Antimicrobial resistance in aerobic bacteria isolated from oral cavities of hunting dogs in rural areas of Ogun State, Nigeria

Aerobic bacterial organisms in oral cavities of hunting dogs could infect bite wounds. Oral swabs from hunting dogs in rural communities located in a south western state of Nigeria were collected and investigated for aerobic bacteria. Sixty two samples examined yielded a total yield of 101 aerobic bacterial isolates belonging to 12 genera. The species of bacteria detected included Bacillus spp, Pseudomonas spp, Staphylococcus spp, Streptococcus spp, Aeromonas spp, Burkholderia spp, Citrobacter spp, Escherichia spp, Enterobacter spp, Pasteurella spp, Burkholderia spp, Shewanella spp and Vibrio spp. Susceptibility of all identified isolates to antimicrobial agents was determined by the standard Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. In all, the isolates showed resistance to ampicillin (90.1%), chloramphenicol (79.2%), ciprofloxacin (33.7%), enrofloxacin (42.6%), gentamicin (74.4%), nalidixic acid (82.2%), neomycin (80.2%), norfloxacin (42.6%), penicillin (75.2%), sulphamethoxazole (91.1%), streptomycin (88.1%), tetracycline (90.1%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (55.4%). This study reinforces the need for dog bite wound microbial culture and antimicrobial sensitivity test as isolates showed varied antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. The oral cavities of hunting dogs are laden with multi-drug resistant bacteria of significant public health importance that could be transferred to humans through contaminated hunted games and bite wound.Keywords: Aerobic bacteria, Antimicrobial resistance, Dogs, Oral cavity, Public healt

Assessment of Dog Owners’ Knowledge on Dog Rabies Vaccination in Rural Communities in Ogun State, Nigeria

A cross sectional study was designed to assess knowledge of dog owners towards dog rabies vaccination in rural communities in Odeda local government area of Ogun State. A structured questionnaire was administered to 268 dog owners. The questionnaire sought information on demographic characteristics of the dog owners, their association with dogs, and knowledge about dog rabies vaccine. Data obtained were analyzed using chi square and logistic regression with p value set at ≤ 0.05. Dog rabies vaccination coverage in the study area was 4.9%. Most of the respondents (67.2%) were not aware of dog rabies vaccine. Only 3% of the dog owners had good knowledge about rabies vaccination. Socio-economic factors that had significant association with knowledge level were age, occupation, educational level and marital status of the respondents. There was also significant association between age, religion, occupation, educational level, awareness on dog rabies vaccination, knowledge about dog rabies vaccination, danger posed by non vaccinated dogs to the public and other animals and the intention of dog owners to vaccinate their dogs against rabies. One hundred and eighty seven respondents (70%) declared their intention to vaccinate their dogs, although 82% affirmed willingness to pay  for vaccination of their dogs against rabies; however the average amount indicated was only ₦200.00 ($0.57). In conclusion, it is free vaccination of dogs against rabies with an aggressive mass orientation on responsible dog ownership and enlightenment on fatality of clinical rabies through the mass media that can significantly alter the vaccination coverage in the studied community Key words: Rabies, vaccination, dogs, rural communities, intentio

Language, Culture and Character Training

The focus of this paper is to (further) stress how to use language to teach culture in order to attain unity and development. The importance of language to modify our cultural identity. Cannot be over- emphasized. In Nigeria, each language always caters for her cultural and traditional entities, despite the existence of many languages. We cannot teach culture without socialization. Consequently, findings revealed that culture is the way of life especially in respect of the general customs and beliefs of a particular group of people at a particular time. The paper, therefore, recommends that any language should be able to inculcate culture into the student’s life in order for the purpose of better living

Retrospective study of dog bite cases at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and its environment

Aim: A 10-year retrospective study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of dog bites reported to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and to implement measures to control rabies exposure in the environment. Materials and Methods: Data on dog bite cases, reported to the VTH of ABU, Zaria, Nigeria between January, 2002 and December, 2011, were retrieved and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17.0, Chicago, IL, USA. Result: A total of 236 dog bite-related cases was presented, of which 1.7% dogs died of rabies. The number of cases (59.7%) increased through time with the highest number (32) recorded in 2011. Majority of the cases were recorded between June and October of each year. Of the biting dogs, 22.5% were puppies (1-6 months) and 77.5% were adults (above 6 months). The human victims were 92.4%, while the dog victims were 7.6%. Eight of the dogs were stray dogs, while 228 (96.6%) were owned dogs. Of the owned dogs, 71.2% were free-roaming. Only 22% of the owned dogs were vaccinated. The most common offending breeds included the Nigerian Indigenous local breeds (73.3%), cross breeds (24.6%), Alsatians (0.8%), Terriers (0.8%), and Bulldogs (0.4%). Conclusion: In conclusion, rabies is endemic in Zaria, Nigeria, and the incidence of dog bites is on the rise. Strict measures including vaccination of the dogs and the leash law should be adopted to prevent dog bites

Exhaust gas treatment systems and losses from CO₂ carriers and other ship types.

The shipping industry needs to be decarbonised to below its 2008 levels by 2050 according to the initial strategy set target proposed by the International Maritime Organisation. With fossil fuels having a huge role in the energy space and in particular, the maritime industry, it is paramount that measures to meet this challenge are considered. Carbon capture utilisation and storage is the only technology with the potential to transform fossil utilisation sources into low carbon sources, although their use is not yet established in the shipping industry. Therefore, this research is aimed at evaluating different operational modes and conditions for a ship energy system (manoeuvring, sailing and hotelling) retrofitted with a post combustion capture system. To meet this aim, process models of the ship energy system, capture and liquefaction system were developed in Aspen Plus and benchmarked against literature data available in the public domain. This was done considering ship types powered by both heavy fuel oil and liquefied natural gas at different power requirements (9.8MWe, 7.7MWe, 6MWe and 5MWe). Ship operating worldwide have been required to use fuels with a lower sulfur content as compared to the former situation where sulfur contents of 3.5% were not uncommon. This requirement has been adopted since January 2020. Many researchers have explored sulfuric emissions reduction whilst neglecting carbon emissions. In this research, this issue was resolved by the applicability of a solvent with a multi component handling capacity. Aqueous ammonia was used as the solvent at varying concentrations (<10wt%) and conditions for the powered ship types. A comparison was made between the two fuel systems with regards to the process, economic and weight analysis. It was found out that the heavy fuel oil case resulted in about 12% higher carbon emissions than that of the liquefied natural gas case. The cost of capture was used as the economic index in this study, and about 40% higher was obtained for the heavy fuel oil case compared to that of the LNG. This outcome was traced to the absence of sulfuric emissions in addition to the lower fuel cost. The impact on the ship infrastructure was also investigated in terms of the weight incurred, this was found to be 480 and 356 tonnes for the heavy fuel oil and liquefied natural gas case respectively. The weight accounted for was the installed weight (the solvent and liquid inventory included). Importantly, in ensuring that the ship gets to its required destination, an additional 1MWe was added and this was estimated to be enough for the capture and liquefaction system in all the cases considered. The waste heat recovered from the flue gas served as a thermal source for the solvent regeneration, thereby minimizing power demand needed from the ship energy system. About 70% of the carbon emissions was captured from the flue gas without additional thermal source. Therefore, this research study revealed that carbon capture technologies has the capacity to significantly reduce carbon emissions on a shipping infrastructure taken into consideration additional power demand and related impacts.PhD in Energy and Powe

Activities and influence of veterinary drug marketers on antimicrobial usage in livestock production in Oyo and Kaduna States, Nigeria

Antimicrobial usage in animals contributes to the emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacterial strains. Investigations were carried out on how the characteristics, knowledge, attitude and practices of antimicrobial marketers influenced antimicrobials usage in animal production in Oyo and Kaduna States, Nigeria. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and structured questionnaires were used to gather information about the characteristics and activities of antimicrobial marketers. Overall, 70 (56.9 %) of 123 marketers had post-secondary education while 76 (61.8 %) were trained on the use of antimicrobials. Eighteen (14.6 %) of the marketers were licensed veterinarians. Only 51 (41.5 %) marketers displayed adequate knowledge about antimicrobials and antimicrobial usage. Sixty-seven (54.6 %) marketers requested a prescription before selling antimicrobials while 113 (91.9 %) marketer recommended antimicrobials for use in animals. Two-third of the marketers (66.7 %) prescribed antimicrobials without physically examining sick animals but based their prescriptions on verbal reports of clinical signs by farmers and on their personal experience. Marketers with higher educational qualification displayed more adequate knowledge of antimicrobials and antimicrobial usage than those with basic education background only. More years of experience in antimicrobial marketing did not translate to better knowledge on antimicrobial usage. Only 45 (36.6 %) respondents were aware of the existence of regulatory agencies monitoring the use of antimicrobials in animals. Farmers ignored the services of veterinarians in the diagnosis and control of animal diseases but resorted to drug marketers for help. Effective communication of existing legislations on antimicrobial usage, improved access to veterinary services and strict enforcement of regulatory policies are recommended for checking non-judicious use of antimicrobial agents in animal production. Sales of antimicrobial agents for animal use without veterinarian’s prescription must be prohibited

A SURVEY OF VETERINARY DRUGS IN USE IN FISH FARMS IN ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE. NIGERIA

A cross-sectional study was conducted to characterize fish farmers in Ogun State with respect to their use of veterinary drugs and awareness of adverse effects these drugs have on human. A semi structured questionnaire was used to gather relevant data from 80 fish farmers in Abeokuta. The findings indicated that fish farmers in the study area were mostly males, married and well educated. Most of them obtain primary source of income from fish farming. Despite the fact that both skilled (41.25%) and unskilled (58.75%) labourers were employed on the farms, family members were also involved in the production. 21.25% used pelmendazole, 10.0% used melbendazole, while 26.0% used ivermectin as their anthelminthics. 78.75% used oxytetracycline, 37.5% used penicillin, while 40% used sulfadimidine as their antibiotics. 67.5% used ovaprim®&nbsp; while 42.5% used ovatide® as hormones to boost their fish production. 76.25% of the fish farmers do not involve veterinarians in the production, whilst 48.75% of the farmers are not aware of adverse effect of veterinary drug residue in human. The results are discussed in view of the need for more involvement of veterinarians in fish production to ensure the adoption of global standards, thus guaranteeing improved food safety and sustainability in fish production. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp

EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES RELATING TO EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE (EVD) PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

A cross sectional study was carried out from 1st June to 30th June, 2015, to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices related to the prevention and control of Ebola Virus Disease in Ogun State, Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 300 respondents selected by multistage sampling technique across four local governments in the state. The data collected included socio-demographics, awareness, knowledge, practices and misconceptions about EVD among the respondents. Knowledge of respondents about EVD was assessed on 20 items with a 3-points rating scale of good &gt;14, fair 10-14 and poor &lt;10. Of the 308 respondents that took part in the study, 111 (36%) were males and 127 (41.2%) rural dwellers and 43 (14%) of the respondents were between the ages of 9-18, 139 (45.1%) were between the ages of 19-25, 83 (26.9%) were between the ages of 26-35 and the remaining 43 (14%) were above 35 years of age. Five (1.6%) of the respondents had no formal education, 9 (2.9%) had primary education, 133 (43.2%) had secondary education and 161 (52.3%) had tertiary education. All the respondents (100%) have heard of Ebola.  Only 2.6% had poor knowledge of Ebola with 12% being able to identify four misconceptions surrounding Ebola transmission and prevention. Respondents in the study reported various changes in practices such as avoidance of physical contact (33.4%), regular hand washing with soap and water (69.2%) and hand cleaning with other disinfectants (61.7%), nevertheless 73.1% of the respondents will not report infected member of the family. Television was the major source of receiving information with the internet being the trusted source of receiving information on Ebola by the respondents. In Ogun State, awareness and comprehensive knowledge on Ebola Virus Disease transmission is high with good knowledge on misconceptions. There is need to emphasize importance of reporting suspected case(s) to the hospital 

Process and economic evaluation of an on-board capture system for LNG-fuelled CO2 carriers

Marine pollution is a major problem but one that has to date been largely overlooked; thus, for example, it was not accounted for in the Paris agreement on climate change. Maritime fuel combustion currently contributes to 3% of the annual global greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly all shipping-related emissions occur within 400 km of land, and cause death and increased morbidity to millions of people. The initial greenhouse gas strategy on the reduction of carbon emissions to at least half of its 2008 levels by 2050, adopted by the International Maritime Organization, has the potential to spur on innovations and the use of alternative fuel, enabling the shipping industry to adapt to future challenges. Some zero-emission options such as the use of hydrogen and bio-fuels are considered potential strategies, but currently lack the infrastructure capacity needed to meet the world’s shipping demand. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) has gained substantial interest as a marine fuel because it can comply with the strictest environmental regulations currently in force, and it is often regarded as a future shipping fuel as most newly constructed ships are built to run on it. Although the use of LNG leads to lower CO2 emissions compared to traditional heavy fuel oils (HFOs), there is still a need for further reduction. A solution which can be implemented is that of an on-board marine capture system, also known as ship-based carbon capture. In this study, a process and economic evaluation was carried out on a solvent-based post-combustion capture process for the energy system of a CO2 carrier. A rate-based model was developed, validated and scaled up to process the flue gas from a Wartsila 9L46 DF marine diesel engine. Different modes of operation with respect to engine load and capture rate were analysed in this study and the capture cost was estimated. The cost of CO2 capture was used as an economic index for this study. It was observed via a sensitivity analysis that at 90% capture rate, the cost of capture was at least $117/t. The effect of exhaust gas recycle was also explored and this resulted in a considerable reduction in the capture cost. The exhaust gas waste heat was utilised and was adequate to supply the required energy needed by the reboiler at each capture rate examined. Also, for LNG-fueled CO2 ships, the cold energy obtained while converting the LNG to gas was utilised to liquefy the captured CO2 from the flue gas