Soil borne pathogenic fungi are of major concern in agriculture which significantly decreases the plant yield. Chemically controlled plant imposes environmental threats potentially dangerous to humans as well as other animals. Thus, application of biological methods in plant disease control is more effective alternative technique. This study was carried out to isolate Trichoderma species from soil sample and to assess its in vitro biocontrol efficacy against fungal pathogens viz. Sclerotium rolfsii, Sclerotionia sclerotiorum, Fusarium solani and Rhizoctonia solani. Biocontrol efficacy testing of isolates against different fungal pathogens was performed by dual culture technique. In this study, five different Trichoderma species were isolated from 26 various soil samples and were tested against four fungal soil-borne pathogens. Inhibition percentage of radial growth of Sclerotium rolfsii by three of the Trichoderma isolates was found to be 100%; about 62% and 68% of maximum inhibition was observed against Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium solani respectively whereas Sclerotionia sclerotiorum was inhibited maximum up to 23%. This in vitro study revealed that although Trichoderma species plays an important role in controlling all type of soil borne fungal plant pathogens, however, isolates as biocontrol agent against Sclerotium rolfsii was found to be more efficient in comparison to other pathogens.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in human beings and animals is concerning; it stands out as one of the leading agents causing nosocomial and community infections. Also, marginally increasing drug resistance in MRSA has limited therapeutic options. This study focuses on estimating the prevalence of MRSA in shrines, a place where human and animal interaction is frequent, sharing antibiotic-resistant bacteria, antibiotic-resistant genes, and diseases. A total of 120 environmental swabs were collected from targeted areas during the study period, March 2018 to May 2018. Staphylococcus aureus was identified by growth on mannitol salt agar (MSA), and MRSA by growth on mannitol salt agar containing 4 μg Oxacillin, Gram staining, and conventional biochemical test. Isolates of S. aureus were characterized by antibiotic susceptibility testing using the disc diffusion method. MRSA and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) proportion were 19% and 81%, respectively; a high rate of MRSA was observed in isolates from Thapathali (28.6%). MSSA isolates showed a high rate of resistance to erythromycin (64.7%). MRSA isolates were resistant to gentamicin (50%), cotrimoxazole (25%), erythromycin (50%), and ciprofloxacin (25%). The isolates were susceptible to linezolid (100%), clindamycin (100%), ciprofloxacin (75%), erythromycin (50%), tetracycline (100%), and cotrimoxazole (75%). Intermediate resistance was also found in gentamicin (50%). Of the 11 MSSA isolates that were erythromycin resistant and clindamycin sensitive, 6 (54.5%) showed the inducible clindamycin resistance (ICR) pattern and 2 MRSA isolates that were erythromycin resistant and clindamycin sensitive showed ICR pattern. Fifteen MSSA isolates were β-lactamase positive, whereas only two MRSA isolates showed β-lactamase production. There exists a minimal research work on infectious diseases that are shared between primates and animals. This study suggests the pervasiveness of MRSA/MSSA in the shrines, which may be a primary place for pathogen exchange between humans and primates.

With an objective to find microbial quality of the market milk available in Kathmandu valley, this studywas conducted in the Microbiology Laboratory, Himalayan College of Agriculture Science and Technology(HICAST). Different milk brands were collected from different outlets in the valley and analyzed formicrobial quality. The samples were cultured using the standard microbiological techniques. Almost all thesamples showed the presence of bacterial growth including coliform bacteria. The bacterial isolates were of7 different genera. E. coli was the most frequently isolated organism (92%) followed by coagulase negativeStaphylococci (CONS) (24%). Other organisms isolated were Bacillus species, Staphylococcus aureus,Streptococcus species, Salmonella species, Shigella species. The culture results were similar to directmicroscopic count results and showed that bacterial contamination in some of the samples was too numerousto be counted. Thus, it was concluded that the market milk available in Kathmandu is contaminated withvarious types of microorganisms and does not meet the required standard. The dairy industries shouldwork seriously to maintain the standards of their products.* Integrated Bioscientific Research Group (BIOINT), Kupondol, Lalitpur, Nepal.** Himalayan College of Agriculture Science and Technology (HICAST), Gatthaghar, Bhaktapur, Nepal.Address for correspondence : Charu ArjyalIntegrated Bioscientific Research Group (BIOINT), Kupondol, Lalitpur, Nepal.Email: charuarjyal@hotmail.comKey Words: Microbiology, Contamination, Milk, Quality, Coliform.

Discharge from the ear is one of the commonest symptoms of infections of the ear.With a view to study the major strains of bacteria encountered in ear discharges, thisstudy was conducted in Microbiology Laboratory, Bir Hospital. The study wasconducted for a period of 6 months from January 2000 - July 2000. A total of 224samples of aural discharges of the outpatients were collected and analysed for bacterialgrowth. These samples were cultured with the use of standard microbiologicaltechniques and the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the isolates was also studied invitro with the use of disc diffusion method. Among 224 patients, 50.9% were male and49.1% were female and the age of the patients varied from 6 months to 76 years.Majority of the patients with discharging ear belonged to the age group 11-20 years.Bacterial growth was found in 82.6%. The bacterial isolates were of 13 differentspecies. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated organism (49.4%)followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa(20.9%). Other organisms isolated wereCoagulase negative Staphylococci (CONS), Streptococcus spp., Bacillus sps., Escherichiaspp., Proteus spp., Enterobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., Acinetobacter spp., Edwardsiellaspp.The prevalence of gram positive bacterial isolates was higher than gram negativebacterial isolates. 58.0% of samples showed positive correlation with direct smeargram stain and culture results. Among the antibiotics used, Ciprofloxacin was foundto be the most effective (80.2%) for overall bacterial isolates followed by Gentamicin(68.9%). The result of antibiotic sensitivity was almost similar to gram positive aswell as gram negative isolates.Key Words: Aural discharge, Gram stain, culture, sensitivity.

Enteric fever is of public health concern globally, more in the developing countries, which has been causing many morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. It is mostly related to poor sanitation and contaminated drinking water. This study aims to study the seasonal variation of enteric fever seen in Kathmandu valley and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of the isolated bacteria. Therefore, blood culture of suspected patients of enteric fever was conducted from April 2018 to April 2020 using standard microbiological techniques; antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed following Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute -2017 guidelines. During the study, 104 isolates of Salmonella enteric were isolated, of which Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi were 77.9%, while Salmonella enterica serovars Paratyphi A and B were 21.1% and 1% respectively. Although enteric fever was prevalent throughout the year, the highest number of cases was during the summer. With the increase in temperature, there was also an increase in the cases. Antimicrobial susceptibility profile recorded high resistance of isolates towards Nalidixic acid (97.1%) and Ciprofloxacin (91.3%) while 96% sensitivity to both Ampicillin and Cefixime. This study revealed the occurrence of enteric fever throughout the year, but a large number of cases (51%) are concentrated in the monsoon. Similarly, the resistance of fluoroquinolones reached an alarming state making them inappropriate for use. Ampicillin and Cefixime can be the drug of choice for empirical therapy of enteric fever.