Cowpea viruses: Quantitative and qualitative effects of single and mixed viral infections

Multiple viral infections have been reported on cultivated commercial cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) in Nigeria. In this study, the effect of inoculating two commercial cultivars (cvs) (“Oloyin” and “Olo II’)and two lines from IITA (Ife Brown and TVu-76) with buffer, Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic (CABMV), Cowpea mottle (CMeV) and Southern bean mosaic (SBMV) viruses individually as well as in mixtures(CABMV+ CMeV, CABMV+ SBMV, CMeV+SBMV, and CABMV+ CMeV+SBMV) at 10 and 28 days after planting (DAP) on the growth, yield and nutritive content of seeds from infected plants were evaluated.The age of the plants at time of infection and the different viral treatments significantly affected the different parameters assessed. The average height of plants inoculated 10 DAP were significantlyshorter than those of plants inoculated 28 DAP. Inoculating with single, double and triple viruses (10 DAP) resulted in 19-34%, 31-46% and 42-53% reductions in plant height, respectively. Viral infectionsalso resulted in significant reductions in the number of pods and seeds produced. Plants inoculated with the three viruses 10 DAP produced the least number of pods and seed. Viral treatments resulted inthe production of seeds with a lower protein content of 24.8-28.9% compared with the 28.5-30.4% protein in seeds from the control plants. Plants inoculated 10 DAP with the triple viruses produced theseeds with the least protein content (24.8-27.1%). The carbohydrate, fat and moisture contents of seeds from virus infected plants were however slightly higher than those of the control plants while the ashcontents were lower. Generally, the commercial cowpea cvs were more severely affected by the viral treatments. These results indicate that infection at an early age and by multiple viruses can havedevastating effects on the growth, yield and the nutritional quality of cowpea

Shell Growth Pattern and Percentage Flesh Yield of the West African Clam, Galatea paradoxa (Born, 1778) from Itu Creek, Niger Delta Nigeria

Shell Morphometry is a fundamental tool for the evaluation of phenotypic stocks. The shell growth pattern and percentage flesh yield of Galatea paradoxa from Itu Creek in Niger Delta were investigated using standard morphometric methods. The mean in centimeter (cm) of 9.71±0.09, 35.02±0.22, 23.21±0.12, 37.11±0.25, 29.31±0.16 and 7.32±0.04 were recorded for shell length, maximum width, maximum height, nacre length, nacre width and hinge length respectively. Mean live weight of 115.70±1.09 g, mean flesh weight of 37.91 ± 0.23g and mean shell weight of 66.82±0.97 g were recorded for this species. Galatea paradoxa showed negative allometric growth (b < 3) while the correlation coefficients (r) in all the shell variables were far below „1‟, indicating a week correlation between the parameters. About 19% of the live weight of the clam is made up of flesh by weight. Keywords: Bivalve, Clam, Shell dimension, Niger Delta

Immunological and molecular diagnostic methods for detection of viruses infecting cowpea (Vigna unquiculata)

Cowpea viruses are difficult to identify using morphological criteria which can be time consuming, challenging, and require extensive knowledge in taxonomy. In order to improve the quality and quantityof the germplasms and to significantly reduce the infection and transmission of virus to different cultivars of cowpea, proper diagnosis and control is essential. The immuno-diagnostic and  moleculardiagnostic methods have shown great potential as far as specificity and sensitivity are concerned and can generate accurate results rapidly. The aim of this overview is to discuss the various immunodiagnostic and molecular diagnostic methods such as enzymes linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunosorbent electron microscopy (ISEM), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nucleic acidhybridization, dot immunoblotting assay (DTBIA) found suitable for diagnosis of Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Cowpea mottle virus (CMeV) infectingcowpea. These techniques do not only provide information for epidemiological purposes, but also help to develop disease free stock of cowpeas. Therefore, these various techniques with symptoms andhistory are of immense value to diagnose cowpea viruses and are the cornerstone of the management of cowpea cultivars

Epidemiological Investigation, Serotypes and Distribution of Verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) in Raw Milk and Milk Products in Uyo, Nigeria

Food borne diseases are of great concern globally especially in the developing countries where poor sanitation is applied during collection and processing of milk from animals. The epidemiological investigation, serotypes and distribution of verocytotoxin (VTI and VT2)- producing Escherichia coli in raw milk and milk products were determined using structured questionnaire, Cefixime tellurite-sorbitol MacConkey agar, agglutination kits and VTEC-RPLA Toxin detection Kit. Out of 27 milkers, 7.4 % had primary education, 22.2 % washed the milk utensils with cold water and soap, 11.1 % washed their hands before milking, while 7.4 % milkers washed the udder of the animals before milking. All the yoghurts had the product names; 85.7 % had NAFDAC numbers; 80.0% had Batch Numbers, while 71.4 % had Manufacturer s’ Addresses. The unpasteurized milk samples had E. coli 0157 and non 0157 E. coli counts (CFU.ml-1) ranging from 4.0 x 102 to 1.7 x 103 and 6.0 x 102 to 2.0 x 103 , respectively, while E. coli 0157 and non 0157 E. coli counts of milk products were between 1.0 x 102 and 1.0 x 103 CFU.ml-1. E. coli 0157 had the highest percentage occurrence (38.3%), while E. coli 0145 had the lowest percentage occurrence (2.1%). More than 38.3% of the E. coli serotypes produced VT2, while ≥ 12.8% were VT1 producers. The occurrence of VTEC in the unpasteurized milk shows that the milkers should be enlightened on the necessary sanitary practices to adopt during milking and also post-pasteurization contamination of milk products should be avoided. Key Words: Verotoxigenic, Escherichia coli, Milk, Yoghurt, Nono, Serotypes

Epidemiological Studies of Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) among Post-menopausal Women in Uyo Metropolis, South-South, Nigeria.

Cross-sectional studies of UTI among post menopausal women were carried out between January and June, 2009 using standard microbiological techniques. The result obtained showed that 42 (39.6%) out of 106 postmenopausal women had urinary tract infections with highest prevalence among women aged 56-60 and lowest among those aged ≥ 61 . Microscopic examinations of forty-two (42) mid-stream urine samples revealed the presence of 13(30.9%) epithelial cells, 5 (11.9%) phosphate crystals, 16 (38.1%) pus cell , 9 (21.4%) yeast cells, 7(16.7%) red blood cells and eggs of Schistoma haematobium 2(4.8%). Bacteria isolated were: Escherichia coli 20 (25.3%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus 16 (20.3%), Pseudomonas aureginosa 10 (12.7%), Coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp 9 (11.4%), Streptococcus pyogenes 6 (7.6%), Serratia marcescens 6 (7.6%), Enterobacter spp 5 (6.3%). Klebsiella spp. 4 (5.1%) and Enterococcus faecalis 3(3.8%). E. coli showed low percentage resistance to ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime and ceftriaxone. Enterobacter spp. were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and cotrimoxazole in 80%, respectively. Between 60-80% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp were susceptible to all the tested antibiotics, while 4(66.7%) Streptococcus pyogenes, 6 (66.7%) CON-Staphylococcus spp and 4(66.7%) Serratia marcescens were sensitive to ceftazidime. All the Enterococcus faecalis and Klebsiella spp isolated were sensitive to ciprofloxacin. The phenotypic determination identified a low ESβL rate of 28.8 % (13 of 45 isolates). ESBLs were detected among the following species: 5 Escherichia coli (25.0%), 3 Pseudomonas spp (30.0%), 1 Klebsiella spp (25.0%), Serratia marcescens2 (33.3%) and Enterobacter spp. 2 (40.0%). The result also showed that 18.9 % of the bacteria were resistant to at least 3 antibiotics with (MAR) index ranging from 0.2 to 0.8. The results obtained in this study are statistically significant (p≤0.05). However, continuous surveillance to monitor the prevalence of UTI and antimicrobial resistance among post menopausal women is overwhelmingly necessary

Antibacterial activity and time kill kinetics of Amlodipine, Thioridazine and Promethazine against pathogenic clinical bacterial isolates

Background: The emergence of multi-drug resistant bacterial strains worldwide has necessitated the scientific search for novel, potent, and affordable antimicrobial agents including medicinal plants and non-antibiotic drugs for therapy of infectious diseases. The objective of this study is to assess in vitro antibacterial activities and time kill kinetics of some non-antibiotic drugs against pathogenic clinical bacterial isolates.Methodology: In vitro antibacterial activities including minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration  (MBC) and time kill kinetics of Amlodipine (AML), Thioridazine (THI) and Promethazine (PRO) against Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS), Streptococcus spp, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spp, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates were determined using disc diffusion, broth microdilution and plate count techniques.Results: The mean growth inhibition zones by the disc diffusion assay of AML, THI and PRO against the isolates were ≤15.1±1.0 mm with MIC and MBC values ranging from 12.5 to 50μg/ml and 25 to 100μg/ml respectively. The time-kill assay revealed bactericidal effect of AML, THI and PRO on Gram positive bacteria evidenced by mean log reductions in viable bacterial cell counts ranging from 0.13 Log10 to 2.41 Log10 CFU/ml for S. aureus, 0.88 Log10 to 2.08 Log10 CFU/ml for Streptococcus spp, and 0.26 Log10 to 2.34 Log10 CFU/ml for CoNS after ≤30hrs post inoculation at 1xMIC. The range of log reduction in viable cell counts of Gram-negative bacteria exposed to AML, THI and PRO were E. coli (0.11 to 3.23 Log10 CFU/ml), P. aeruginosa (0.52 to 2.56 Log10 CFU/ml), K. pneumoniae (0.85 to 3.0 Log10 CFU/ml) and  Enterobacter spp (0.38 to 2.08 Log10 CFU/ml) after ≤30 hrs post inoculation at 1x MIC.Conclusion: These findings demonstrate in vitro antibacterial efficacies and time kill kinetics of AML, THI and PRO against pathogenic clinical bacterial isolates, which indicate that these non-antibiotic drugs may be useful therapeutic alternatives in the bid to reduce the burden of infectious diseases associated with antibiotic resistant pathogens. Keywords: Amlodipine, Thioridazine, Promethazine, Time-Kill, Kinetics, MIC, MBC, bacteria   French title: Activité antibactérienne et cinétique de destruction du temps de l'amlodipine, de la thioridazine et de la prométhazine contre les isolats bactériens cliniques pathogènes Contexte: L'émergence de souches bactériennes multirésistantes dans le monde a rendu nécessaire la recherche scientifique d'agents antimicrobiens nouveaux, puissants et abordables, notamment des plantes médicinales et des médicaments non antibiotiques pour le traitement des maladies infectieuses. L'objectif de cette étude est d'évaluer les activités antibactériennes in vitro et la cinétique de destruction temporelle de certains médicaments non antibiotiques contre les isolats bactériens cliniques pathogènes. Méthodologie: activités antibactériennes in vitro, y compris la concentration minimale inhibitrice (CMI), la concentration bactéricide minimale (MBC) et la cinétique de destruction du temps de l'amlodipine (AML), de la thioridazine (THI) et de la prométhazine (PRO) contre Staphylococcus aureus, les staphylocoques à coagulase négative (CoNS), Streptococcus spp, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spp, Klebsiella pneumoniae et Pseudomonas aeruginosa ont été déterminés en utilisant des techniques de diffusion sur disque, de microdilution en bouillon et de numération sur plaque. Résultats: Les zones moyennes d'inhibition de la croissance par le test de diffusion de disque d'AML, THI et PRO contre les isolats étaient ≤15,1±1,0mm avec des valeurs MIC et MBC allant de 12,5 à 50μg/ml et de 25 à 100μg/ml respectivement. Le dosage temporel a révélé un effet bactéricide de la LMA, du THI et du PRO sur les bactéries Gram positives, mis en évidence par des réductions logarithmiques moyennes du nombre de cellules bactériennes viables allant de 0,13 Log10 à 2,41 Log10 CFU/ml pour S. aureus, 0,88 Log10 à 2,08 Log10 CFU/ml pour Streptococcus spp et 0,26 Log10 à 2,34 Log10 CFU/ml pour CoNS après ≤ 30 heures après l'inoculation à 1 x MIC. La plage de réduction logarithmique du nombre de cellules viables de bactéries à Gram négatif exposées à la LMA, au THI et au PRO était E. coli (0,11 à 3,23 Log10 CFU/ml), P. aeruginosa (0,52 à 2,56 Log10 CFU/ml), K. pneumoniae (0,85 à 3,0 Log10 CFU/ml) et Enterobacter spp (0,38 à 2,08 Log10 CFU/ml) après ≤ 30 heures après l'inoculation à 1 x MIC. Conclusion: Ces résultats démontrent une efficacité antibactérienne in vitro et une cinétique de destruction du temps des LMA, THI et PRO contre les isolats bactériens cliniques pathogènes, ce qui indique que ces médicaments non antibiotiques peuvent être des alternatives thérapeutiques utiles dans le but de réduire le fardeau des maladies infectieuses associées aux antibiotiques pathogènes résistants. Mots-clés: Amlodipine, Thioridazine, Prométhazine, Time-Kill, Cinétique, MIC, MBC, bactéries &nbsp

Occurrence and variation in the depth of burrows of mangrove crabs around a tropical creek in Nigeria

Mangrove crabs are active burrowers in intertidal sediments of wetland, living beneath drifts and high-tide marks in lagoon shores in many parts of the world. The occurrence, distribution and burrow depths and diameters of the mangrove crabs, Cardisoma armatum and Goniopsis pelii collected from a mangrove wetland of the Lagos Lagoon were investigated between February and July, 2017. Burrows were counted biweekly on permanent square plots marked out in the six stations, while the appearance of new burrows as well as disappearance of old burrows, depths and diameters were recorded. C. armatum was present in all the study sites with a total of 848 specimens and occurred throughout the study period, while G. pelli with a total of 115 specimens occurred in two study sites and during the wet season only. Species ratio was 1: 0.37 while the Chisquared value at 1 d.f and 5 % significant level was 557.93. The depth of the crab burrows across the stations ranged from 16.65 – 33.47 cm with diameter ranging between 4.0 – 6.40 cm. Crab burrows, its occurrence and distribution were observed to be affected by natural and anthropogenic factors. There was a rapid decline in burrows in the month of April when rainfall seized and anthropogenic factors like noise, refuse dumping and construction works also played major roles in determining the dispersion of burrows. Therefore, mangrove crabs and their burrows are greatly influenced by both abiotic and biotic factors.Keywords: Cardisoma armatum, Goniopsis pelii, Mangrove wetland, Burrow, Depth and width, Occurrence, Distributio

Phenotypic expression of extended spectrum βeta-lactamases and antibiogram of uro-pathogenic bacterial isolates from out-patients attending some private hospitals in Uyo, Nigeria

Urinary tract infection is a common health problem in both community and nosocomial setting. Microbiological analysis of mid-stream urine (MSU) of out-patients were carried out using standard microbiological technique. The presence of glucose, protein, ketone, leucocyte, bilirubin and nitrite were found out using dip sticks. The phenotypic detection of extended spectrum beta- lactamase (ESβL) and antibiogram of isolates were determined by disc diffusion method. Of the 150 MSU samples from out-patients, 34.7% had significant bacteriuria (SBU), while 65.3% showed no significant bacteriuria. There was no statistically significant relationship between the occurrences of SBU among subjects based on ages (p=0.567), marital status (p=0.063), educational levels (p=0.789) and occupation (p=0.134) whereas based on gender, there was statistically significant difference at p ˂ 0.05. Sixty (40.0%) of MSU samples had leucocytes, 29.3% contained nitrite, 27.3% contained urobilinogen, 28.7% contained protein, 16.0% had ketone and bilirubin each, 20.7% had glucose, while 12.7% and 9.3% had yeast cells and cellular cells, respectively. Bacterial genera isolated were Staphylococcus, Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Klebsiella, Serratia, Enterococcus and Enterobacter. Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., E. coli, coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp and P. aeruginosa were highly sensitive to Ciprofloxacin and Gentamycin, while S. marcescens and Enterobacter spp were moderately resistant to Reflacine and Augmentin. ESβLs were detected in E. coli (43.5%), K. pneumoniae (58.8%), P. aeruginosa (63.0%), S. marcescens (60.0%) and Enterobacter species (50.0%). This study has revealed the necessity to routinely carry out medical examinations of subjects attending various hospitals for asymptomatic bacteriuria so as to reduce the prevalence of SBU and prevent symptomatic infection and its complications

Molecular Analysis of the Mangrove Oysters (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria Based on Mitochondrial Genome

The commercial and economic importance of the mangrove oysters in the Lagos Lagoon provokes a great deal of biotic investigation, which provides a convincing justification for sequencing an oyster genome. Differentiating oysters based on their morphological characteristics for species identification and taxonomy is highly challenging because of the high intensity of phenotypic changes they exhibit. The genomic resources available for the mangrove oysters are incomparable to resources for any other bivalve invertebrates.  In this study, unidentified mangrove oysters were collected from three different mangrove swamps off the Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria. Molecular procedures were used to identify the oysters genetically while pairwise and multiple alignments of mitochondrial DNA gene sequences of representative oyster strains within the clusters were used to relate them phenotypically to other oysters from various locations. Genetic diversity present in the selected mangrove oyster samples based on cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene sequences reveals that the unidentified species at the three locations are Crassostrea gasar (Adanson, 1757) and were shown to be more like Brazilian oysters (Crassostrea brasiliana) with 99.55% similarity but clustered in a different clade of mangrove oysters in the GenBank. Similarities in the genetic makeup can principally be accredited to high levels of constant gene flow that are aftermaths of dispersal facilitated by a relatively long pelagic larval stage while the morphological differences can be primarily attributed to ontogeny with environmental conditions. A phylogenetic tree was constructed. The significance of these existing resources for a broad range of evolutionary and environmental sciences will be critically leveraged by having a recent or current genome sequence. The information obtained from this report is crucial to the understanding of diversity, systematics, and population genetics of mangrove oyster species of the Lagos Lagoon

Prevalence of Malaria and Predisposing Factors to Antimalarial Drug Resistance in Southwestern Nigeria

High transmission rate and drug resistance have been implicated in the spread and re-emergence of malaria in areas where the disease had been eradicated. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of falciparum malaria and pre-disposing factors to malaria among patients presenting with fever in selected State Hospitals in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. Four thousand and sixty six patients were recruited into this study. Scientific and Ethical clearance was obtained for this study. Blood samples were collected for malaria screening from the subjects. Structured questionnaires were administered to patients and parents of infants to determine the factors that could lead to the development of drug resistance by the parasite in the study population. Out of 4066 subjects screened during the study period, 61.1% were positive for falciparum malaria. Highest prevalence of 70.8% was recorded in children 1-5 years, also the group with highest parasitemia (1080). The study showed that 24.6% of the patient visited hospitals for treatment, 12% use local healers while 25.0% bought antimalarial drugs without prescription. Moreover, some subjects use more than one method in their management of malaria. Those who combined antimalarial drugs with traditional medicine from local healers were 17.4%. Only 18% of the sample population used insecticide treated mosquito nets, 42.3% used window and door nets, while 13% did not employ any mosquito preventive method. Uncontrolled use of drugs and exposure of parasites to the drugs should be monitored in areas where the parasite is still sensitive to the drug