A study of microbial analysis of fresh fruits and vegetables, in Sagamu markets South-West, Nigeria

Raw and minimally processed fruits and vegetables are essential parts of diets of people around the world. However, these food items have consistently served as vehicles for human diseases worldwide. This study was aimed at determining the microbiological quality of fresh fruits and vegetables sold at Sagamu markets, Ogun state, Nigeria. Twenty different samples of fruits and vegetables were randomly purchased from ten various vendors in Shagamu market, Ogun State, Nigeria. Aerobic plate counts, total coliform counts, yeast, mold counts and antimicrobial susceptibility study using were determined using standard microbiological methods. In Fruits, the isolation rate of Bacillus specie was predominant (44.1%), followed by Klebsiella species (44.0%) while in vegetables, the prevalent rates of 38.3% and 14.4% were respectively recorded by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas species. Malassezia species and Aspergillus species were the only fungal isolates obtained from the fruits and vegetables. Aspergillus species were predominant in vegetables, with a frequency of 13.3% while both Malassezia and Aspergillus species were observed almost at the same frequently of 24.1% and 24.4% in fruits respectively. This study showed that fruits and vegetable were contaminated with potential food borne pathogens with varying degree of antibiotic resistance thus suggesting that they could act as a vehicle for the dissemination of antibiotic resistant organisms as well as serve as a reservoir of food borne pathogens of public health significance.Keywords: Micro flora, fresh fruits and vegetables, antibiotics resistanc

Antibiotic Susceptibility and Detection of Resistance Genes of E. coli among Healthy Pregnant Women in Designated Hospitals around Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria

Treatment of E. coli is now a challenge globally, due to continuous increase in resistance towards commonly prescribed antibiotics, thus posing a threat to treatment. Hence, the aim of the study is to determine antibiotics sensitivity and resistance genes of E.coli from apparently healthy pregnant women in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria using standard methods. A cross-sectional study design was used to collect 150 mid-stream urine (MSU) samples from apparently healthy pregnant women. Standard inoculating loop technique was used by culturing 0.001 ml of MSU on Cysteine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient (CLED) agar, Blood agar and MacConkey agar and incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. A standard agar disc diffusion method was used to determine antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates. The molecular detection of resistance genes was done using PCR techniques.  The ages of women enrolled in this study ranged from 22 to 42 years (mean ± standard deviation = 31 ± 4.7 years). Eight isolates were positive for E. coli.  Escherichia coli showed high percentage of resistance to ampicillin and low resistance to ciprofloxacin and penicillin. All the E. coli isolates were sensitive to levofloxacin, and most were resistant to Meropenem. Multiple drug resistance was observed in all the isolates. Resistance genes in VIM 390bp, bla ctx-M 585bp and TEM 517bp were detected in some of the representative E. coli isolates profiled. This study identified the presence of Multi-drug resistance genes in E. coli associated UTI among pregnant women in Osogbo

HIV/AIDS, The Law and the Human Rights Question: Taming Discriminatory Practices

This article examines the concept of HIV/AIDS and appraises the rights of HIV/AIDS patients, vis-a-vis the workplace and access to medical facilities. It examines the extant position of the law on the rights of HIV/AIDS patients in Nigeria. The paper has also comparatively analysed Nigeria's law and policies with those of South Africa, India and Namibia regarding the rights of such patients. It contends that discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients is unlawful and should be deprecated. It equally canvasses for constitution amendment and/or the enactment of a specific statute to protect the rights of HIV/AIDS patients in Nigeria

Comparative effects of washing solution and the survival of Staphylococcus aureus on tomatoes

Various types of fruits and vegetables are often eaten raw or consumed after minimum processing in which this has been connected to an increase in outbreaks of fresh produce associated with food borne diseases in the recent times. In order to determine the micro-flora, survival of Staphylococcus aureus on ripe and unripe tomatoes and to also asses the efficiency of some washing solutions, 100 tomatoes, both ripe and unripe were randomly bought from different selling points in Sagamu Markets, Ogun State Nigeria. Surface swabs of the tomatoes were cultured on both nutrient broth, and selenite F broth. The sample from nutrient broth was then sub cultured on Blood Agar, Mannitol Salt Agar, and MacConkey Agar, (MSA), Potato Dextrose Agar (SDA), while the one on Selenite F Broth was cultured on Salmonella Shigella Agar (SSA). Density of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 after pre-inoculation on ripe and unripe tomatoes, and after the application of washing solutions on tomatoes, was determined by surface spread count. The prevalence of any of the isolated micro-flora could not be significantly linked with either ripe or unripe tomatoes (0>0.05).Mean residual counts (log CFU/g) of bacteria was significantly higher in ripe tomatoes (3.52 ±2.40) than unripe tomatoes (2.30 ±1.96) after pre inoculation with Staphylococcus aureus (t =2.75, P< 0.05). Among the washing solution, hypochlorite was observed to be twice more efficient than hydrogen peroxide and thrice efficient than saline solution. In conclusion, Staphylococcal colonization of tomatoes skin is significantly reduced in unripe tomatoes. And also, hypochlorite solutions are better than hydrogen peroxide and saline in Staphylococcal decontamination from tomatoes.Key words: washing solution, Staphylococcus aureus, tomatoe

Factors Associated with the Survival Outcome of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients on Supportive Care in a Tertiary Hospital in South-West Nigeria

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary liver cancer. This study assessed the factors associated with the survival outcome of HCC on supportive care. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study carried out from January 2010 to June 2016 on cases of HCC recruited into a cancer data registry. Clinical, laboratory and survival outcomes were obtained. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: A total of 149 cases were analyzed: 120 (80.5%) males and 29 (19.5%) females. Age range was 18-87years, with mean (SD) being 45.0 (14.3) years. Identifiable aetiological factors were hepatitis B and C viruses, alcohol and herbal preparations in 94% while no risk factor was identified in 6%. Some risks co-occurred in multiples in 71.2% of cases. The overall median survival was 20 days, and general survival was 59.1% at two weeks, 33.6 % at one month, and only 7.3% surviving beyond thirty one days to two years. The survival of cases, according to the Child-Pugh (CTP) class, was CTP A: 36 days (ranged 4 to 730 days), CTP class B: 22 days (ranged 1 to 210 days) and CTP class C: 14 days (ranged 2 to 660 days). Higher proportion of young cases was HBsAg positive. Factors significantly associated with survival outcome included older age, female sex, abdominal pain, jaundice, elevated creatinine, bilirubin, AST, ALT, white cell count and hyponatreamia. Conclusion: Overall survival outcome among cases of HCC was poor. It is necessary to prevent HBV, reduce alcohol use, detect and treat HCC early

Declining prevalence of duodenal ulcer at endoscopy in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Background. Duodenal ulcer is the most common peptic ulcer disease worldwide. In the past, sub-Saharan Africa has been described as an area of mixed prevalence for peptic ulcer disease, but recent reports have disputed this. Changes in the prevalence of duodenal ulcer have been reported, with various reasons given for these.Objective. To describe the change in endoscopic prevalence of duodenal ulcer at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, between January 2000 and December 2010.Methods. This was a retrospective, descriptive study of patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in the endoscopy unit of OAUTH between January 2000 and December 2010. The data were obtained from the endoscopy register, demographic indices, presenting symptoms and post-endoscopic diagnoses being retrieved for each patient. The study period was divided into the years 2000 - 2004 and 2005 - 2010, the frequencies of duodenal ulcer and other post-endoscopic diagnoses being compared between these two time periods to see whether there were changes.Results. Over the study period, 292 patients (15.8%) were diagnosed with duodenal ulcer, second only to 471 patients (26.2%) with acute gastritis. The prevalence of duodenal ulcer for 2000 - 2004 was 22.9% (n=211 patients) compared with 9.2% (n=81) for 2005 - 2010 (p<0.001).Conclusion. There was a significant decline in the endoscopic prevalence of duodenal ulcer over the decade.

Helicobacter pylori patient isolates from South Africa and Nigeria differ in virulence factor pathogenicity profile and associated gastric disease outcome

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative, spiral-shaped bacterial pathogen and the causative agent for gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and classified as a WHO class I carcinogen. While the prevalence of H. pylori infections in Africa is among the highest in the world, the incidence of gastric cancer is comparably low. Little is known about other symptoms related to the H. pylori infection in Africa and the association with certain phenotypes of bacterial virulence. We established a network of study sites in Nigeria (NG) and South Africa (ZA) to gain an overview on the epidemiological situation. In total 220 isolates from 114 patients were analyzed and 118 different patient isolates examined for the presence of the virulence factors cagA, vacA, dupA, their phylogenetic origin and their resistance against the commonly used antibiotics amoxicillin, clarithromycin, metronidazole and tetracycline. We report that H. pylori isolates from Nigeria and South Africa differ significantly in their phylogenetic profiles and in their expression of virulence factors. VacA mosaicism is intensive, resulting in m1-m2 vacA chimeras and frequent s1m1 and s1m2 vacA subtypes in hpAfrica2 strains. Gastric lesions were diagnosed more frequent in Nigerian versus South African patients and H. pylori isolates that are resistant against one or multiple antibiotics occur frequently in both countries

The management of tetanus in adults in an intensive care unit in Southern Vietnam

Background: Tetanus remains common in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) yet the evidence base guiding management of this disease is extremely limited, particularly with respect to contemporary management options. Sharing knowledge about practice may facilitate improvement in outcomes elsewhere. Methods: We describe clinical interventions and outcomes of 180 adult patients ≥16 years-old with tetanus enrolled in prospective observational studies at a specialist infectious diseases hospital in Southern Vietnam. Patients were treated according to a holistic management protocol encompassing wound-care, antitoxin, antibiotics, symptom control, airway management, nutrition and de-escalation criteria. Results: Mortality rate in our cohort was 2.8%, with 90 (50%) patients requiring mechanical ventilation for a median 16 [IQR 12-24] days. Median [IQR] duration of ICU stay was 15 [8-23] days. Autonomic nervous system dysfunction occurred in 45 (25%) patients. Hospital acquired infections occurred in 77 (43%) of patients. Conclusion: We report favourable outcomes for patients with tetanus in a single centre LMIC ICU, treated according to a holistic protocol. Nevertheless, many patients required prolonged intensive care support and hospital acquired infections were common

Clients' reasons for prenatal ultrasonography in Ibadan, South West of Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prenatal ultrasonography has remained a universal tool but little is known especially from developing countries on clients' reasons for desiring it. Then aim was to determine the reasons why pregnant women will desire a prenatal ultrasound.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>It was a cross-sectional survey of consecutive 222 women at 2 different ultrasonography facilities in Ibadan, South-west Nigeria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age of the respondents was 30.1 ± 4.5 years. The commonest reason for requesting for prenatal ultrasound scans was to check for fetal viability in 144 women (64.7%) of the respondents, followed by fetal gender determination in 50 women (22.6%. Other reasons were to check for number of fetuses, fetal age and placental location. Factors such as younger age, artisans profession and low level of education significantly influenced the decision to check for fetal viability on bivariate analysis but all were not significant on multivariate analysis. Concerning fetal gender determination, older age, Christianity, occupation and gravidity were significant on bivariate analysis, however, only gravidity and occupation remained significant independent predictor on logistic regression model. Women with less than 3 previous pregnancies were about 4 times more likely to request for fetal sex determination than women with more than 3 previous pregnancies, (OR 3.8 95%CI 1.52 – 9.44). The professionals were 7 times more likely than the artisans to request to find out about their fetal sex, (OR 7.0 95%CI 1.47 – 333.20).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that Nigerian pregnant women desired prenatal ultrasonography mostly for fetal viability, followed by fetal gender determination. These preferences were influenced by their biosocial variables.</p

Helicobacter pylori strains from a Nigerian cohort show divergent antibiotic resistance rates and a uniform pathogenicity profile

Antibiotic resistance in Helicobacter pylori is a factor preventing its successful eradication. Particularly in developing countries, resistance against commonly used antibiotics is widespread. Here, we present an epidemiological study from Nigeria with 111 isolates. We analyzed the associated disease outcome, and performed a detailed characterization of these isolated strains with respect to their antibiotic susceptibility and their virulence characteristics. Furthermore, statistical analysis was performed on microbiological data as well as patient information and the results of the gastroenterological examination. We found that the variability concerning the production of virulence factors between strains was minimal, with 96.4% of isolates being CagA-positive and 92.8% producing detectable VacA levels. In addition, high frequency of bacterial resistance was observed for metronidazole (99.1%), followed by amoxicillin (33.3%), clarithromycin (14.4%) and tetracycline (4.5%). In conclusion, this study indicated that the infection rate of H. pylori infection within the cohort in the present study was surprisingly low (36.6%). Furthermore, an average gastric pathology was observed by histological grading and bacterial isolates showed a uniform pathogenicity profile while indicating divergent antibiotic resistance rates