Diagnosis of Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) Using Nugent Criteria and a New Point-of-Care Chromogenic BV Blue Test for Detecting Elevated Vaginal Fluid Sialidase Enzyme

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a condition that predisposes women to increased susceptibility to sexually transmitted diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and obstetric complications. The etiology of BV is diverse and the diagnostic methods currently adopted include Amsel criteria, and Nugent score (improved Gram stain) that requires microscopy and expert interpretation. We evaluated vaginal swabs from 56 premenopausal women with clinical signs suggestive of BV, using the Nugent criteria and a new BV Blue test for the detection of elevated vaginal fluid sialidase enzyme. For the Nugent criteria, slides were Gram stained and a score of 0-10 was assigned, considering the relative proportions of large Gram positive rods (lactobacilli), small Gram-negative or Gram variable rods and curved Gram-variable rods. The BVBlue test detected the presence of elevated vaginal sialidase enzyme in samples from 49(87.5%)women, compared with Nugent score of 7-10 interpreted as BV occurrence in 36 (64.2%) subjects. The BVBlue test is yet to be introduced in Nigeria as a routine screening BV test, and it is simple, rapid, and objective for the diagnosis of BV. It has the potential to facilitate prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment of BV in the absence of microscopy. Keywords: Bacterial Vaginosis, Sialidase, Nugent Score Journal of Medical Laboratory Sciences Vol. 14 (1) 2005: pp. 37-4

BORAX AND KEROSENE TREATMENT REDUCES ODOUR PRODUCING BACTERIA POPULATION IN PIG DUNG

The obnoxious odour and pathogenic agents emanating from pig dung or slurry are threats to human and animal health, in Nigeria. In this study, dung was collected from local pig farms, mixed properly and allowed to stand for two day pre-treatment period to allow for bacterial activities. Thereafter, borax and kerosene application at 0, 50, 100 and 150 g per two kilograms of dung in seven litre plastic buckets were set up. Bacteria load change in the pig dung was analysed on the 2nd, 4th and 6th day post treatments. Borax at 150 g application eliminated all the bacteria by the 4th day of treatment, while kerosene could not eliminate clostridium species by the 6th day of treatment even at 330 ml application

Contamination of Laboratory Bench-tops, Incubators and the Effects of a Spray-Disinfectant - A Quarterly Ammonium Compound

We surveyed the prevalence of contaminants associated with bench-tops and incubators during a routine working day in our clinical microbiology laboratories in Benin City. A total of 93 swabs, 50 from bench-tops and 43 from inside incubators were randomly collected. One ml of sterile phosphate buffered saline was added into the swab and incubated aerobically at 37oC for 48 hours. Isolated organisms were characterized biochemically. Spray disinfectant, was applied on the bench top and cultured accordingly. Swabs were collected from the incubators every day for 10 consecutive days. Results indicate, that both bench-tops and incubators are contaminated with organisms of clinical importance. Thirty-six (72%) of the swabs yielded growth, with Bacillus subtilis (24%) being the predominant organism, followed by coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CNS) (12%), Staphylococcus aureus (10%), Proteus spp. and Escherichia coli (8%) each, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4%), moulds (2%) and Candida albicans (2%). Eighteen (41%) swabs from incubators yielded growth, with B. subtilis (13.8%) dominating, followed by Proteus spp. (9.3%), Staphylococcus aureus (6.9%), CNS (4.5%) and moulds (2.2%). Three hours after the spray disinfection, only 5 (10%) of the bench-top swabs yielded growth of B. subtilis, while the swabs from incubators, even after 10 days yielded no growth. This study recommends that spray disinfectant, mostly quaternary ammonium compounds, free of aldehydes can minimize contamination of bench-tops and microbiology incubators during routine working hours. Keywords: Laboratory, contaminants, incubators, bench-tops, spray-disinfectants. Journal of Medical Laboratory Science Vol. 13 (2) 2004: pp. 33-3

Genome Sequence of Lactobacillus pentosus KCA1: Vaginal Isolate from a Healthy Premenopausal Woman

Contains fulltext : 119285.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)The vaginal microbiota, in particular Lactobacillus species, play an important role in female health through modulation of immunity, countering pathogens and maintaining a pH below 4.7. We report the isolation and genome sequence of Lactobacillus pentosus strain KCA1 (formally known as L. plantarum) from the vagina of a healthy Nigerian woman. The genome was sequenced using Illumina GA II technology. The resulting 16,920,226 paired-end reads were assembled with the Velvet tool. Contigs were annotated using the RAST server, and manually curated. A comparative analysis with the available genomes of L. pentosus IG1 and L. plantarum WCFS1 showed that over 15% of the predicted functional activities are found only in this strain. The strain has a chromosome sequence of 3,418,159 bp with a G+C content of 46.4%, and is devoid of plasmids. Novel gene clusters or variants of known genes relative to the reference genomes were found. In particular, the strain has loci encoding additional putative mannose phosphotransferase systems. Clusters of genes include those for utilization of hydantoin, isopropylmalate, malonate, rhamnosides, and genes for assimilation of polyglycans, suggesting the metabolic versatility of L. pentosus KCA1. Loci encoding putative phage defense systems were also found including clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs), abortive infection (Abi) systems and toxin-antitoxin systems (TA). A putative cluster of genes for biosynthesis of a cyclic bacteriocin precursor, here designated as pentocin KCA1 (penA) were identified. These findings add crucial information for understanding the genomic and geographic diversity of vaginal lactobacilli