Investigation of fungi responsible for the post harvest deterioration of Lycopersicum esculentus (tomatoes), Elaeis guineensis (palm fruit), Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato), Solanum tuberosum (Irish potato), Musa sapientum (banana), Doucus carota (carrot), Musa paradisiaca (plantain), Carica papaya (pawpaw), Persea americana (Avocado pear), Citrullus lanatus (water-melon) and Capsicum chinense (fresh red pepper) from five different markets and farm lands in Enugu state, Nigeria was carried out. Healthy and diseased samples were collected from the selected markets/ farmlands. Fungal species found associated with the deterioration of the various fruits and vegetables tested included Mucor species (M. indicus, M. amphibiorum, M. racemosus and M. hiemalis), Rhizopus species (Rhizopus stolonifer, R. nigrican and R. oligosporus), Candida albicans, Aspergillus species (Aspergillus fumigatus, A. niger and A. flavus) and Penicillum species (P. oxalicum and P. chrysogenum) and Fusarium species (F. accuminatum, F. oxysporum, F. eqiuseti and F. moniliforme, F. solani, F. dimerum). All isolated fungi were pathogenic to the different fruits and vegetables from the result of pathogencity tests carried out.

BackgroundDengue and malaria have similar symptoms and arthropod vector and their mode of transmission coupled with differential diagnosis. Though typhoid fever differs from dengue and malaria by not having arthropod vector and different mode of transmission, it shares differential diagnosis with Dengue and Malaria which make misdiagnosis possible. This misdiagnosis of these three diseases has since been a major concern towards therapeutic administration because of their co-occurrence in many cases. MethodsThis study focused on the misdiagnosis of dengue fever for malaria or typhoid fever since the three have differential diagnosis and could co-occur. 741 samples were collected from malaria patient and 333 samples for typhoid fever outpatient at the health department facilities in rural communities of South West Nigeria. The samples were tested for dengue virus (DV) NS1 protein, anti DV IgM, anti DV IgG and RT-qPCR. ResultOf all the samples tested 315 (29.4%) were positive to DV NS1 while 50 (6.7%) and 13 (3.9%) of 714 malaria samples and 333 typhoid samples respectively had Dengue fever co-infection. Co-infection of the three types of fever occurred in 5 (0.5%). A total of 54 (5%) DV cases were wrongly diagnosed for malaria while 14 (1.3%) DV cases was wrongly diagnosed as typhoid. ConclusionConclusively, there was significant number of misdiagnosed cases of DV for either malaria or typhoid, hence it is recommended to include DV screening into routine hospital test especially in cases of malaria and typhoid negative by rapid diagnostic testing.

Salmonella bacilli infection has remained an important health problem in the developing world. The transmission of S. typhi most often occurs through food and water, which have been contaminated by faeces from carriers and infected humans. Prevalence of carriers is a factor in transmission. The population under study lacked access to clean and safe water. Patients practiced self medication with inadequate dosing leading to relapsing infections and chronic carrier state. With this, there is a need to determine the actual dissemination index of the salmonella organism in the locality. The isolation from stool, blood and water samples were made using enrichment broths and selective media. Identification of isolates was carried out using standard methods. Characterization was done using O and H polyvalent sera. The total number of infected subjects within the 15 household was 22 (36.7%) among whom 10 (16.7%) were confirmed carriers. The total number/percentage infected by carrier contact was 9 (39.1%). Consumption of well water gave rise to the highest (60.0%) attack rate of typhoid fever infection. The continuance exposure to contaminated water source could be consistent to incessant and relapsing typhoid fever attacks in exposed individuals. Chronic carriers pose great risk to other members of the household, therefore regular screening is required.

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This study involved the investigation of carriage rates of Haemophilus influenzae in nasopharyngeal aspirates of preschool children in Enugu State, Nigeria. Throat and nasal swabs were obtained from 158 children who were aged 6 months to 6 years. The children comprised those in nursery schools (A), those in their homes (B), and those who attended day-care centers (C). H. influenzae was identified after isolation in culture by satelitism and biochemical tests. Of the samples studied, the organism was isolated in 50 giving an average carriage rate of 31.7%. Descriptive statistics was used for general description of study participants and to evaluate the distribution. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 15.0 software. Mean carriage rate of 30.60% was obtained from children in nursery schools, 41.08% from those at home and 22.64% from those attending day care centers. The highest carriage rate was obtained from children who were in their homes and had never attended nursery schools or day-care centers. In each of the 3 groups of children with the exception of those at home, children aged 1 year had the highest isolation rate. It can be concluded from this work that the carriage rate of H. influenzae is significant in preschool children in Enugu State, Nigeria.