The threat to human health posed by antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens is of growing concern to medical practice. This study investigated the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Salmonella typhi isolated from blood specimen. One hundred blood samples were collected from suspected typhoid fever patients in 31 Artillery Brigade Medical Centre, Minna, and were analyzed for S. typhi while antibiotic sensitivity testing was done Kirby-Bauer method. Sixty (60.0%) samples out of the total 100 were positive for bacterial growth. The organisms isolated 2 include Salmonella typhi; 45 (75.0%), Shigella; 6 (10.0%), E. coli; 3 (5.0%), Klebsiella; 3 (5.0%), Enterobacter; 2 (3.3%), and Citrobacter; 1 (1.7%). Result of the sensitivity test showed that the isolates were resistant to all the antibiotics; ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, amoxicillin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and augmentin, which are the drug of choice routinely used in the study area for the treatment of typhoid fever. They were however sensitive to chloramphenicol and ofloxacin, which, unfortunately, are not used in this study area for the treatment of typhoid fever. There appear to be multiple drug resistant (MDR) strain of S. typhi in the study area. These may be as a result of overdependence or uncontrolled use of the few available antibiotics and/or inaccurate or inconclusive diagnosis resulting in the development and spread of resistant strains of S. typhi. The study, therefore, highlights the need for a strong collaboration between the physicians and the laboratory in the choice of antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial diseases in order to discourage the development of resistant strain of bacterial pathogen.

Background: Blood transfusion saves life but it is also a major risk factor in the transmission of certain infections such as malaria, which remains a public health problem in tropical and sub-Saharan Africa. Methodology: This study investigated the prevalence of malaria among 550 blood donors aged 18 to 60 years from blood bank units of some selected hospitals in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, using gold standard microscopy for malaria parasite detection. Results: Two hundred and fifty two (45.8%) donors were positive for malaria parasites. Replacement donors had higher prevalence rate of malaria compared to voluntary donors. The distribution of infection on the basis of age revealed the highest prevalence rate of malaria among the 20-29yrs age group. The rate of infection among the males and the females was not significantly different (p>0.05). No association was observed between the blood group types and the rate of malaria infection (p > 0.05). Conclusion: A high prevalence of malaria parasitaemia was observed among blood donors in FCT, Abuja, Nigeria in this study. The introduction of malaria screening as part of routine screening for blood donation and the provision of modern blood screening equipment within healthcare facilities are highly advocated.

Food borne disease associated with inappropriately treated or untreated eggs is a major public health problem affecting developing and developed countries. This study isolated, identified and determined the Antibiogram of bacteria isolates from eggshell of eggs obtained from three major markets in Minna, Nigeria. A total of ten (10) duplicate egg samples were purchased from egg retailers. The egg samples were analyzed for the enumeration and isolation of bacteria. The isolated bacteria were identified using biochemical methods. Antibiotic susceptibility test to prescribed commercially available antibiotic discs was also investigated. The total viable bacteria count (TVBC) ranged from 1.38×104 - 2.52×104 cfu/mL while the total coliform count (TCC) ranged from 8.5×103 - 2.02×104 cfu/mL. Escherichia coli (9.1%), Streptococcus pyogenes (4.5%), Enterococcus sp. (4.5%), Shigella sp. (13.6%), Salmonella sp. (13.6%), Staphylococcus aureus (36.4%), Clostridium sp. (9.1%) and Neisseria sp. (9.1%) were isolated and identified from eggshells. Gram positive bacteria showed highest sensitivity to gentamycin (100%) however, resist cloxacillin, ceftadizime and erythromycin (100%). Similarly, there was no ciprofloxacin resistant Gram-negative bacteria though E. coli, Salmonella sp. and Shigella sp. isolated from eggshells were resistant to augmentin and amoxicillin. Further analysis of result revealed that all the isolated bacteria from eggshells were multidrug resistant except Neisseria sp. with multidrug resistant index greater than 0.2. The fact that these antibiotic resistant bacteria can be transferred to humans is of public health concern. Therefore, stringent use of public health regulations for cleaning eggs before retailing is advocated.

Vegetables are edible part of plants. A total of twenty five raw salad vegetables were collected and the microbiological assessment was made using pour plate method. The analysis was carried out on carrots, cucumber, cabbage, lettuce and tomatoes. The results obtained from this study revealed that the total heterotrophic viable bacterial counts, coliform counts and fungal counts for all the salad vegetables ranged from 1.4 × 10 6 -6.2 × 10 6 cfu/g, 1.1 × 10 6 -3.3 × 10 6 cfu/g and 2.1 × 10 3 -4.5 × 10 5 cfu/g respectively. The data were subjected to One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test which showed that there was significant difference (p <0.05) in the microbial load of each of the raw salad vegetables samples. The microbial isolates identified were E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas sp., Aspergillus niger, Mucor sp., Penicillium sp., Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium sp. Staphylococcus aureus and Aspergillus niger were predominant. This suggests that salad vegetables used in this study are of public health concern because, they harbours microorganisms that could be hazardous to human health. Hence consumers should practice appropriate hygiene during the preparation of salad for consumption.

The study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia among primary school pupils in four communities of Bosso Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria. Stool samples from 250 pupils were collected and examined for Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia using formol ether concentration technique. Out of the 250 samples analyzed, 115 (46%) for either Entamoeba histolytica or Giardia lamblia or both. Ninety (36.0%) subjects were positive for Giardia lamblia while 46 (18.4%) subjects had Entamoeba histolytica. Single species infection was seen in 78 (67.8%) of the infected pupils whereas 47 (40.9%) were infected with both parasites. The age group (9-10) years had the highest rates of infection of 14 (21.5%) and 37 (56.9%) for G. Lamblia and E. histolytica respectively. Males had the highest rate of infection (53.5%) compared to the females with (46.3%). Poverty, ignorance and poor environmental sanitation were factors found to be associated with the high prevalence rates recorded.

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Background: Transfusion of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected blood represents a major but avoidable means of HBV transmission, which unfortunately still account for millions of global HBV infections annually. Method: This study determined the prevalence of HBV infection among 550 blood donors aged 18 to 60 years from selected hospitals and blood transfusion centres within the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, using hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kit and Enzyme linked Immuno-sorbent Assay (ELISA). Representative positive and negative samples for RDT and ELISA were tested by both conventional and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay Results: Forty nine (8.9%) and 14 (2.8%) out of the 550 blood donors tested positive for HBsAg with the RDT and ELISA respectively. Replacement donors had higher prevalence rate of the HBV infection than voluntary donors. The highest prevalence of HBV infection was recorded among the 30-39 year age group. The difference in the rate of infection between the males and the females was not statistically significant (p>0.05). A perfect agreement between RDT and PCR and fair agreement between ELISA and PCR were observed. Conclusion: This study report a high prevalence of hepatitis B virus infections among blood donors in Abuja, Nigeria which underscores the need for proper screening of blood for transfusion to completely eliminate the incidence of transfusion transmitted HBV infections.

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