Letter to the Editor: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 in Libya

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A Study on the Effects of Staff Development on Teachers’ Satisfaction and Perceptions of Change in Teaching Performance

Staff development is vital to the success of any academic institution as it ensures that staff maintains and enhances their skills and knowledge that can be used to improve quality and performance in their job role.  Therefore, assessing the satisfaction of staff towards staff development activities is becoming increasingly important to its success. This paper aims to focus on the reasons why academic staff attends staff development workshops/sessions, to determine their satisfaction levels towards staff development and whether participation in such activities enhances their perceptions of their teaching practices and how effective they are as a teacher. Data was gathered through a questionnaire survey. The results indicated that the two main reasons for attending staff development are to ‘gain knowledge and skills’ and for ‘personal development’. However, the two external factors that constrained them from attending all the workshops/sessions were ‘time conflict’ and ‘administrative workload’. A significant positive relationship between satisfaction with staff development and enhancing staff’s effectiveness as a teacher, teaching practices and applying the knowledge and techniques acquired in their lectures and classes was also found. Keywords: staff development, satisfaction, perceptions, performance, higher educatio

Genospecies and virulence factors of Aeromonas species in different sources in a North African country

Introduction: Aeromonads of medical importance have been reported from numerous clinical, food, and water sources, but identification of genospecies and virulence factors of Aeromonas species from countries in North Africa and the Middle East are few.Methods: In total 99 Aeromonas species isolates from different sources (diarrheal children [n=23], nondiarrheal children [n=16], untreated drinking water from wells [n=32], and chicken carcasses [n=28]) in Tripoli, Libya, were included in the present investigation. Genus identification was confirmed by biochemical analysis, and genospecies were determined using a combination of 16S rDNA variable region and gyrB sequence analysis. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect genes encoding toxins from 52 of the isolates.Results: We identified 44 isolates (44%) as A. hydrophila (3 [3.0%] subspecies anaerogenes, 23 [23%] subspecies dhakensis, and 18 [18%] subspecies ranae); 27 isolates (27%) as A. veronii; 23 isolates (23%) as A. caviae; and 5 isolates (5.0%) as other genospecies. The genes encoding aerolysin (aer), cytolytic enterotoxin (act), and A. hydrophila isolate SSU enterotoxin (ast) were detected in 45 (87%), 4 (7.7%), and 9 (17%) of the 52 isolates tested, respectively. The gene encoding an extracellular lipase (alt) was not detected.Conclusion: The majority of aeromonads from Libya fall within three genospecies (i.e. A. hydrophila, A. veronii, and A. caviae), and genes coding for toxin production are common among them.Keywords: Aeromonas; genospecies; virulence factors; Liby

Inducible Clindamycin Resistance among Staphylococci Isolated from Burn Patients

Clindamycin has been used successfully to treat pneumonia and soft-tissue infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. However, inducible clindamycin resistance has been described as a cause of treatment failure of such infections. A total of 159 staphylococcal isolates from different clinical specimens from burn patients in Tripoli Burn Center were tested for inducible clindamycin resistance by the disk-diffusion induction test. Inducible clindamycin resistance was detected in 66.2% of 65 methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates and in none of 55 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus, 10 methicillin-resistant coagulase negative staphylococci and 29 methicllin-sensitive coagulase negative staphylococci isolates. In our setting, clindamycin can be used for the treatment of infections due to staphylococci, but we recommend that staphylococci isolates, particularly methicillin-resistant S. aureus, are tested by the D-test before treatment

Isolation of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria from carpets of mosques in Tripoli, Libya

Objective: Isolation of potentially pathogenic bacteria from carpets in hospitals has been reported earlier, but not from carpets in mosques. The aim of the present study is to determine the pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria that may exist on the carpets of mosques in Tripoli, Libya. Methods: Dust samples from carpets were collected from 57 mosques in Tripoli. Samples were examined for pathogenic bacteria using standard bacteriological procedures. Susceptibility of isolated bacteria to antimicrobial agents was determined by the disc-diffusion method.Results: Of dust samples examined, Salmonella spp. was detected in two samples (3.5%, 1 in group B and 1 in group C1), Escherichia coli in 16 samples (28.1%), Aeromonas spp. in one sample (1.8%), and Staphylococcus aureus in 12 samples (21.1%). Multiple drug resistance was observed in >16.7% of E. coli and in 25% of S. aureus. Conclusion: Contamination of carpets in mosques of Tripoli with antibiotic-resistant pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria may pose a health risk to worshipers, particularly, the very young, the old and the immunecompromised. Worshipers are encouraged to use personal praying mats when praying in mosques.Keywords: pathogenic bacteria; antibiotic resistance; carpets; mosques; Tripoli; Liby

Letter to the Editor: New Delhi metallo- ß -lactamase and OXA-48 carbapenemases in Gram-negative bacilli isolates in Libya

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Identification of multidrug-resistant bacteria and Bacillus cereus from healthcare workers and environmental surfaces in a hospital

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Multidrug resistance and extended-spectrum β-lactamases genes among0 Escherichia coli from patients with urinary tract infections in Northwestern Libya

Introduction: Multidrug resistance (MDR) and emergence of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) that mediate resistance to b-lactam drugs among Escherichia coli and other uropathogens have been reported worldwide. However, there is little information on the detection of ESBLs genes in E. coli from patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the Arab countries using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and in Libya such information is lacking.Methods: All patients attending Zawiya Teaching Hospital in Zawiya city between November 2012 and June 2013 suspected of having UTIs and from whom midstream urine samples were taken as part of the clinical workup were included in this prospective study. Samples were examined for uropathogens by standard bacteriological procedures. VITEK-2 automated microbiology system was used to identify the isolated uropathogens and determine the susceptibility of E. coli and Klebsiella spp. isolates to antimicrobials. In addition, phenotypically ESBLs-positive E. coli isolates were tested for ESBLs genes by PCR.Results: The present study enrolled 1,790 patients with UTIs. Uropathogens were found in 371 (20.7%) urine specimens examined. Mixed pathogens were detected in two specimens with 373 total pathogens isolated. E. coli and Klebsiella spp. were the predominant uropathogens at 55.8% (208/373) and 18.5% (69/373), respectively. Other pathogens were detected in 25.7% (96/373) of urine samples. Of the E. coli and Klebsiella spp. tested, 69.2 and 100% were resistant to ampicillin, 6.7 and 33.3% to ceftriaxone, and 23.1 and 17.4% to ciprofloxacin, respectively. MDR (resistance to ]3 antimicrobial groups) was found in 69 (33.2%) of E. coli and in 29 (42%) of Klebsiella spp. isolates. ESBLs were detected phenotypically in 14 (6.7%) of E. coli and in 15 (21.7%) of Klebsiella spp. isolates. Thirteen out of the 14 phenotypically ESBL-positive E. coli were positive for ESBL genes by PCR. blaTEM gene was detected in seven isolates, blaOXA gene in 10 isolates and blaCTX-M gene in six isolates. blaSHV gene was not detected in the present study.Conclusion: The isolation of MDRESBL-producing uropathogens undoubtedly will limit the choices clinicians have to treat their patients with UTIs. Therefore, there is an urgent need for surveillance studies on antimicrobial resistance and prevalence of ESBLs among uropathogens to guide the clinical treatment of UTIs in Libya in the future.Keywords: urinary tract infections; Escherichia coli; extended-spectrum β-lactamases; multidrug resistance; Liby

Prevalence, species differentiation, haemolytic activity, and antibiotic susceptibility of aeromonads in untreated well water

The use of untreated water for drinking and other activities have been associated with intestinal and extraintestinal infections in humans due to Aeromonas species. In the present study aeromonads were isolated from 48.7% of 1,000 water samples obtained from wells and other miscellaneous sources. Aeromonas species were detected in 45% of samples tested in spring, 34.5% in summer, 48% in autumn and 60% of samples tested in winter. Speciation of 382 strains resulted in 225 (59%) being A. hydrophila, 103 (27%) A. caviae, 42 (11%) A. sobria and 11 (3%) atypical aeromonads. Of 171 Aeromonas strains tested for their haemolytic activity, 53%, 49%, 40% and 37% were positive in this assay using human, horse, sheep and camel erythrocytes respectively. The results obtained indicate that potentially enteropathogenic Aeromonas species are commonly present in untreated drinking water obtained from wells in Libya (this may also apply to other neighbouring countries) which may pose a health problem to users of such water supplies. In addition, ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin are suitable drugs that can be used in the treatment of Aeromonas-associated infections, particularly, in the immunocompromised, resulting from contact with untreated sources of water

Enteric fever in Mediterranean North Africa

Typhoid fever is endemic in the Mediterranean North African countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt) with an estimated incidence of 10-100 cases per 100,000 persons. Outbreaks caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi are common and mainly due to the consumption of untreated or sewage-contaminated water. Salmonella enterica Paratyphi B is more commonly involved in nosocomial cases of enteric fever in North Africa than expected and leads to high mortality rates among infants with congenital anomalies. Prevalence among travellers returning from this region is low, with an estimate of less than one per 100,000. Although multidrug resistant strains of Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi are prevalent in this region, the re-emergence of chloramphenicol- and ampicillin-susceptible strains has been observed. In order to better understand the epidemiology of enteric fever in the Mediterranean North African region, population-based studies are needed. These will assist the health authorities in the region in preventing and controlling this important disease