Salmonella infections in humans can range from self-limiting gastroenteritis typically associated with non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) to typhoidal fever, which can be life-threatening. Salmonellosis causes considerable morbidity and mortality in both humans and animals, and has a significant socioeconomic impact worldwide. In Africa, it is difficult to evaluate the situation of salmonellosis due to the non-availability of facilities capable of performing the tests essential for the diagnosis of typhoidal and non-typhoidal Salmonella infections. This article reviews important work in the literature, including the epidemiology, disease burden, pathogenesis, genomics, diagnosis, treatment, emergence and tracking of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella infections and intercontinental transmission of Salmonella to Africa. Searches of PubMed and Google Scholar were completed and the retrieved list of relevant publications were further screened. The literature revealed that the most common form of the disease in Africa is gastroenteritis, with bacterial multiplication in intestinal submucosa and diarrhoea caused by the inflammatory response and, perhaps, also by toxins. In addition to the high burden of Salmonella infection in Africa, MDR Salmonella species is on the rise in the continent, which might pose difficulties in the treatment of the disease.

Antibiotic resistance in Helicobacter pylori is a factor preventing its successful eradication. Particularly in developing countries, resistance against commonly used antibiotics is widespread. Here, we present an epidemiological study from Nigeria with 111 isolates. We analyzed the associated disease outcome, and performed a detailed characterization of these isolated strains with respect to their antibiotic susceptibility and their virulence characteristics. Furthermore, statistical analysis was performed on microbiological data as well as patient information and the results of the gastroenterological examination. We found that the variability concerning the production of virulence factors between strains was minimal, with 96.4% of isolates being CagA-positive and 92.8% producing detectable VacA levels. In addition, high frequency of bacterial resistance was observed for metronidazole (99.1%), followed by amoxicillin (33.3%), clarithromycin (14.4%) and tetracycline (4.5%). In conclusion, this study indicated that the infection rate of H. pylori infection within the cohort in the present study was surprisingly low (36.6%). Furthermore, an average gastric pathology was observed by histological grading and bacterial isolates showed a uniform pathogenicity profile while indicating divergent antibiotic resistance rates.

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Background: Endophytes represent a promising source of biologically active metabolites for pharmaceutical and agricultural applications. Objective: This study was aimed to investigate the endophytic fungi diversity and the antimicrobial potential of three popular medicinal plants (Alstonia boonei-Ahun, Enantia chlorantha-Awopa and Kigelia africana-Pandoro) that have ethnobotanical history in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The stem barks were used for isolation of endophytic fungi and fermented, and the cell free fermentation broths were subjected to antimicrobial screening against six human pathogens; Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Candida albicans by using standard agar well diffusion method. Results: A total of ten endophytic fungi were isolated from the stem bark of the plants. Seven of these fungi were identified, which include; Aspergillus niger, Macrophomina spp., Trichoderma spp. and four different Penicillium species, while three of the isolated endophytes remained unknown. Furthermore, nine of the isolated endophytes showed potential antimicrobial activity against at least one of the six tested pathogens. Conclusion: This study shows that endophytic fungi inhabiting the inner tissue of medicinal plants studied may be the source of the curative properties of the plants.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounts for a significant proportion of nosocomial infections. This study examined the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and clonal relatedness of P. aeruginosa isolates of clinical and environmental origin. These isolates displayed susceptibility to levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, imipenem, and ceftazidime of 65.0%, 62.5%, 90.0%, 100%, and 85%, respectively. PCR-RAPD analysis of the P. aeruginosa isolates revealed marked variation. No correlation was observed between the antibiotic resistance profiles and the DNA typing patterns.

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