Wheat and flour contain essential nutrients such as carbohydrate, minerals, fats and proteins which may aid proliferation of microorganisms in products made from cereal grains and kept under improper storage condition. This study was conducted to determine the microbial load of bread and flour sold in packed and unpacked forms by the local and super markets in Dhaka city. Socioeconomic background, awareness of the microbiological contamination, spoilage of bread and flour and hygiene status of the salespeople were also studied to determine any correlation between the contamination of bread and flour sold by local and super markets. About 20 samples of flour (n=10) and bread (n=10) were included in this study to determine the load of total heterotrophic bacteria (THB), total Staphylococcus aureus (TSA), total Enterobacteriaceae (TE), total coliforms (TC), total yeast and mold (TYM). Equal number of unpacked (local market) and packed (supermarket) bread and flour samples were included in this study. TC, TSA and THB counts were found to be 1.0 log 10 cfu/g higher in unpacked (local market) flour samples compared to those of packed (supermarket) samples. TSA counts were significantly higher in unpacked (local market) samples compared to the packed samples (p<0.05). Food handlers of both the groups did not have adequate knowledge and training on food contamination and spoilage. However, salespeople in the supermarkets were found to be more educated, experienced than those in the local markets. This study demonstrates that unpacked (local market) bread and flour are more contaminated than the packed (supermarket) samples and may pose risk of foodborne infection to consumers.

Pollution of the environment with toxic heavy metals is spreading throughout the world along with industrial progress. Removal of these toxic heavy metals by using bacteria has achieved growing attention in recent years. The present study focuses on isolation of lead and chromium tolerant Bacillus spp., from the Buriganga and the Shitalkhya, the two major rivers surrounding Dhaka. A total of 25 Bacillus spp. isolates tolerant to 50 ppm lead and chromium were preliminarily identified based on morphological and biochemical analysis. Further investigation revealed that all isolates were also able to grow at 1000 ppm lead and 400 ppm chromium, while tolerance to 1500 ppm lead and 500 ppm chromium was observed among 48% and 76% isolates, respectively. All isolates were also able to grow at 50 ppm copper and 50 ppm zinc, while 72% grew at 100 ppm copper. The heavy metal tolerant Bacillus spp were also multi drug resistant and showed resistance to Tetracycline (100%), Ceftazidime (100%), Ceftriaxone (100%), Ampicillin (28%) and Nalidixic acid (24%).

Homeopathy is a popular alternative medicine. The mechanism of action of homeopathic drug has not been clarified but it has been found to be effective against various diseases including diarrhea, dysentery, otitis media, eczema and even cancer. After qualifying thorough investigation, it can be used against antibiotic tolerance and multi drug resistant bacteria. In a recent study, bactericidal effect of homeopathic remedies has been investigated. But such an effect is not in accordance with the general principles of homeopathy. To test this paradigm, in vitro antimicrobial effects of four homeopathic drugs Aconite 30, Arsenicum album 30, Mercuric corrosivus 30 and Mercury solution 200 against five common intestinal pathogens, including- Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Salmonella sp. Pseudomonas sp., and Bacillus sp have been observed. Standard agar well diffusion technique and macrodilution technique were followed. But, tested homeopathic drugs did not show any significant effect on any of the five pathogens. Rigorous study against other organism is required to fully understand antimicrobial activity and other mechanism of action. Stamford Journal of Microbiology, Vol.8(1) 2018: 7-9

26Freezing has long been an established method for food preservation. Freezing temperature may act as a stress factor for microbial cells, transforming the cells into injured or dormant state. Upon inoculation, these debilitated cells cannot grow on solid media and hence produce false negative results. Foods contaminated with injured cells of pathogenic bacterial strains are of potential health risk. Employing enrichment cultivation technique, present study attempted to detect such injured, dormant or viable but non culturable (VBNC) cells in different frozen food samples, collected from local markets and super-shops of Dhaka metropolis. Compared to the conventional cultivation means, the enrichment procedure revealed a significant increase in bacterial burden as well as increase in the pathogenic load. A maximum of 3 log increase in case of total bacterial load while 4 log, 5 log and 2 log increase in case of Vibrio spp., Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp., consecutively were observed. These findings clearly demonstrated the presence of injured cells in frozen foods which could be lethal under normal condition thereby posing public health risk.Detection of Vibrio spp., Salmonella spp., and Shigella spp. among the frozen food samples employing enrichment culture technique

Blood and its components are essential for life and often required to be transfused in critical health condition. However, such transfusion is reported to be associated with the risk of transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) with notable pathogens e.g. Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Treponema pallidum. These pathogens are of major public health concern especially in developing countries like Bangladesh. Increase in the number of TTIs is found to be associated with improper management of safe blood transfusion protocol (SBTP) and unethical practices. This study focuses on the prevalence of such TTIs in volunteers’ blood collected between October and December 2018 from Sakhawath Memorial and Avicina Hospitals in Shirajgong district. Prevalence rate of HIV, HBsAg, HCV and Treponema pallidum were 1.2%, 6.8%, 0.8% and 1.6%, respectively. Among the infected individuals, 75% HIV positive cases were professionals, 70% HCV infected cases wwere from other professional groups and 50% of syphilis infected were homemakers. Male donors showed higher incidence rate of HBV (65%), HCV (72%) and HIV (85%) compared to the female donors. Although the findings of the study showed prevalence of TTIs in volunteer blood donors (VBDs) at an alarming rate, most of the infected individuals were not aware of their infections and potential risk of transmission from them. It is necessary to create awareness among blood donors about possible causes of transmission and prevention of infection . Such initiative from both governmental and non-governmental organizations can help reduce TTIs among VBDs. Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 36 Number 2 December 2019, pp 105-109