Aim: This research is aimed at detecting the presence of Bacillus species in honey using morphological characteristics, biochemical tests and preliminary molecular studies. Place and Duration of Study:The study was carried out in the department of Molecular Biology, Institute of Medical Research Yaba Lagos, Nigeria. The study was carried out from June to July 2012. Methodology: A total of 33 honey samples were used for this study, twenty-eight of the honey samples were of local origin while 5 were of international origin. Twenty-eight commercial honey samples were obtained from the six geographical regions in Nigeria from commercial retailers. The five foreign honey samples were obtained from the supermarkets namely: Friz fruit, Blossom, Forever, Aloe Vera and Rose honey, all of international origin. The honey samples were inoculated into sterile agar, blood and tryptone soy plates using the spread plate technique. Isolates obtained were purified and subjected to morphological tests, biochemical tests and further identification using polymerase chain reaction. Results: All the honey samples had microbial growth in them, higher counts were observed in the commercial honeys from retailers than the foreign honey samples. Forty isolates suspected to be Bacillus from biochemical tests were subjected to PCR, 14 from the 40 were confirmed to be Bacillus spp.

Aims: Provision of constant and safe blood has been a public health challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa with a high prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs). This study aimed at determining the seroprevalence of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) among prospective blood donors at two Hospitals (government and private-owned) in Rivers State, and also to relate some demographic studies to the screening results. Study Design:  Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Two Hospitals (a government-owned and private-owned) in Rivers State, Nigeria, between January 2018 and April 2019. Methodology: Two hundred and eighty-two (185 males and 97 females) blood donors were recruited for this study. Sera samples were screened for antibodies to HIV-1 and -2 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based kits following the manufacturer’s description. Results: Of the 282 screened prospective donors (males and females) in this study, the overall prevalence of HIV from both hospitals was 6.0% with a seronegativity of 94.0%. There was a significant relationship (p <0.05) between the overall seroprevalence of HIV concerning gender (p-0.006) all other demographics had no significant association with HIV. Age group 21-30 had the highest prevalence of HIV (53.80%). Donors with tertiary education had the highest prevalence rate (52.90%) of HIV. About marital status, the unmarried donors had higher HIV prevalence (64.70%) when compared with the married donors (35.30%). However, family donors had the highest prevalence of HIV (52.90%). Finally, concerning occupation, students had a higher HIV prevalence (47.10%). Conclusion: The seroprevalence of HIV in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria was high. This shows that HIV remains a threat to safe blood transfusion and public health in Nigeria. Strict adherence to selection criteria and algorithm of donor screening is hereby advocated.

Background The increase in multidrug resistance (MDR) among pathogenic bacteria responsible for infectious diseases has led to lack of effectiveness of some antibiotics. The ability of Escherichia coli to harbor resistant genes has made the treatment of infections a major challenge. This study was carried out to assess antibiotic resistance and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production of E. coli from various sources in Aba metropolis, Nigeria. Results From a total of 350 samples collected from clinical and non-clinical sources, 137 were presumptively identified as E. coli by standard phenotypic methods and 83 were confirmed as E. coli by the detection of E. coli specific 16S rRNA gene fragments. The majority of these isolates (52, 62.7%) were from non-clinical sources. The clinical isolates, however, exhibited a higher level of resistance against 62.5% of tested antibiotics. Both group of isolates exhibited similar levels (58.1% vs 53.9%) of MDR, though. A low rate of ESBL production was observed (1.2%) following phenotypic detection of ESBL-producing abilities using the double-disc synergy test. An assessment of the presence of three beta-lactamase gene genotypes (blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M) revealed that none of the three predominant ESBL genotypes was identified in this study. Conclusions This study reports high levels of antibiotic resistance in both clinical and non-clinical E. coli isolates. Though higher rates of resistance were observed among the non-clinical isolates, both group of organisms had similar levels of MDR. Strikingly, however, was the low level of ESBL producers detected in this study and the absence of the three main genotypes associated with ESBL production in this study.

Staphylococcus aureus are organisms that have been detected as the major pathogens in hospital and community settings that are responsible for infections and their resistance to commonly used antibiotics has become worldwide concern. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to the presence of drug resistant organisms. A total of 100 wound swabs were obtained from two tertiary hospitals in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and screened for S. aureus. This was done by streaking the swab sticks on sterile mannitol salt agar plates, positive growths were identified using conventional methods based on morphological and biochemical characteristics. Identified S. aureus was subjected to antibiotics susceptibility test using Kirby Bauer disc method. Plasmid profiling was also carried out on 30 randomly selected S. aureus using gel electrophoresis. Out of the 100 wound swabs examined, ninety-two were positive for S. aureus. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that S. aureus was 100% resistant to caftaxidim, ceftriazone, ofloxacin and ceptazdime. Staphylococcus aureus was sensitive to ofloxacin and gentamicin (88%), erythromycin (84%) and augumentin (82%). Plasmid profile result for S. aureus revealed single plasmid sizes of 2027, 2322 4361 and 23130 bp, respectively while double plasmid size was observed in one isolate. The determination of antibiotic sensitivity pattern and plasmid profiling of S. aureus isolated from wound will assist in the preliminary treatment of wound infections.

Honey is a sweet viscous liquid produced by honey bee, Apis mellifera from the nectar of plants. Honey is a natural product that has been used from ancient times till now as food and for medicinal purpose. This study was carried out to determine the mode of action of Bacillus species and antibiotics residues in branded and unbranded honey samples from Nigeria. Bacilli spp. count was carried out by initially heating diluted honey samples in water bath set at 80°C for 15 min, while total bacterial count was carried out using the pour plate method. Antibacterial activity of identified Bacillus spp on Micrococcus was determined using well-in agar method while the mode of action was carried out by reporter assay method. Detection of tetracycline, gentamycin and streptomycin was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column oven L-2300 and Column intensil ODS-3C18 (250 x 4.6 mm). Honey samples (2 g) were extracted for HPLC by deprotenizing using acetonitrile and methanol with flow rate of 1 mL/min and RID detector was used to detect antibiotic residue. Bacilli from honey were characterized physiologically, morphologically and biochemically, they were tentatively identified as Bacilli licheniformis, Bacilli subtilis, Bacilli coagulans, Bacilli cirulans, Bacilli pumilis and Bacilli badius. The most prevalent Bacillus spp. were B. licheniformis and B. subtilis. Total bacteria count for branded honey ranged from 2.2 x 10 2 to 5.5 x 10 3 cfu/g, while Bacilli count ranged from nil to 6.2 x 10 2 cfu/g. For unbranded honey samples, total bacteria count ranged from 7.0 x 10 3 to 3.5 x 10 2 cfu/g, while Bacilli count ranged from 5 x 10 1 to 1.6 x 10 3 cfu/g. Four of the isolates representing branded (SF2 and RW2) and unbranded honey samples (EH2 and TC2) exhibited antibacterial activity against Micrococcus; one isolate (SF2) showed cell wall causing antibacterial activity. Tetracycline was detected more in the unbranded honey samples while gentamycin and streptomycin were detected in just two unbranded honey samples, indicating that tetracycline is used frequently for the treatment of bee diseases that is why it is detected as residue in the finished honey product.