Antifungal resistance profile and enzymatic activity of Candida species recovered from human and animal samples

Candida is currently the most implicated pathogenic fungal species recognized as the major cause of a variety of human infections all over the world. This study investigated species distribution, enzymatic activities, and antifungal resistance profiles of human and animal Candida species. Clinical Candida species (n=220) were isolated from urine, high vaginal swab (HVS) and blood while Candida species (n=128) were isolated from rectal swab, ear swab, blood, feces, and milk in animals: goat, sheep, cattle, pig and chicken. The identification of the species was performed using standard methods. Enzymatic activity was screened using plate methods. Susceptibility testing was carried out using disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods. A statistically significant difference (P=0.031) was observed in the distribution of Candida spp. recovered from humans and animals. The Pz values of human Candida species for proteinase, hemolysin, lipase and phospholipase were 0.65±0.97, 0.61±0.81, 0.59±0.47 and 0.76±0.74 respectively while that of Candida species recovered from animal were 0.67±0.13, 0.61±0.95, 0.62±0.67 and 0.69±0.70 respectively. No statistically significant difference (P>0.05) in the in vitro enzymatic activity was observed between the two groups. High azole-resistance rate was observed. Resistance was higher among human Candida isolates compared to animal isolates although the difference was not considered statistically significant (p = 0.519). Our findings suggest that the enzymatic activity (virulence potential) and resistance patterns are similar in the two groups investigated. This study underscores the importance of animals especially pets and their products as potential sources/reservoirs of pathogenic and multi-azole resistant Candida species in Nigeria

Justification for the use of Ocimum gratissimum L in herbal medicine and its interaction with disc antibiotics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ethanolic extract of the leaves of <it>Ocimium gratisimum </it>L. (Lamiaceae), used in traditional medicine for the treatment of several ailments such as urinary tract, wound, skin and gastrointestinal infections, was evaluated for its antibacterial properties against four clinical bacteria isolates namely: <it>Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa </it>and the antifungal properties using a clinical isolate of <it>Candida albicans</it>. A typed bacterium of <it>Escherichia coli </it>ATCC 11775 and another typed fungal strain of <it>Candida albicans </it>(ATCC 90028) were also included. The study also intended to verify if the concomitant administration of conventional antibiotics with <it>Ocimium gratisimum </it>which is normally taken as food (spice) will negatively affect its activity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The agar diffusion method was used to test the in vitro activity of the plant extract. The interaction of the plant extract with some disc antibiotics namely: ciprofloxacin, septrin, streptomycin, ampicillin, nystatin and ketoconazole was tested using the agar overlay inoculum susceptibility disc method. Phytochemical analysis of the extract was performed following established methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The extract showed good but varying <it>in vitro </it>activities against all the isolates tested. While ampicillin showed synergistic interaction with the plant extract against clinical isolates of <it>E. coli </it>and <it>P. mirabilis</it>, septrin was synergistic against the clinical isolate of <it>E. coli </it>only. Similarly, the activity of the extract against <it>C. albicans </it>isolate was synergistic with ketoconazole and nystatin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study has validated the folkloric use of <it>O. gratissimum </it>in traditional medicinal practice and goes further to show that the use of this plant material as food spice may not really threaten the efficacy of some conventional antibiotics that may have been taken concomitantly with it as is the popular belief in the practice of herbal medicine in local/rural communities of many countries in the world.</p

ISOLATION OF Cryptococcus neoformans FROM ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES COLLECTED IN SOUTHEASTERN NIGERIA

SUMMARY Cryptococcosis caused by Cryptococcus neoformans is the second most common fungal opportunistic pathogen and a lifethreatening infection with serious clinical manifestations especially in HIV/AIDS and other immunocompromised patients. In Nigeria, HIV/AIDS infection has reached an alarming level. Despite this, information on the presence of this fungus in clinical and environmental samples is very scanty in Nigeria and many other parts of Africa. We set out to evaluate the presence of Cryptococcus neoformans or C. gattii in pigeon droppings obtained from Southeastern Nigeria. One hundred and seventy-seven samples of pigeon droppings from six sample types were collected. The area covered comprised of ten cities and other locations spanning across five States in Nigeria. Using established techniques, Cryptococcus neoformans was isolated from 39 of the 177 (22.0%) samples overall. No C. gattiiwas isolated. Most of the isolates (32.4%) were recovered from dovecotes (11 of 34) followed closely by samples taken from markets (31.8%; seven of 22) and least from the church (4.0%; one of 25). The highest isolation rate (38.9%) was found in samples from Enugu-Ezike(seven of 23) while the least came from Afikpoand the other locations each with 9.1% isolation rate. This is the first large-scale screening of Cryptococcus neoformans from pigeon droppings in Nigeria. The ecological and epidemiological significance of these findings are discussed

Incidence and predictors of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in a rural area of Mozambique.

There is limited data on the epidemiology of Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS) in rural sub-Saharan Africa. A prospective observational cohort study was conducted to assess the incidence, clinical characteristics, outcome and predictors of IRIS in rural Mozambique

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children &lt;18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p&lt;0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p&lt;0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p&lt;0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Antimicrobial Activities Of Methanolic Extracts Of Trema guineensis (Schumm And Thorn) And Morinda lucida Benth Used In Nigerian

Extracts obtained from the leaves, stem-bark and roots of two ethnomedicinal plants: Morinda lucida Benth and Trema guineensis Schumm and Thorn were screened for antimicrobial activities against eleven test organisms (five bacteria and six fungi) namely: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Trichopyton tonsurans, T. rubrum, T. mentagrophytes, Basidobolus haptosporus and Aspergillus niger. The agar plate, cup-plate and broth dilution methods were used for the antimicrobial analysis. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and the minimum biocidal concentrations (MBC) of the extracts were determined in vitro.The results showed that most of these extracts posses in vitro antimicrobial activities against the tested clinical isolates of bacteria and fungi. These antimicrobial activities have been attributed to the presence of some or all of the following secondary plant metabolites: alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, steroids and glycosides. Key Words: Plant extracts, antimicrobial activities, medicinal plants, methanol. Bio-Research Vol.2(1) 2004: 39-4

Anti-fungal activities of pair combinations of extracts from Morinda lucid Benthby decimal additive assay

Interaction between the root, leaf and stem-bark extracts of Morinda lucida were investigated for their antifungal activities against Candida albicans by using pair combinations in an in vitro demical additive assay based on disk diffusion. Additive interactions were observed in each pair of the combinations. Neither synergistic nor antagonistic interactions were recorded. Phytochemical analysis suggested the presence of similar phytochemicals in all the extracts.Bio-Research Vol. 3(1) 2005: 99-10