Mycobacterial species causing pulmonary tuberculosis At the korle bu teaching hospital, Accra,

Objective: Characterize mycobacterial species causing pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana.Design: Sputum smear positive samples, two (2) from 70 patients diagnosed as having tuberculosis, after they had consented, were collected from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Chest Clinic betweenJanuary and July 2003. Setting: Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Chest Clinic, Accra. Results: Sixty-four mycobacterial isolates wereobtained and confirmed as members of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex by colonial morphology and conventional biochemical assays. Fortyseven (73%) were M. tuberculosis, the human strain, 2 (3%) M. bovis, the bovine strain, 13 (20%) M. africanum I (West Africa type), and 2 (3%) M. africanum II (East Africa type). Conclusion: The results indicate that, there are various strains causing PTB at the Korle-BuTeaching Hospital and of great concern is M. bovis, which mostly causes extra-PTB in humans but found to cause PTB in this study. This calls for the need to conduct a nationwide survey using bothconventional and molecular techniques to characterize various mycobacterial species causing TB in Ghana. This will result in better understanding of the various strains circulating in the country andinform individual TB treatment regimen especially the inclusion or exclusion of pyrazinamide

Gamma Radiation Processing of Clam (Galatea Paradoxa Born 1778) from the Volta River Estuary for Microbiological Decontamination

The Clam (Galatea paradoxa Born 1778) is a dermesal dweller of riverine water and filter feed by passing water through gut concentrating particulate matter including bacteria in the gut and mantle. Microbial profile of contaminating bacteria and their sensitivity to gamma irradiation (0 – 20 kGy) were ascertained in vivo and in vitro under laboratory conditions. Conventional cul-tural and morphological characteristics were used to detect the resident Total Aerobic Bacteria (TAB), Total Heterotrophic and Total Coliform bacteria (TC) populations in the clam and the species encountered were confirmed using biochemical methods and the API 20E identification kit. Twenty (20) bacteria species in the samples belonged to 18 genera (Acinetobacter, Aeromo-nas, Chromobacterium, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Escherichia, Flavobacterium, Klebsiella, Mi-crococcus, Morganella, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Serratia, Staphylococcus, Strepto-coccus, Vibrio and Yersinia) predominated by Acinetobacter (22%), Staphylococcus aureus (12%) and Klebsiella ornitholytica (11%) in the clam mantle and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (32%), Klebsiella ornitholytica (24%) and Flavobacterium meningosepticum (12%) in the water. A dose of 20 kGy eliminated all microorganisms in the “in vitro” studies; at 15 kGy only two bacteria species Micrococcus radiodurans and Vibrio cholera survived. The most radio resistant species was M. radiodurans (D10=6.19 kGy), followed by Vibrio cholera (D10=5.2 kGy). A dose of 10 kGy eliminated Staphylococcus aureus (D10=1.7 kGy). Practical implications from these find-ings are discussed in the light of food safety of preserved clams