1. Home
  2. Animal Health Division
  3. Rita Ohene Larbi

Ms. Rita Ohene Larbi

Assistant Research Scientist

Office : ARI Room 6

Email : /

Degrees : B.Sc Biological Sciences (KNUST, Ghana), M. Phil Microbiology (KNUST, Ghana)

Active Affiliations
  • Research Staff Association, CSIR-Ghana
  • Ghana Science Association

    • Research

    Research Interests

    My research interests lie in microbial diseases affecting food and companion animals, zoonotic infections, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of bacteria in animals and animal products, the public health implications of AMR in animals, and the control of microbial diseases in animal farm settings.

    Current Research
  • Identification and Characterization of Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae and Associated Resistance Genes in Poultry in Ghana (IFS Basic Research Grant).
  • Prevalence and the factors associated with Multi-drug resistant Enterobacteriaceae, including Colistin-Resistance, in Healthy Pigs and Poultry in The Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
  • Vancomycin resistant Enterococci in Healthy pigs in the Greater Accra Region
  • Epidemiology of Respiratory Pathogens of Poultry
  • Antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella spp in imported day-old- chicks.
  • Microbial profiling of poultry litter

    • Brief Profile

    Ms. Rita Ohene Larbi is an Assistant Research Scientist at the CSIR-Animal Research Institute, Accra-Ghana. She holds an M.Phil Microbiology and a BSc. in Biological Sciences from the Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology (TAB) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Her research interests are in bacteriology, infection, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of bacteria of economic importance, and the employment of molecular techniques to determine the mechanisms behind emerging resistances. She is an alumnus of the Structured Operational Research Training programme on building “Operational Research Capacity for Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance in Ghana”; a flagship programme of the WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR). She is currently partnering with researchers in the Animal Health Division and other institutions to bridge the knowledge gap on underlying mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance in animal-associated bacteria and their interaction at the human-animal-environment interface. She is also involved in training interns in basic microbiology skills and assists in supervising students who undertake microbiology-related projects at the Institute. Currently, she’s a member of a research team that prioritises farmer education in animal health. Over 150 farmers in four districts have received on-the-field education from them so far, since 2022. Her research seeks to provide significant data on antimicrobial surveillance in animals and contribute to the control of microbial diseases in the animal sector in Ghana and across the globe.

    Publications

  • Adjei, R.L., Adomako, L.A.B., Korang-Labi, A., Avornyo, F.K., Timire, C., Ohene Larbi, R., Kubasari, C., Ackon, S.E. and Reid, A., 2023. Assessing Changes in Bacterial Load and Antibiotic Resistance in the Legon Sewage Treatment Plant between 2018 and 2023 in Accra, Ghana. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 8(9), p.427.
  • Ohene Larbi, R., Adeapena, W., Ayim-Akonor, M., Ansa, E.D., Tweya, H., Terry, R.F., Labi, A.K. and Harries, A.D., 2022. Antimicrobial, multi-drug and colistin resistance in Enterobacteriaceae in healthy pigs in the greater accra region of Ghana, 2022: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16), p.10449. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610449
  • Ohene Larbi, R., Ofori, L. A., Sylverken, A. A., Ayim-Akonor, M., & Obiri-Danso, K. (2021). Antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli from broilers, pigs, and cattle in the greater kumasi metropolis, Ghana. International Journal of Microbiology, 2021, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5158185
  • Dapaah, J. M., Appiah, S. C. Y., Amankwaa, A., & Ohene Larbi, R. (2016). Knowledge about sexual and reproductive health services and practice of what is known among Ghanaian Youth, a mixed method approach. Advances in Sexual Medicine, 6(1), 1-13.