Assessment of Microbial Quality and Antibacterial Activity of Commonly used Hand Washes

Hands are the highways to the transmission and spread of pathogens that causes diseases, food borne illnesses and nosocomial infections. Hand washing is the act of cleansing the hands with water or another liquid, with or without the use of soap or other detergents, to ensure proper hand hygiene. To determine the microbiological quality and the antibacterial property and dilution effects on activity of hand wash, seven brands of hand washes were evaluated using susceptibility test by agar well diffusion, minimum inhibitory dilution and time kill test. This was done by assessing different dilutions of the hand washes against standardized 1.5x108 cells of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results showed that all the hand washes were sterile and all the brands had some level of antibacterial activity. The hand washes were more active on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli than on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Activity decreased with dilution as neat and 2-1 dilutions gave better results compared to 2-2, 10-1 and 10-2. Hib hand wash killed all test organisms when exposed for 2, 5 and 10 minutes and at neat and 2-1 dilutions but not at 2-2, 10-1 and 10-2. Rev and Pan hand washes though are sterile, were least active in all the tests. The minimum inhibitory dilution and minimum bactericidal dilution for most of the hand wash was at neat concentration. The time kill test showed that the effect of the hand wash was highest at 5 and 10 minutes and at neat (undiluted) for all the test organisms. It is advised that the dilution of hand washes a common practice in most eateries must stop as these products are not active when diluted, hands should be washed for five to ten minutes for maximum hand hygiene. Key words: Antibacterial Activity, Food Borne Illnesses, Hand Hygiene, Microbiological Quality, Nosocomial Infections and Pathogens

Biogas generation from Watermelon peels, Pineapple peels and Food wastes

the anaerobic digestion process for biogas production was investigated using locally available waste materials (watermelon peels, pineapple peels and food wastes). Watermelon peels and pineapple peels each was codigested with food wastes in ratio 1:1 while using rumen contents of cattle as inoculum. The physical, chemical and microbial characteristics of the three substrates were determined before and after the co-digestion process using standard methods. Analysis of the generated gas revealed 68.0% Methane, 20.0% Carbon dioxide, 6.0% Nitrogen, 2.5% Hydrogen, 1.5% Hydrogen sulfide and 2.0% Oxygen for co-digestion of watermelon peels with food wastes while co-digestion of pineapple peels with food wastes yielded 71.0% Methane, 18.0% Carbon dioxide, 7.0% Nitrogen,l.5% Hydrogen, 1.5% Hydrogen sulfide and 1.0% Oxygen. The anaerobic digestion was found to be efficient in terms of pathogen treatment, since the reduction of coliforms reached five logarithmic units. The availability and renewable nature of biomass, green energy production and ease of management and deployment of energy produced makes biogas a better option to fossil fuel and thus could be the much awaited solution to energy crisis in Nigeria and other developing nations

Distribution of HBs Antigenaemia in Pregnant Women-A Community Based Epidemiological Studies

Infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a serious public health problem worldwide and leads to a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, ranging from asymptomatic carrier state to acute self-limiting infection or fulminant hepatic failure, chronic hepatitis with progression to cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Transmission of HBV from carrier mothers to their babies can occur during the perinatal period, and appears to be the most important factor in determining the prevalence of infection in high endemic areas. Three hundred (300) sera samples were screened among pregnant women attending a rural ante-natal clinic, using standard ELISA and the 5-panel test methods to estimate the prevalence, Markers and identify risk factors associated with the infection. Structured questionnaire was administered to subjects to obtain risk factors associated with the Hepatitis B Virus. Result showed a prevalence of 38 (12.6%) among the pregnant women screned.Based on Age, subjects aged 20-24 recorded the highest prevalence of 14(4.7%) years, closely followed by those aged 15-19 with a prevalence of 10(3.3%) This Prevalence on age of subjects in this category was found to be statistically insignificant P>0.005. Subjects at the second trimester of pregnancy recorded a higher prevalence of 34(11.3).P>0.005Seroloical markers showed; 28 (9.3%), 35 (11.6%), 5 (1.7%), 33(11.0%) and 20(6.7) for HBsAg, Anti HBs, HBeAg, Anti HBe and Anti HBc respectively (P< 0.005)}. The findings showed a high prevalence of HBV infection among pregnant women. Screening of women in this category therefore would help in the early detection of HBsAg and possible prevention of neonatal transmission; hence the need for routine antenatal screening of all pregnant women. Keywords: Screening, HBsAg, Hepatitis B markers, Pregnancy

Microbial evaluation and occurrence of antidrug multi-resistant organisms among the indigenous Clarias species in River Oluwa, Nigeria

Fish may harbor pathogens on or inside its body when in contaminated environment. Clarias gariepinus and Clarias buthopogon were analyzed to evaluate the likely impact of pollution on the antidrug resistance pattern of their microbial isolates. Different bacterial and fungal counts were observed on the fish organs (skin, muscles and gills). The highest bacterial count was 1,040,000 Cfu/mL while the lowest was 101 Cfu/mL. The highest fungal count obtained was 344,000 Cfu/mL while the lowest was 65 Cfu/mL. Bacterial isolates belonging to genera Bacillus, Clostridium, Alcaligenes, Flavobacterium, Enterobacter and Corynebacterium were obtained from the organs. Also, fungal isolates belonging to the genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Monila and Fusarium were isolated. The resistance of isolates from C. gariepinus to drugs was between 50% and 90% with Bacillus species showing the highest resistance. For isolates from C. buthopogon, 40–90% resistance was observed with Alcaligenes faecalis showing highest resistance. Five patterns of multiple drug resistance were observed among the bacterial isolates with antibiotics ranging from 4 to 9. Also, result of fungal isolates showed susceptibility to ketoconazole and resistant to fluconazole and griseofulvin. The public health implications of consuming these fishes are discussed

Water quality assessment of bitumen polluted Oluwa River, South-Western Nigeria

This study was aimed at establishing a water quality database in the study area where none existed previously. Samples were taken from two different sites of River Oluwa, South-Western Nigeria. Physicochemical and biological factors and the metals for one year (April 2011–March 2012) were evaluated using standard methods. All the physical parameters of the water samples from the two sampling Sites did not show deviations from Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS) for permissible levels of these parameters in drinking water. Virtually all heavy metals investigated deviated from the permissible levels allowed by NIS, and WHO standards in drinking water. In the same vein, all chemical parameters investigated during the dry season was significantly different from rainy season except for BOD at P < 0.05. Isolated microorganisms include members of the genera Bacillus, Micrococcus, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Proteus and Staphylococcus. The public health implications of consuming water from this river are fully discussed. Keywords: Bitumen, Drinking water, Health, Nigeria, Pollution, Standard

Data on energy and economic evaluation and microbial assessment of anaerobic co-digestion of fruit rind of Telfairia occidentalis (Fluted pumpkin) and poultry manure

The data described in this article was obtained in an experiment designed for the generation of biogas from the anaerobic co-digestion of Telfairia occidentalis (Fluted pumpkin) fruit rind and poultry manure both of which currently constitute an environmental nuisance in the localities where they are found. The data presented in this article is on the use of combined heat and power (CHP) system to assess the energy and economic feasibility of applying thermo-alkali pretreatment procedures to one of the substrates (Fluted pumpkin) prior to anaerobic digestion. Also, the microbial characterization and succession pattern of important microbes during the anaerobic digestion process was evaluated and the data reported in this paper. Keywords: Biogas, Biomass, Economics, Energy, Fluted pumpkin, Microorganism

Anaerobic conversion of Chromolaena odorata (Siam weed) to biogas

This study evaluated the anaerobic mono-digestion of two different samples of Chromolaena odorata. Combinations of mechanical and thermo-alkaline pretreatments were applied to one of the two samples and labeled as “X” while the second had no thermo-alkaline treatment and was labeled as “Y”. The Central Composite Design was used to design the pretreatments. The physicochemical characteristics of the substrates were carried out using standard methods after appropriate pretreatments. From the experimental set-ups, the most probable actual biogas yields in experiments “X” and ”Y” were 0.3554 m3/kg Total Solid (TS)fed and 0.1803 m3/kg TSfed with the desirability of 99 and 100%, respectively. Further shown in the result is a 49.2% higher experimental (actual) biogas yield in experiment “X” over “Y”. Gas chromatographic analysis revealed the CH4 and CO2 content of both experiments to be 65 ± 1.5%; 21 ± 3% and 53.5 ± 2.5%; 26 ± 3%, respectively. Combination of different pretreatment methods enhanced enormous biogas yield from the digested substrates. Optimization of the generated biogas data was carried out using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The coefficient of determination (R2) for RSM was lower compared to that of ANN. This shows that ANNs model gives higher accuracy than RSM model. Further utilization of this weed for biogas production is encouraged by the results from this study. Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, Lignocellulosic biomass, Methane, Optimization, Pretreatment, Siam wee