SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of COVID-19, is shed in stool. SARS coronaviruses have been detected in wastewater during outbreaks in China, Europe, and the United States. In this perspective, we outline the risk fecal shedding poses at locations without safely managed sanitation, as in most of Nigeria where we work. We believe that feco-oral transmission could occur if community transmission becomes high and sustained in densely populated cities without proper sanitation in Nigeria and many other African and Asian settings. In the absence of basic sanitation, or where existing sanitation is not safely managed, groundwater, which is often drawn up from wells and boreholes for drinking and household use, can become contaminated with enteric bacteria and viruses from fecal matter. Endemic and epidemic transmission of multiple feco-oral pathogens via this route continues to be documented in areas without safely managed sanitation, and, therefore, the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission needs to be evaluated, tracked, and forestalled in such settings. We suggest that fecal matter from treatment facilities and recovered patients should be carefully and properly disposed. Furthermore, environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and accumulated human waste, as well as efforts to mitigate the virus' entry into unprotected household water sources, should be a priority part of the COVID-19 response in settings without safely managed sanitation for the duration of the pandemic.

Background:Despite recent insights into cholera transmission patterns in Africa, regional and local dynamics in West Africa—where cholera outbreaks occur every few years—are still poorly understood. Coordinated genomic surveillance of Vibrio cholerae in the areas most affected may reveal transmission patterns important for cholera control.Methods:During a regional sequencing workshop in Nigeria, we sequenced 46 recent V. cholerae isolates from Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria (37 from 2018 to 2019) to better understand the relationship between the V. cholerae bacterium circulating in these three countries.Results:From these isolates, we generated 44 whole Vibrio cholerae O1 sequences and analyzed them in the context of 1280 published V. cholerae O1 genomes. All sequences belonged to the T12 V. cholerae seventh pandemic lineage.Conclusions:Phylogenetic analysis of newly generated and previously published V. cholerae genomes suggested that the T12 lineage has been continuously transmitted within West Africa since it was first observed in the region in 2009, despite lack of reported cholera in the intervening years. The results from this regional sequencing effort provide a model for future regionally coordinated surveillance efforts.Funding:Funding for this project was provided by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation OPP1195157.

The problem of antibiotic resistance is fast becoming a pandemic which has necessitated the need for new drugs discovery. This study was carried out to screen two green algal species-Bryopsis pennata and Chaetomorpha anteninna for antibacterial activity against multidrug resistant pathogenic enteric organisms (Morganella morganii and Salmonella species) obtained from healthy individuals. Algal samples were obtained and processed. Crude extraction was carried out with Original Research Article dichloromethane/methanol (2:1) while the antibacterial screening was done by agar-well diffusion method. Results revealed that M. morganii was 3.37% of the total isolates recovered while Salmonella species was 6.74%. Result also showed that C. antennina was active against all the strains of Salmonella species with inhibitory zones ranging from 10 mm to 17 mm and the M. morganii with inhibitory zone of 11 mm while B. pennata showed inhibitory activities against only S. pullorum and S. enterica subspecies diarizonae with inhibitory zones of 12 mm and 7 mm respectively as well as the M. morganii strain with 14 mm. The antibacterial activities observed from these green algae showed that Bryopsis pennata and Chaetomorpha antennina from the West African coast are promising in the quest for new drugs with potentials against multidrug resistant strains of bacteria and therefore should be intensely researched into.

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rial agents. These preliminary but encouraging results indicate that 2-thiazolylimino-5-arylidene-4-thiazolidinones are promising scaffolds for design and development of new molecules for antimycobacterial activity. Further structural optimization and identification of molecules are underway in our laboratory. http://dx.

Background: Many sub-Saharan African patients receive clinical care from extramurally-supported research and surveillance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pausing these activities reduces patient care, surveillance, and research staff employment, increasing pandemic losses. In Oyo State, Nigeria, we paused a multi-country invasive salmonellosis surveillance initiative and a rural clinical bacteriology project. Objective: Working with research partners raises health facility con- cerns about SARS-CoV-2 transmission risks and incurs infection pre- vention costs, so we developed and implemented re-opening plans to protect staff and patients and help health facilities deliver care.Methods: Our reopening plan included appointing safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) managers from existing project staff cadres, writing new standard operating procedures, implementing extensive assessed training, COVID-19 testing for staff, procuring and managing PPE, and providing secondary bacteraemia blood culture support for COVID-19 patients in State isolation facilities. Results: Surveillance data showed that the pandemic reduced care access and negatively affected patient unsupervised antibacterial use. The re-opening plan repurposed human and material resources from national and international extramurally-supported programs to mitigate these effects on public health. Conclusions: A structured reopening plan restarted care, surveillance, and infection prevention and control.

We sequenced 46 Vibrio cholerae isolates from Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria, 37 of which were from 2018-2019. These sequences belong to the T12 lineage observed in the region since 2009, suggesting continuous transmission. Data were generated during a workshop in Nigeria, providing a model for future regionally coordinated surveillance efforts.