Staphylococcus aureus is ubiquitous, and highly adaptive pathogen that colonizes the skin and mucous membrane of the anterior nares, MRSA most often causes skin infections. In some cases, it causes pneumonia (lung infection) and other infections. If left untreated, MRSA infections can become severe and cause sepsis—the body's extreme response to an infection.Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the antibiogram of Methicillin ResistantStaphylococcus aureus from nasal carriage of Students in Rivers State University, Port Harcourt. Fifty (50) Nasal swab samples were collected using standard method, from the anterior nares of 25 male and 25 female students of Rivers State University using sterile cotton swabs and examined for Staphylococcus aureus using standard bacteriological methods. Staphylococcus aureus isolated were screened for methicillin resistance and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Methicillin resistance Staphylococcus using 8 different antibiotics such as Augmentin (30 µg), Ceftriaxone (30 µg), Gentamicin (10 µg), Cefuroxime (5 µg, Ofloxacin (5 µg), Erythromycin (5 µg), Cloxacillin (30 µg), Ceptazidime (30 µg were carried out using Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion technique, Data obtained were analysed using SPSS version 20. The results of the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus, among students showed that out the 50 samples 48 (96%) were positive of S. aureus, with male having the 25 (52%) while female had 23 (48%). The responses of Staphylococcus aureus isolated showed that methicillin susceptible S. aureus (75.44%) were significantly (p<0.05 higher than ethicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) which were14.03% and methicillin intermediate S. aureus (MISA) which were 10.53% The results of me a gene screening revealed that all the (8) methicillin resistant S. aureus isolated posses mec A gene. Five Out of the eight (8) oral antibiotics tested against the methicillin resistant S. aureus showed some degree of susceptibility in the range of Ceftriaxone (37.5%), Erythromycin (50%), Cefuroxime (50%) < Ofloxacin (62.5%). The high prevalence of S. aureus (96%) isolated from nose of students between the age of 17 to 30 in this study indicated serious public health risk among students and the percentage of resistance of Methicillin Resistance S aureus to commonly uses antibiotics calls for continuous surveillance, therefore screening of target population, and decolonization of carriers should be conducted to decrease the spread and burden of drug resistant S. aureus and MRSA in schools and the community at large.
Increasing cost of production and global demand for citric acid is driving research towards optimizing process conditions to yield very high quantity of the organic acid using abundant cheap substrates and selected microorganisms. Consequently, this study was designed to optimize the production of citric acid by making use of banana (Musa acuminata) peels (agro-waste) through means of solid state fermentation involving Aspergillus niger (Model A) and Candida tropicalis (Model B). In this study, a two-level, five-variable full factorial design of response surface methodology (RSM) comprising 32 experimental runs for each model were used to develop a statistical model for the optimization of fermentation conditions which include: pH, glucose, zinc, ammonium chloride and methanol. The results obtained indicate that a second order polynomial model fitted adequately and statistically significant (p<0.0001) and (p<0.0410) for Model A and B, respectively. The optimum values of the variables were: pH 4; glucose 5% w/v; zinc 2% w/v; ammonium chloride 0.5% w/v; and methanol 3% v/v. Under these conditions, the concentration of citric acid produced were 97.6 g/L with a pH of 3.85 using Aspergillus niger and 113.6 g/L with a pH of 3.45 using Candida tropicalis at 10days fermentation period. Experimental validation of the model indicated that no difference exist between the predicted and the actual yield results. Therefore, utilization of low-cost agro-waste banana peel which serve as suitable substrate for optimization of citric acid production is advocated because of their advantages such as income generation, reduction in environmental problems posed by food-waste disposal and public health hazards associated with it.
Background: Citric acid production through fermentation is economical but meeting its increasing global demand has been challenging in recent times. Aim: This study aimed to screen Aspergillus and Candida sp. isolated from different sources with potentials of producing citric acid. Methodology: Aspergillus and Candida spp. were isolated from compost soil and fruits (cucumber and banana) and their morphological characteristics were described using standard microbiological methods. The isolates were quantitatively screened for citric acid production based on appearance of yellow zone of clearance for 3 days. All the isolates which had acid unitage (AU) values> 5.0 were selected for further characterization using molecular methods. Results: Candida tropicalis, Aspergillus sp. A. niger and Penicillium sp. were isolated from the soil and fruit samples. The isolates screened for citric acid production displayed varying diameters of yellow zones around their colonies is indicative of varying capability of the microbial strains. A. niger from compost soil which had highest AU value of 8.5 at Day 3 demonstrated greatest potential to yield citric acid. Molecular characterization revealed high citric acid producing strains as Aspergillus niger (EU440768.1) and Aspergillus welwitschiae (MG669181.1). Conclusion: Although Aspergillus niger is widely utilized for industrial production of citric acid, this study has demonstrated that A. welwitschiae is a specie of Aspergillus capable of synthesizing citric acid reasonably.
Water is the elixir of life which is essential for proper metabolic processes to take place. The quest for cheap and readily available source of potable water has led to the emergence of sachet and bottle water which the sale and consumption continue to grow astronomically and rapidly in most countries of the world. This study was aimed at assessing the microbial and physicochemical water quality of table water sold on School campuses. Standard microbiological procedures were used to isolate and identify various microbial genera associated with the water samples using morphological, microscopic and biochemical characterization method. The bacterial genera identified were Escherichia sp., Streptococcus sp., Micrococcus sp., Vibrio cholera., Staphylococcus sp. and Bacillus sp. with Choba campus having the highest microbial contamination of packaged water. However, the results of the physicochemical properties from this study were all below the WHO recommended limits. The temperature and pH ranged between 26-27°C and 6.98-7.08, respectively. The values of the electrical conductivity ranged from 0.080 to 0.150 µs/cm; turbidity ranged between 0.40-1.40 NTU; chloride ranged between 1.187-2.103 mg/l, nitrate was within the range of 0.01 to 0.14 mg/l; BOD ranged from 0.02-0.04 mg/l, COD was between 0.00-0.08 mg/l and the total soluble solids were between the ranges of 0.04-0.10 mg/l. Therefore, this study suggests the improvement of water-borne disease preventive and control measures, and monitoring of water quality by the regulatory agencies to ensure good manufacturing practices by the water bottling companies which will result in reduction of health hazards associated with water borne diseases.
Bacillus thuringiensis is a widely studied bacterium and it is known for its use in pest management. It is selectively active on pests and less likely to cause resistance; hence it is considered a suitable replacement to chemical pesticides. The study assessed the potential of Bacillus thuringiensis in controlling mosquito larvae. Bacillus thuringiensis isolates selected were tested against secondary stage larvae of mosquito. Thirty-six larvae (6 each) were transferred into each test tubes (7 x 9) cm with 30ml sterile distilled water. The stock suspension of cultures of Bacillus thuringiensis in broth was diluted to 107, 106, 10 5, 104, 103 and 102 in sterile water, following the McFarland standard method for microbial load count. The test tubes were kept at room temperature, larval mortality was observed over time within 24hrs. The results showed that all mosquito larvae died at the 107 and 106 dilutions but at dilutions 105, 104 and 103 though affecting mosquito larvae, it was highly dependent on time because there was a decrease in concentration. The study showed that B. thuringiensis is safe for use in aquatic environments, including drinking-water reservoirs, for the control of mosquito, black fly and nuisance insect larvae. The products should contain the ICPs and be free from other microorganisms and biologically active metabolites.
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