapid diagnostic test for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. in African children admitted to hospital with diarrhea

PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020 · 12 citations

A cross-sectional study on risk factors for infection with Parvovirus B19 and the association with anaemia in a febrile paediatric population in Ghana

Scientific Reports · 2020 · 2 citations

The Relationship between Haemoglobin Levels and Platelet Counts of Malaria Infected and Non-Infected Children in Offinso, Ghana

Asian Journal of Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology · 2020

Detection and Characterization of ESBL-Producing Escherichia coli From Humans and Poultry in Ghana

Frontiers in Microbiology · 2019 · 170 citations

Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Salmonella enterica , Campylobacter spp., and Arcobacter butzleri from Local and Imported Poultry Meat in Kumasi, Ghana

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease · 2019 · 52 citations

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in local and imported poultry meat in Ghana

Veterinary Microbiology · 2018 · 89 citations

Malaria Coinfections in Febrile Pediatric Inpatients: A Hospital-Based Study From Ghana

Clinical Infectious Diseases · 2018 · 41 citations