Irradiation of Foods: A Better Alternative in Controlling Economic Losses

Food irradiation as a better alternative to other food processing methods is discussed. Irradiation is a promising new food safety technology that can eliminate disease-causing microorganisms such as E.coli 0157:H7, Camplyobacter and Salmonellae from foods; delay maturation of fruits and inhibit sprouting of bulbs and onions. The yearly and cyclic scarcity of fruits and vegetables during their non-productive period is a known phenomenon in most developing countries. Post-harvest losses are due to microorganisms, which destroy these foods. The process, consumer acceptance, nutritional and microbiological safety are highlighted in this paper. @JASE

The relationship between drug abuse and microbial infections

Drugs of abuse such as cocaine, opiates, alcohol, and marijuana among others alter the neuropsychological, pathophysiological responses as well as the immune functions. Studies have shown that there are correlative observations between the use of these drugs and increased levels of microbial infections among drug users. These correlations appears to have effects on the immunesystem and are receptor mediated, directly or indirectly. The numerous drugs of abuse and the attendant infectious diseases are discussed

Antitrypanosomal Potentials of Ethanolic Leaf Extracts of Punica granatum against Trypanosoma brucei brucei Infection

The current treatment regimens based on chemotherapy for Human African Trypanosomiasis and Animal Trypanosomosis are limited, and are not ideal as they are often associated with severe side effects. The emergence of drug resistant parasites presents an additional and major problem. The urgent need for the development of new, cheap, safe, and easy-to-administer compounds for the treatment of these infectious diseases prompted this study. Three doses (20mg/kg, 40mg/kg,80mg/kg) of ethanolic extracts of the leaves of Punica granatum were screened for trypanocidal activity against Trypanosoma brucei bruce in Balb Strain Albino mice. Parasitaemia and disappearance of clinical signs were used as parameters to monitor the efficacy of the extracts using the rapid matching method. Packed cell volume and weights of the mice were determined before and after treatment with extracts. Packed cell volume and Weight improved significantly (p<0.05) in the group which was admnistered 40 mg/kg ethanol extract when compared to the negative group. The LD50 value calculated for intra-peritoneal route of administration was 90mg/kg. The findings are indicative of the trypanocidal potential of Punica granatum in the management of trypanosomosis.Keywords: Trypanosomosis, Trypanosoma brucei brucei, Trypanocidal activity, Punica granatum, Ethano

Antimicrobial susceptibility of some urinary tract clinical isolates to commonly used antibiotics

The antimicrobial susceptibility of urinary tract isolates from pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in various hospitals within Kaduna, Nigeria, was carried out using the disc diffusion method. The patterns of inhibition varied with the concentration of the antibiotic used. Escherichia coli was the most sensitive to ciprofloxacillin (33 mm/5 μg ml-1) and pefloxacin (15 mm/10 μg ml-1). It was resistant to minocycline, nalidixic acid, cefuroxine and cotrimoxazole. Klebsiella spp., Proteus spp. and Staphylococcus spp. were moderately sensitive to ciprofloxacillin (14, 15 and 18 mm/5 μg ml-1) respectively. All the organisms were resistant to minocycline and cefuroxine. Ciprofloxacillin appeared to be the drug of choice for the treatment of urinary tract infection.Keywords: Urinary tract infection, clinical isolates, antibiotic

Studies On the Incidence of Asymptomatic Plasmodium Infection among Apparently Healthy Subjects in Orphanages in Kaduna and Zaria, Nigeria

The incidence of asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infection among orphans between age groups, gender and blood groups was investigated. Standard microscopic methods were used to screen for malaria parasites in the blood specimens obtained from eighty-five (85) subjects in three orphanages in Kaduna and Zaria, Nigeria. An overall incidence of 14.1% was observed in this study. The age group 0-3 years had the highest overall incidence of 28.5% and lowest in the age group 16-19 years (0.0%). With respect to gender, a higher incidence was recorded among female subjects (17.50%) than males (11.11%) . There was no significant difference in the age and sex of the subjects studied (p>0.5). There was no correlation between asymptomatic Plasmodium infection and the blood groups of subjects. To reduce morbidity and mortality rate among children in orphanages, there is a need for the use of chemoprophylaxis and insecticide- treated nets in orphanages.Key words: Plasmodium falciparum, Orphanage, blood group, Age group

Asymptomatic Giardiasis and Nutritional Status of Children in Two Local Government Areas in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Giardiasis is found throughout the world but more prevalent in developing countries. The present study utilised ELISA coproantigen to determine the prevalence of Giardia lamblia in stool samples of children in day-care centres, nursery and primary schools in two Local Government Areas, Sabon-Gari and Zaria, in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Of 374 samples examined, 150 (41.45%) were positive for Giardia lamblia. The prevalence of giardiasis was higher in males (50.3%) than females (49.7%). There was no significant difference in the level of infection in both sexes (p = 0.808). The highest prevalence of asymptomatic giardiasis was in the age group 3-5 years (32.9%) while the lowest was in the 0-2 years  (11.6%). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of the disease between the age groups (p = 0.414). There was association between asymptomatic giardiasis and wasting (p = 0.030, ANOVA). There was also a positive association between asymptomatic giardiasis and Body Mass Index (p = 0.024, ANOVA) indicating malnutrition. In this study, giardiasis was a predictor of wasting and malnutrition in Sabo-Gari Local Government Area. It is therefore recommended that parents or guardians should provide nutritious meals for school-aged children and treatment of parasitic infections be included in the curriculum of school children

Seroprevalence of Rubella Specific IgG Antibody among Pregnant Women Attending Ante-Natal Clinics in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria

Rubella infection is generally mild in children. However, infection during pregnancy can leads to fetal death or congenital defects known as Congenital Rubella Syndrome. The seroprevalence of IgG to rubella virus was determined using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay among 400 pregnant women between the ages of 15-45 years attending ante-natal clinics in Kaduna metropolis. Of the 400 samples tested, consisting 20 in their first trimester, 260 in second and 120 in third trimester, 386 (96.5%) were IgG seropositive. Seroprevalence of 95.2% - 100% was obtained across the age groups. In relation to stages of pregnancy 19 (95.0%), 251 (96.5%) and 116 (96.7%) were seropositive in 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters respectively. The seroprevalence obtained in this study indicates that majority of the pregnant women had protective antibody due to previous exposure to the virus. However, 3.5% of the pregnant women were susceptible. Therefore, there is a need for government to incorporate rubella vaccine to be part of national immunization programme and screening of women of childbearing age so as to reduce subsequent burden of congenital rubella.Keywords: Rubella, Seroprevalence, Pregnancy, Antibody, ELIS

Parasitological Profile of Raw Wastewater and the Efficacy of Biosand Filter in Reduction of Parasite Ova and Cysts

The disposal of wastewater in water bodies has a negative impact in theenvironment and the health of people who use such water bodies for either irrigation or drinking purposes. In this study, we evaluated the  parasitological profile of wastewater from the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital sewage treatment plant, Zaria, Nigeria using the magnesium sulphate floatation method. The parasite removal efficiencyof biosand filter was also tested in comparison with the sewage treatment plant. A total of 960 L of wastewater was examined and a significant level of parasite eggs, cysts and oocysts were detected. In all, 1,648 parasites eggs, cysts and oocysts per litre were counted. Ova of Ascaris spp showed the highest count/litre of 307 (18.63%) followed by ova of Taenia spp (n=287; 17.42%). The least count per litre was exhibited by cysts of Giardia spp (n=58; 3.52%). The analysis revealed that 52.61% of the parasite eggs, cysts and oocysts was removed by the sewage treatment plant while egg removal efficiency of the biosand filter was 97.45%. Further comparison of mean parasite eggs/litre in the effluents of biosand filter and the sewage treatment plant using Wilcoxon’s Signed Ranks Test indicated a significant difference (p < 0.05) with biosand filter having lower  counts per litre. The results obtained therefore demonstrate that the raw wastewater was laden with parasite eggs, cysts and oocysts and hence pose public health threat to the users of the effluent downstream. The biosand filter was more efficient than the sewage treatment plant; its effluent contains insufficient level of the ova, cysts and oocysts of parasites well below the less than one (<1) helminth ova/protozoa cysts as  recommended by WHO

Prevalence of Cryptosporidium oocysts among children with acute gastroenteritis in Zaria, Nigeria

This research was conducted to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium oocysts among children with acute gastroenteritis in Zaria, Nigeria by Kinyoun Modified Carbol-Fuchsin Staining (Modified Ziehl-Neelsen Staining) Technique. The results for the screening of Cryptosporidium oocysts showed that out of 372 stool samples investigated, 17 samples were positive for the oocysts. Among 17 positive samples, 8 were among 199 male while 9 were among 173 female children studied. The statistical association between microscopic detection of oocyst and gender was not significant (χ2 = 0.297, df = 1, p=0.586). However, there was no statistically significant association between the prevalence of Cryptosporidium oocyst and the age of children observed (χ2 = 7.268, df = 9, p = 0.609). The results also showed no significant association between the prevalence of Cryptosporidium oocysts and the house hold animals (χ2 = 1.489, df = 4, p=0.829). There was also no statistically significant association between the prevalence of Cryptosporidium oocysts and the source of drinking water (χ2 = 6.367, df = 4, p=0.173). Similarly, there was not statistically significant association between the prevalence of Cryptosporidium oocysts and the type of toilet among the study population (χ2 = 1.128, df = 2, p=0.569).Keywords: Children, Cryptosporidium, Gastroenteritis, Oocysts, Prevalence, Zari

Investigation on the bioeffects of ethanol extracts of leaf and stem of Momordica charantia on clinical straing of Escherichia coli and Staphlococcus aureas

The bio-effects of the ethanol extracts from the leaf and stem of Momordica charantia were studied with the view to ascertain the medical usefulness ascribed to the plant by the locals. The plant parts, stem and leaf, revealed remarkable activity against Escherichia coli and Staphlococcus aureas. The leaves extracts showed activity at a concentration as low as 10mg/ml against E. coli and 15mg/ml against S. aureus. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) ranges from 10- 15mg/ml while Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) from 30-45mg/ml. The activity of these extracts compared favourably with those of standard antibiotics, Tetracyclines (0.33mg) and Ampicillin (10μg), used in this study. The phytochemical analysis of the extracts showed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides and steroids. The presence of these chemicals in the extracts may have been responsible for the activity possessed by the plant extracts. Keywords: Bioeffects, Ethanol extracts, Clinical strains, Momordica charanti