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Emergence and spread of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are two of the major problems currently threatening global public health. In Nigeria, interest in CPE is recent. In Sokoto, northwest Nigeria, there are no data on the prevalence and mechanism underlying carbapenem resistance. In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of clinical carbapenems-resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolates in two leading hospitals in Sokoto, northwest Nigeria. A total of 292 non-duplicate Enterobacteriaceae isolated from clinical specimens processed in the diagnostic laboratories of two hospitals between January and June 2019 were collected. Of these, 129 (44.2 %) and 19 (6.5%) were resistant to third-generation cephalosporin and carbapenems, respectively. RT-PCR revealed that 10 (7.8%), 19 (14.7%) and 46 (35.7%) of the third-generation cephalosporin-resistant isolates harboured bla SHV , bla TEM and bla CTX-M genes, respectively. The modified Carba NP test result showed that only 7 (36.8 %) of the 19 carbapenem-resistant isolates were carbapenemase producing; among them, bla NDM-5 and bla OXA-181 genes were identified in five and two isolates, respectively. However, none of the carbapenemase genes investigated, including bla VIM , bla KPC and bla IMP , was detected in the remaining carbapenem-resistant isolates, suggesting a non-enzymatic mechanism. This study reports for the first time, the emergence of CPE in Sokoto state and the detection of NDM-producing Citrobacter freundii in Nigeria. The observed CPE in this study is a concern in a country where alternative antibiotics are rarely available.

The antimalarial activities of the tablet suspension of the bark and leaf of Azadirachta indica were evaluated on Plasmodium yoelli nigeriensis infected mice. The tablet suspensions exhibited high prophylactic, mode-rate suppressive and a very minimal curative schizonticidal effect. No animal was cured of the infection in the curative test and there was not much increase in the survival time of the animals compared with the control. The tablet suspensions from the leaf and bark at a concentration of 800 mg/kg and chloroquine at a concentration of 62.5 mg/kg body weight produced average percentage (%) parasitaemia of 79.6%, 68.2% and 99.5% for leaf, bark and chloroquine, respectively, in chemosuppression. Also in the prophylactic treatment, the tablet suspensions at 800 mg/kg and pyrimethamine at a concentration of 0.35 mg/kg gave an average parasitaemia reduction of 75.3%, 65.6% and 98.3% for the leaf, bark and pyrimethamine, respectively. There was a clear indication that both tablet suspensions from the leaf and bark possess antimalarial activity and a suspension from the former is relatively more effective than the bark. Extrapolation of the results from the antimalarial activity of the tablet suspension of the crude plant parts showed that an adult human would need to ingest a minimum of 48 g of the powdered plant material per day, an amount that is impracticable. A survival index value of 0.33 was obtained with the 800 mg/kg dose level, indicating that the tablet suspension has some moderate beneficial effect.

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Aim: To study the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) contamination among dyspeptic patients in Damaturu and report on the relationship between H. pylori predominance and different age groups in the population under study. Methods: A sum of 229 volunteers with dyspeptic symptoms (140 females and 89 males; mean period of 43.6 ± 14.2 years) took an interest in the investigation. The status of infection caused by H. pylori was determined using serological test. Information was gathered by the utilization of self-managed survey while status of H. pylori was resolved dependent on the serological examination (fast symptomatic test). The one Step H. Pylori serum whole blood rapid test kit was used to detect the presence of IgG antibodies specific to H. pylori infections in the participants. Results: The prevalence of H. pylori disease was 51.96%. There was no noteworthy factual relationship between age and contamination rate at p-value (0.1515). In young subjects (under 11 years of age), the H. pylori contamination rate was moderately higher (50.00%). The most extreme number of the positive patients was found in the age range of 50-59 years (69.23%) and the base prevalence was in the age range of 10-19 years (50.00%). The overall prevalence of H. pylori contamination between the gender is out of 89 males, 55 were found to be positive to the infection (61.79%), while out of 140 females, 64 were also positive (45.71%). Despite these findings, there was no critical factual relationship between the genders and H. pylori infection (p=0.113). The statistical qualities of members at the examination section demonstrate that out of 129 patients having a place with the upper lower class, 85 subjects (66.40%) were found to be positive to H. pylori. The lower-middle-class demonstrates that out of 89 subjects 30 were positive (33.70%), while upper-middle outcome demonstrates that out of 12 subjects 4 were confirmed with 33.33%. This demonstrates that subjects living under overcrowded  conditions with dense population have a high contamination rate of H. pylori and therefore is a noteworthy factual relationship between socio-statistic factors and overall prevalence of H. Pylori infection (p = 0.001). Conclusion: We came to realize the overall prevalence of H. pylori contamination in patients with dyspeptic symptoms in Damaturu. The H. pylori contamination might be a hazard factor for peptic ulcer and more grounded gastritis.

Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most frequent complications of surgical interventions. Several factors have been identified as major determinants of occurrence of SSIs. The present study determined the occurrence and possible risk factors associated with SSIs at a tertiary healthcare facility in Abuja, Nigeria. All patients scheduled for operation in the hospital during the study period and who consented to participate willingly in the study were observed prospectively for the occurrence of SSI based on criteria stipulated by the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, surgical procedure and co-morbidity were collected into a pre-tested data collection tool and analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics software v.24. Predictors of SSIs were identified using multivariate logistic regression model and p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Of the 127 surgical patients that met the inclusion criteria comprising 65 (51.2%) females and 62 (48.8%) males between 1 and 83 years with mean age of 25.64 ± 1.66 years, 35 (27.56%; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.205–0.360) developed SSIs. Prolonged post-operative hospital stays (p < 0.05), class of wound (p < 0.0001) and some comorbid conditions were found to be significantly associated with higher SSI rate. The SSI rate was highest among patients that had Kirschner-wire insertion (75.0%), followed by an unexpectedly high infection rate among patients that had mastectomy (42.9%), while lower percentages (33.3%) were recorded among patients that had exploratory laparotomy and appendicectomy. The overall magnitude of SSIs in this facility is high (27.6%; 95% CI: 0.205–0.360). Several factors were found to be independent predictors of occurrence of SSI. The findings thus highlight the need for improved surveillance of SSIs and review of infection control policies of the hospital.

As the incidence of Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) continues to rise, many countries have been seeking for medical assistance such as donation or procurement of laboratory test kits and strips. These consumables are largely intended for use in the laboratory investigations of COVID-19 cases, suspected contacts, asymptomatic persons and in discharging cured persons. Thus, this article was instigated to update and remind healthcare providers and policymakers (especially those in developing countries) on the principles of sample collections, storage, transportation, laboratory protocols and networks needed for appropriate public health response against COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and other developing countries. In addition, this article presents challenges that hinder adequate COVID-19 laboratory response and discuss some possible solutions that could ameliorate these constrains.