Serological and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium species from humans in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Cryptosporidium species are one of the most common causes of gastrointestinal infection in humans around the world. This study aimed at the characterization of Cryptosporidium species in humans using the 18S rRNA gene. Among the 368 human faecal samples screened using Cryptosporidium antigen Copro-ELISA kit, 61 (16.6%) were positive. The positive faecal samples were subjected to Nested PCR for the amplification of 830 bp fragments of small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene and followed by nucleotide sequencing. Out of the 61 copro-ELISA positive samples, 5 (8.2%) were PCR positive for Cryptosporidium species (3 (4.9%) of C. parvum and 2 (3.3%) of C. hominis). Two HIV patients were found to be harbouring C. parvum and C. hominis, so also as hypertensive and diarrheic patients harbouring C. parvum and C. hominis, respectively. Higher prevalence rates of Cryptosporidium was found in young children (11.1%), males (8.7%), loose faeces (42.9%) than older age groups (8.7%), females (7.9%) and well-formed (3.1%) or mucoid/pasty faeces (0%) based on the data gathered from the close-ended questionnaire also used on each human subject. This study was the first to report C. parvum and C. hominis infecting humans in Sokoto state, Northwestern Nigeria. It is suggested that a multi-locus study of Cryptosporidium species in developing countries would be necessary to determine the extent of transmission of Cryptosporidium in the populations

Prevalence of hydatid cyst in camels slaughtered at Katsina metropolitan abattoir, Katsina State, Nigeria

Cystic Echinococcosis, among other food animal zoonotic diseases, heralds a significant zoonotic threat to meat consumers due to the lack of stringent meat inspection policies and poor awareness of zoonoses by most livestock traders/butchers. Therefore, this study is aimed at determining the prevalence of hydatid cysts in camels slaughtered at katsina metropolitan abattoir, Katsina State, Nigeria. A total of 392 samples were collected over three months (November 2019 to January 2020), of which 129 samples were from males and 263 from females. Information about the age, sex and body condition of the slaughtered camels were recorded. The carcass of each camel was inspected carefully for the presence of Hydatid cysts, the organs infected, and the number of cysts present. The data were subjected to statistical analysis using the Chi-square test (χ2), and significant levels were determined at p<0.05 level for all the data, which revealed an overall prevalence of 14.0% (55/392). The prevalence rate of Hydatid cysts was 16.3% in females and 9.3% in males, while it is 16.8 and 5.3% in adult and young camels, respectively. We recommend a holistic epidemiological study on the prevalence of hydatid cysts in camels and more public enlightenment for effective control measures against the disease in Katsina State

Prevalence of Cysticercus tenuicollis cysts in sheep slaughtered at Sokoto abattoir, Sokoto state, Nigeria

A prospective study was conducted based on the principle of post mortem examination on sheep slaughtered at Sokoto abattoir for the presence of Cysticercus tenuicollis cysts. A total of 261 sheep were examined with 34 (13.03%) infected. Prevalence of infection increased with the age of the  animals. Males had relatively higher prevalence than females. Infection was recorded in several visceral organs with omentum having the highest  prevalence (35.29%) and the lungs the least(11.76%). The results suggest that C. tenuicollis is common and may constitute a health problem in sheep and a source of economic loss in the meat industry, thus emphasizing the need for proper meat inspection and handling of offals in the study area

Oral microflora of stray domestic cats (Felis catus) found in the premises of two human hospitals in Sokoto, Nigeria

A study was carried out to identify the various bacterial species in the oral cavity of cats in two human hospitals in Sokoto, Nigeria. The buccal cavities of 26 cats (14 from Hospital A and 12 from Hospital B were liberally swabbed for bacterial evaluation. The samples were enriched in peptone water, inoculated on McConkey and Blood agar, and incubated aerobically at 37°C for 24hrs. The isolates were Gram stained and subjected to biochemical characterization for identification. A total of 51 bacterial isolates were made. There were Staphylococcus aureus 18 (35.3%), Micrococcus spp. 9 (17.7%), Pasteurella spp. 5 (9.8%), Streptococcus spp. 5 (9.8%), Yersinia spp. 4 (7.8%), Bacillus spp. 4 (7.8%), Listeria spp. 3 (5.4%) and Corynebacterium spp. 3 (5.9%). Staphylococcus aureus has the highest frequency of isolation 18 (35.3%)

Serodiagnosis of hydatidosis in sheep slaughtered at Sokoto abattoir, Sokoto state, Nigeria

Serological screening for hydatidosis was carried out on sheep slaughtered at the Sokoto abattoir, Northwestern Nigeria. A total of 186 serum samples  obtained from randomly selected animals were analysed for antigen - antibody responses using Echinococcus granulosus IgG Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit (RIDASCREEN®). Postmortem inspection for the presence of cyst was also carried out on the selected animals. The study did not observe any antigen-antibody reaction in any of the samples screened and no cyst was found at post-mortem inspection of the selected sheep. The zero prevalence recorded suggest s the need to employ some other more sensitive diagnostic techniques to ascertain the result obtained in this study