Phenotypic characterization of mycobacteria isolates from tuberculosis patients in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading public health challenges in Nigeria and the burden is still high. There is hence a need for continuous characterization of mycobacteria to obtain current data that will aid the ongoing TB prevention and control programme. The aim of this study was to phenotypically characterize mycobacteria isolates recovered from clinical specimens of patients with tuberculosis in Kaduna State, Nigeria.Methods: Two thousand, two hundred and twelve (2212) sputum samples were collected from patients clinically suspected to have TB in three different zones of Kaduna State, Nigeria, between May 2017 and October, 2018. Samples were processed by decontaminating with NaOH-Citrate N-acetyl-L-Cystein method for Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) AFB microscopy and culture on Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) slants which were incubated at 37ᵒC for 8 weeks. Positive LJ cultures were further analyzed with a rapid TB antigen assay (SD-Bioline) to differentiate Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) from Non Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM).Results: Out of the 2212 patients with suspected TB, 300 (13.6%) were positive for AFB by microscopy with Zone A (Kaduna North) having the highest AFB positive cases of 169 (15.2%). Of the 300 AFB positive samples, 272 (91.0%) were culture positive on LJ medium, 18 (6.0%) were culture negative and 10 (3.0%) were culture contaminated. Result of the distribution of mycobacteria among infected patients within the study area revealed that 219 (80.5%) were infected with MTBC, 42 (15.4%) with NTM and 11 (4.0%) with both MTBC and NTM.Conclusion: A relatively high number of TB in the study area was caused by NTM. There is need for advanced diagnostic tools that can differentiate MTBC and NTM strains among TB patients in all TB Reference Laboratories in Nigeria.Keywords: Phenotypic, Characterization, Tuberculosis, Mycobacteri

Empirical findings on progress and challenges in a novice students’ java programming class

No AbstractKeywords: Programming errors, Gauntlet, Comparative analysis, Information Technolog

Isolation, Molecular Detection and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profile of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Household - reared Small Ruminants in Zaria Metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a zoonotic enteric pathogen of public health significance worldwide. A cross-sectional study was carried out during which 384 faecal samples of household-reared small ruminants and water used in the various houses where the animals are reared were collected. The samples were enriched on tryptone soya broth and cultured on EMB and CT-SMAC to isolate E. coli and E. coli O157:H7 respectively; subjected to conventional biochemical tests and E. coli O157:H7 was confirmed using Wellcolex latex agglutination test kit. E. coli O157:H7 isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test and multiplex PCR was carried out to detect the presence of virulence genes stx1, stx2, eaeA and hlyA. The results of the isolation showed isolation rate of E. coli O157:H7 of 4.69% (9/192), 0.52% (1/192) which were obtained from faeces and water samples respectively. The results of the characterisation showed that one of the E. coli O157:H7 isolated harboured the eaeA and hlyA genes but was negative for stx1 and stx2 genes. The highest number of isolates showed resistance to erythromycin (90.9%) while the least was to gentamicin (6.3%). About 97.7% (43/44) of the isolates had multiple antibiotic resistance index greater than 0.2. In conclusion, household-reared small ruminants in the study area were found to be reservoirs of E. coli O157:H7 and humans living within these households are at risk of infection. The multiple antibiotic resistance recorded in this study suggests wide spread use of antimicrobial drugs in the study area. Keywords: Escherichia coli O157:H7, Household-reared small ruminants, Latex agglutination, Multiplex PCR, Antimicrobial sensitivit

Trend in Occurrence of Diseases Causing Abnormal Haematological Values In Domestic Animals Based on Haematological Records of Cases In Zaria And Its Environs

Haematology could be defined as a branch of medical science that studies the blood and blood-forming tissue and organs, which employ blood cells as principal effectors of the physiologic functions determination (Waugh and Grant, 2001). Blood is a specialized fluid that makes up the greatest percentage of total body fluid that serves as the major route of drugs, nutrients and oxygen transport to the body cells (Guyton and Hall, 2001; Katzung et al., 2009; Sembulingam and Sembulingam, 2010; Saka et al., 2011). It also eliminates waste products away from the cells (Cheeke and Shull, 1999). Hence, it is important for pulmonary and tissue respiration. It is the major medium of endocrine and neurohumoral transmissions, biotransformation, and metabolic excretion, nutritional and immunological processes, as well as homeostatic responses and drug transport (Oze, 1992; Adebayo et. al., 2005; Saka et al., 2011). Disease factors, which have continued to be limiting factors to improved livestock production in tropical Africa are common causes of alterations in haematological values (Useh et al., 2003; Hostetter and Andreasen, 2004; Adamu et al., 2007). Any significant changes in the haemogram could result in anaemia or polycythemia, leucopenia or leukocytosis, and thrombocytopenia or thrombocytosis, as the case may be (Useh et al., 2003; Hostetter and Andreasen, 2004; Adamu et al., 2007). Assessment of haematological parameters is a prerequisite to understanding how the body systems function in health and diseased state (Siros, 1995; Awah and Nottidge, 1998). The parameters include; red blood cell count (RBC), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), total white blood cell count (WBC), and differential leukocyte count (lymphocytes, neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, and monocytes). Blood is formed essentially in the mesenchyme, endothelium, liver, spleen, thymus and lymph nodes of an embryo; but as bone marrow develops, the formation of the blood cells is transferred to this organ (Coles, 1986). causes of alterations in hematological values such as those of erythrocytes, leucocytes and thrombocytes as well as their developmental forms (Sirois, 1995; Hostetter and Andreasen, 2004). Blood is used as one of the diagnostic vital parameters to detect any physiologic or pathologic disturbances in the body. The recognition of this clinical importance of the blood makes hematological and serum biochemistry analyses essential and routine diagnostic tools in medicine (Bush, 1993; Awah and Nottidge, 1998). Changes in haemogram could have serious clinical implications; often with attendant clinical implications irrespective of the cause. This paper attempts to predict the trend in the occurrence of diseases that cause changes in haematological parameters of animal patients presented to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), Zaria for either routine checkup or with one clinical ailment or the other using clinical pathology laboratory records.Keywords: low PCV, high PCV, low WBC, high WB