Phytochemical screening, antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of Nepalese medicinal plants Swertia chirayita and Dendrobium amoenum

Research on medicinal plants are important to Nepal because most of its rural population relies on it as mode of medicine. Medicinal plants namely Swertia chirayita and Dendrobium amoenum were collected from mid hills of Nepal. The present study was undertaken to find the antimicrobial activity, phytochemical presence and their cytotoxicity in different extraction medium. The percentage yield from the plants were highest in warm methanol extraction with 12.6%, followed by ethyl acetate and lowest was for cold methanol. Plant extract showed the presence of antioxidants like alkaloid, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannin, glycosides. The Brine Shrimp Bioassay of methanol and ethyl acetate extract showed cytotoxicity. Chiraito extract showed LC50 of 199 ppm for Dhunche sample, 128.82 ppm for Daman sample and 131.82 ppm of Illam sample. The antibacterial activity of methanol extract of Chiraito and Dendrobium amoenum showed significant bioactivity by inhibiting growth of microbial species selected for the test. The zone of inhibition shown by the extracts was comparable to the standard antibiotics. Similarly, methanol extract of Chiraito also showed significant antifungal activity with the zone of inhibition comparable to amphotericin.Nepal Journal of Biotechnology. Dec. 2015 Vol. 3, No. 1: 48-5

Health Problems while Working as a Volunteer or Humanitarian Aid Worker in Post-Earthquake Nepal

Introduction: Volunteers and humanitarian aid workers working in disaster struck areas of the world are a vulnerable group of travelers. Nepal saw an influx of these humanitarian aid workers following earthquakes in April and May 2015.  Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at CIWEC Hospital located in Kathmandu. A questionnaire was given to all volunteers and aid workers who arrived at the hospital for evaluation of health related problems and agreed to be part of the study. Results: Ninety-five volunteers were enrolled in the study. Among these, 65 (68%) were female and 30 (32%) were male. The immunizations received before travel were Hepatitis A 82 (86%), Hepatitis B 82 (86%), Typhoid 70 (73%), Rabies 38 (40%), Japanese Encephalitis 34 (36%), Influenza within last one year 23 (24%), measles 48 (51%), Cholera 34 (36%),Tetanus within 10 years 71 (75%) and Varicella 38 (40%). Forty-four (45%) of travelers carried medication for treatment of Traveler’s Diarrhea (TD) which included Ciprofloxacin, Azithromycin, Loperamide and others like Metronidazole and Charcoal. The common illnesses encountered were gastrointestinal, skin problems , injury and musculoskeletal problems, respiratory problems, genitourinary problems, cardiovascular, psychological problems, syncope, and miscellaneous. Conclusions: Traveler’s Diarrhea and dermatological problems were the most common health related problems. Volunteers were not properly prepared for self-treatment and pre-travel preparation was sub-optimal. Important pre travel health advice will decrease the incidence of health problems in this group

Mongolian spot

Colorful skin spots on a pediatric patient can easily be mistaken as signs of child abuse.  Professionals should therefore gain knowledge about Mongolian spots; also known as Mongolian blue spots. These are flat, congenital and benign birthmarks, commonly located in sacro-coccygeal or lumbar area of an infant. Child abuse is a major public health problem across the world. The most common manifestations of physical child abuse are cutaneous, and their recognition and differential diagnosis are of great importance. Mongolian spots may appear as signs of child abuse; however, Mongolian spots are harmless

Perforation Peritonitis at High Altitude

Trekkers going to high altitude can suffer from several ailments both during and after their treks. Gastro-intestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain are common in high altitude areas of Nepal due to acute mountain sickness or due to a gastro-intestinal illness. Occasionally, complications of common conditions manifest at high altitude and delay in diagnosis could be catastrophic for the patient presenting with these symptoms. We present two rare cases of duodenal and gastric perforations in trekkers who were evacuated from the Everest trekking region. Both of them had to undergo emergency laparotomy and repair of the perforation using modified Graham’s patch in the first case and distal gastrectomy that included the perforated site, followed by two-layer end-to-side gastrojejunostomy and two-layer side-to-side jejunostomy in the second case. Perforation peritonitis at high-altitude, though rare, can be life threatening. Timely evacuation from high altitude, proper diagnosis and prompt treatment are essentia

The conservation status of the Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus Bennett, 1833 (Carnivora: Felidae) In Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

The status of the Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal was assessed by camera trapping and pugmark searches from 2011 to 2014.  The reserve is a highly dynamic and unstable snow-fed braided river system with many anabranches and islands.  Evidence of Fishing Cats was found throughout most of the reserve.  They were probably more abundant on the eastern side, among the islands of the main river channel, and in the adjacent buffer zone where there was a chain of fishponds and marsh areas fed by seepage from the main river channel.  Evidence of Fishing Cats was found up to 6km north of the reserve on the Koshi River but not beyond this.  The population is probably small and may be isolated but given the endangered status of the species, is significant.  The main likely threats identified are wetland and riparian habitat deterioration caused by over exploitation and illegal grazing by villagers, overfishing of wetlands and rivers within the reserve, and direct persecution arising from perceived conflicts with fish farming and poultry husbandry.  Required conservation actions are discussed. </div

Incidence of Campylobacter concisus and C. ureolyticus in traveler’s diarrhea cases and asymptomatic controls in Nepal and Thailand

Abstract Background Campylobacter concisus and C. ureolyticus have emerged in recent years as being associated with acute and prolonged gastroenteritis and implicated in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases. However, there are limited data on the prevalence of these microorganisms in Southeast Asia. In this study, 214 pathogen-negative stool samples after laboratory examination for common enteric pathogens to include C. jejuni and C. coli by culture from two case–control traveler’s diarrhea (TD) studies conducted in Thailand (cases = 26; controls = 30) and Nepal (cases = 83; controls = 75) respectively were assayed by PCR for the detection of Campylobacter 16S rRNA and two specific heat shock protein genes specific for C. concisus (cpn60) and C. ureolyticus (Hsp60) respectively. Results Campylobacter 16S rRNA was detected in 28.5% (61/214) of the pathogen-negative TD stool samples (CIWEC Travel Medicine Clinic, Kathmandu, Nepal: cases = 36, control = 14; Bamrungrad International Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand: cases = 9, controls = 2). C. consisus was identified significantly more often in TD cases in Nepal (28.9%; 24/83) as compared to controls (4%; 3/75) (OR = 9.76; 95% CI 2.80–34.02; P = 0.0003) while C. consisus was detected in only two cases (2/26; 7.7%) and none of the controls stool samples from Thailand. C. ureolyticus was detected in four cases (4.8%; 4/83) and four controls (5.3%; 4/75) and in one case (3.8%; 1/26) and one control (3.1%; 1/30) from Nepal and Thailand respectively. C. jejuni and C. coli were isolated in 18.3 and 3.4% of the cases and in 4.0 and 1.4% of the controls in stool samples from both Thailand and Nepal respectively while C. concisus nor C. ureolyticus were not tested for in these samples. Conclusion These findings suggest that C. concisus potentially is a pathogen associated with TD in Nepal. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. concisus and C. ureolyticus detected from traveler’s diarrhea cases from travelers to Nepal and Thailand