Growth of Bacillus cereus isolated from some traditional condiments under different regimens

Bacillus cereus is ubiquitous in nature and constitutes a major portion of the microbial flora of food contaminating various food samples, causing food spoilage and poisoning to the detriment of the consumers. This work was designed to study the growth characteristics of B. cereus strains isolates from traditional condiments under different growth conditions. 34 Bacillus strains were isolated from 4 local condiments iru (fermented Parkia bioglobosa seeds), ogiri (fermented Citrullus vulgaris seeds), dawadawa (fermed soy bean-Glycine max seeds) and okpehe (fermented Prosopis africana seeds) and identified as B. cereus, B. subtilis, B. pumilus and B. lichenifomis. B. cereus had the highest occurrence of 38.24%. All the B. cereus strains had their optimum and minimum growth at 37 and 4°C, respectively, while none grew at 100°C and at pH 1 and 12 when incubated for 48 h. All the B. cereus isolates had their highest growth at 10% concentration of monosodium glutamate and the lowest at 40% but their growth pattern in NaCl is strain dependent with optimum growth between 7 and 9% NaCl concentration, and as the time of exposure to ultraviolet light increased the growth decreased

Seroprevalence of HTLV -I/II amongst Blood Donors in Osogbo, Nigeria.

Background: HTLV type I/II is a blood borne infection that can be transmitted via blood transfusion.Objective: To determine the seroprevalence of human T – lymphotropic virus among blood donors in Osogbo, Nigeria.Methods: Diagnosis of Human T. Lymphotropic virus antigen was carried out on 372 serum samples among blood donors who visited the blood bank/transfusion unit of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology  Teaching Hospital and Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Hospital, Osogbo between January and July 2008 using Enzyme linked immunosorbent  assay techniques (ELISA) as described by the manufacturer. Western  blotting was used to confirm the serum reactive samples from ELISA.Results: Out of 372 samples analyzed, 14 (3.6%) samples were found to be positive for HTLV-I/II (7 HTLV-I and 7 HTLV-II) while 358 (96.4%) samples were negative after confirmation with Western blotting. The seroprevalence of HTLV-I/II among the blood donors in Osogbo, Nigeriawas found to be 3.6%. This has major implication for the blood transfusion service in Nigeria.Conclusion: The study concluded that there is need for screening of blood donor for HTLV-I/II in order to rule out this transfusion related infection.Keywords: human T-lymphotropic virus, T-cell leukaemia,  myelopathy/tropical spasticparaparesis

Assessment of the Antimicrobial Activity of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Sorghum Slurry on Clinical Strains of Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli

Background: Sorghum is a nutrient-rich grain ground into flour to make different types of delicacies, and it has been reported to possess probiotic potentials. Objective: To assess the antimicrobial activity of Lactobacillus plantarum obtained from sorghum slurry on strains of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli from cases of diarrhoea. Methods: A total of 36 samples of wet-milled sorghum slurry and liquor pH were obtained and cultured on MRSA and were, after that, biochemically characterized for Lactobacillus plantarum, which was tested by agar well diffusion against 15 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from cases of diarrhoea. Results: Microbiological analysis of the 36 samples of sorghum explored produced 15 isolates of Lactobacillus plantarum. A progressive increase in acidity in relation to an increase in the period of fermentation was observed. Ninety-five per cent of the Escherichia coli strains showed resistance against some standard antibiotics. At the same time, the isolates of Lactobacillus plantarum obtained inhibited isolates of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli tested, showing potential usefulness of the sorghum slurry as a probiotic. Conclusion: The inhibitory activity of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from sorghum slurry showed antimicrobial potentials that could be used for therapeutic purposes in treating diarrhoea caused by   Escherichia coli, pending further investigation

Co-agulase Negative Staphylococcus Distribution in Clinical Sample in a Tertiary Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria

Numerous researchers have described the isolation of coagulase-negative staphylococci especially S. epidermidis, and the association of the bacteria with clinical disease. In this study we determined the distribution of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from clinical samples in tertiary hospital. One hundred and fifteen repeat CoNS isolates were obtained from 607 various clinical specimens using standard precedures; 97 (84.3%) were strains of S. epidermidis while 18 (15.7%) were S. Saprophyticus. The highest number of isolates of CoNS were from Blood culture, 75 out of 115 strains (65.2%) and 68.0% were strains of S. epidermidis. Septicaemia had the highest prevalence of CoNS, 31.4%; followed by endocraditis, 25.0%. The least was found in otits and pyrexia of unkonwn origin, 7.4% and 8.3% respectively. All the CoNS strains were resistant to one or more of the eleven antimicrobial agents used. The frequancy of susceptibility to fluoroquinolones was the highest; ofloxacin(81.7%), ciprofloxacin (77.4%). The least susceptibility was found in tetracycline; 20.0%. No isolate was sensitive to cotrimoxazole. However, S. epidermidis had a greater percentage of strains susceptibleto the quinolones; ofloxacin; 84.0% and ciprofloxacin; 80.0% than the S. saprohyticus, ofloxacin; 67.0% and ciprofloxacin; 44.0%. The distribution of CoNS in clinical specimens obtained from hospital enivronment in this study has shown that CoNS have become an important pathogen, therefore antimicrobial susceptibility tests should be carried out as a guide for therapy and to control development of resistant strains

Chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Osogbo Nigeria: efficacy of amodiaquine + sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and chloroquine + chlorpheniramine for treatment

Chloroquine (CQ) resistance in Plasmodium falciparum contributes to increasing malaria-attributable morbidity and mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite a change in drug policy, continued prescription of CQ did not abate. Therefore the therapeutic efficacy of CQ in uncomplicated falciparum malaria patients was assessed in a standard 28-day protocol in 116 children aged between six and 120 months in Osogbo, Southwest Nigeria. Parasitological and clinical assessments of response to treatment showed that 72 (62.1%) of the patients were cured and 44 (37.9%) failed the CQ treatment. High initial parasite density and young age were independent predictors for early treatment failure. Out of the 44 patients that failed CQ, 24 received amodiaquine + sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (AQ+SP) and 20 received chlorpheniramine + chloroquine (CH+CQ) combinations. Mean fever clearance time in those treated with AQ+SP was not significantly different from those treated with CH+CQ (p = 0.05). There was no significant difference in the mean parasite density of the two groups. The cure rate for AQ+SP group was 92% while those of CH+CQ was 85%. There was a significant difference in parasite clearance time (p = 0.01) between the two groups. The 38% treatment failure for CQ reported in this study is higher than the 10% recommended by World Health Organization in other to effect change in antimalarial treatment policy. Hence we conclude that CQ can no more be solely relied upon for the treatment of falciparum malaria in Osogbo, Nigeria. AQ+SP and CH+CQ are effective in the treatment of acute uncomplicated malaria and may be considered as useful alternative drugs in the absence of artemisinin-based combination therapies