Background:In Nepal, introduction of GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay (Xpert assay) as an initial confirmation test for tuberculosis (TB) has been considered to have impact as a significant decrease in number of clinically diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases than previous years. This study aims to find out the distribution profile of suspected tuberculosis cases according to patients age, gender, treatment history and HIV status as well as to evaluate the utility of the Xpert assay over conventional acid-fast bacilli (AFB) staining method for the proper diagnosis of M. Tuberculosis in respiratory specimens from the tuberculosis (TB) suspected patient samples. Methods:The prospective cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in National Anti-Tuberculosis Center (NATA) center- Biratnagar and Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) - Manglabare, Morang District, of eastern Nepal from January 2014 to August 2014. Laboratory investigation was done by conventional AFB staining followed by Xpert assay. Results:A total of 1549 sputum samples were initially analyzed. AFB staining resulted in 1441 AFB smear negative samples and 88 AFB smear positive samples, whereas 20 samples were directly processed for Xpert assay. The male: female smear positive ratio was 2.8:1 and was higher among age groups (21-40) years. Tuberculosis among HIV patients was found 22.22%. Xpert assay demonstrates that out of 1441 smear negative AFB cases, 258 were found to have TB positive, whereas out of 88 smears positive AFB cases 12 were found to have TB negative. The sensitivity of the Xpert assay in patients classified as AFB smear positive was found 85.4% and the specificity in smear negative patients was 81%. Conclusion:The study concluded that implementation of Gene Xpert MTB/RIF assay is a helpful tool for early and rapid detection of tuberculosis with greater sensitivity and specificity over traditional AFB staining techniques.

Background: Escherichia coli is the most common causative agent of urinary tract infection. Antibiotic resistance among uropathogens has become a prominent public health problem. Multidrug resistance bacteria have limited the therapeutic possibilities by producing Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases (ESBL). Objective: Since routine monitoring of ESBL producers are not conducted in clinical laboratories their true prevalence is still unknown. So the objective of this research was to assess multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) indices and determine ESBL production among Escherichia coli isolated from urine samples. Methods: Standard microbiological techniques and antibiotic sensitivity test were performed by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method to identify E. coli. ESBL screening was done by using Ceftriaxone, Aztreonam, Cefotaxime, Ceftazidime and Cefpodoxime whereas confirmation by combined disc assay. SPSS 16 software was used to analyze data. Results: 86.95% E. coli isolates were MDR strains. 27 isolates had multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of 0.2 and 5 isolates had MAR index of 0.7. E. coli isolates showed higher degree of resistance towards Amoxicillin (100%) while 100% were sensitive towards Gentamicin followed by Nitrofurantoin (62.31%). The reliable screening agent for ESBL detection with sensitivity 100% and positive predictive value of 80% was Cefotaxime. Combined disc assay detected 12/69 (17.31%) of E. coli isolates as confirmed ESBL producers. Conclusion: The ubiquity of ESBL-producing E. coli was observed emphasizing the necessity of regular surveillance of ESBL producing clinical isolates in clinical samples to minimize multi-drug resistance strains and avert the ineffectiveness of antimicrobial agent for good health practices.\Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol 3(3): 423-426

available with the full text PDF.

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are the chronic viral infection that might be transmitted by blood transfusion. Nepal is known to have lowest seroprevalence in Asia. The main objective of the present study is to find out the prevalence of hepatitis B and Hepatitis C and their co-infection among blood donors during study period from March to August 2014. This was a cross sectional study among volunteer blood donors in Dharan who had donated the Blood. A total of 4930 donated blood samples were collected and screened for hepatitis B and hepatitis C by using a rapid enzyme immunoassay (EIA) technique. Among 4930 blood samples under study, the overall seroprevalence of hepatitis B were 0.22% (11 out of 4930) and hepatitis C were 0.39% (19 out of 4930) (P value = 0.01) and the prevalence being lower in females than males for both cases. Hepatitis B were more in age group of 21 -30 (0.4%) but hepatitis C in age group of 31-40 (0.5%). Hepatitis B and C are potential threats to be transmitted from unscreened blood.Sunsari Technical College Journal 2015, 2(1):13-16