Plasmid curing analysis of antibiotic resistance in beta-lactamase producing Staphylococci from wounds and burns patients.

Hospitals worldwide are facing unprecedented crisis due to increasingly rapid emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistant staphylococci in wounds and burns and its environs via plasmid mediation. This study was conducted to evaluate the plasmid-mediated or chromosomal-mediated resistance in staphylococci. One hundred clinical swabs from wounds and burns patients were demonstrated for presence of staphylococci using mannitol salt agar. Various biochemical, DNase and beta-lactamase test was carried out and the plasmid curing assay was demonstrated using 0.1 mg mL(-1) acridine orange on antibiotic resistant isolates. The results revealed S. aureus (47) and coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) (6). beta-lactamase producing species of S. aureus were 14 and CoNS was 1. Most isolates showed high resistance pattern to gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, rifampicin, chloramphenicol, ampiclox and others. The antibiotic resistance isolates were highly indicative ofplasmid-borne and few are chromosomal-borne after the plasmid curing analysis. The plasmid-mediated resistance observed among various antibiotics poses difficulty in treatment for clinicians. This high plasmid-mediated resistance among the isolates and from other studies calls for an urgent surveillance and epidemiological studies to infection control.

Prevalence of chlamydia in patients attending gynecological clinics in south eastern Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia infections have been reported to cause silent infections in communities which becomes endemic and could remain unnoticed for a very long time. In most parts of Nigeria these organisms are not screened for, and hence relative information about frequencies of the organisms are sparse. METHOD: Five hundred and sixty five blood samples and ten umbilical cord fluids were collected from various patients attending clinics in South Eastern Nigeria and were screened for Chlamydia Complement Fixing Antibody (CCFA). Endocervical swabs and urethral discharges or swabs were collected from patients whose serum was positive and were cultured into embryonic eggs which was later observed, harvested and stained using the Romanowsky-Giemsa staining techniques. The positive sera were further confirmed by distinguishing the species of Chlamydia using the monoclonal antibody spot test kit. RESULT: Of the five hundred and sixty five (565) samples collected only three hundred and forty were positive to CCFA, of which 141 were males and 204 females. From the cultured samples 230 were positive for Chlamydia trachomatis and 99 positive to Chlamydia pneumoniae. Statistical analysis using the student's t test at 95% confidence interval shows that there was no significant difference between the number of females and males that presented themselves for screening. CONCLUSION: Proper screening of patients to include Chlamydia should be encouraged at all levels of medical diagnosis in the country so as to proffer treatment. Otherwise the infection will remain a "silent epidemic", as is the case currently.

Prevalence of Chlamydia in Patients Attending Gynecological Clinics in South Eastern Nigeria

"Background: Chlamydia infections have been reported to cause silent infections in communities which becomes endemic and could remain unnoticed for a very long time. In most parts of Nigeria these organisms are not screened for; and hence relative information about frequencies of the organisms are sparse. Method: Five hundred and sixty five blood samples and ten umbilical cord fluids were collected from various patients attending clinics in South Eastern Nigeria and were screened for Chlamydia Complement Fixing Antibody (CCFA). Endocervical swabs and urethral discharges or swabs were collected from patients whose serum was positive and were cultured into embryonic eggs which was later observed; harvested and stained using the Romanowsky - Giemsa staining techniques. The positive sera were further confirmed by distinguishing the species of Chlamydia using the monoclonal antibody spot test kit. Result: Of the five hundred and sixty five (565) samples collected only three hundred and forty were positive to CCFA; of which 141 were males and 204 females. From the cultured samples 230 were positive for Chlamydia trachomatis and 99 positive to Chlamydia pneumoniae. Statistical analysis using the student's t test at 95confidence interval shows that there was no significant difference between the number of females and males that presented themselves for screening. Conclusion: Proper screening of patients to include Chlamydia should be encouraged at all levels of medical diagnosis in the country so as to proffer treatment. Otherwise the infection will remain a ""silent epidemic""; as is the case currently."

Lassa virus: seroepidemiological survey of rodents caught in Ekpoma and environs.

Of the 876 rodents caught in different parts of Ekpoma, Nigeria, and environs, 218 were Mastomys natalensis, while 658 were other rodents. Of the 218 M. natalensis caught, 102 (46.79%) were positive for complement fixing antibody to Lassa virus.

Prevalence of rubella antibody in pregnant women in Ibadan, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: There is a dearth of information on the incidence and prevalence of rubella infection in Nigeria. The risk of congenital rubella in sero-negative pregnant women has been found to produce congenital abnormalities even in developed countries. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of rubella virus antibody in pregnant women. SETTING: The place of study is the antenatal care clinic of Adeoyo State Hospital, Ibadan. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study of primigravida women attending the antenatal care facilities in a general hospital The rubella IgG antibody of the women was detected in sera using the RUB IgG Test kit. This is a quantitative ELISA technique. RESULT: The prevalence of rubella antibody in 159 pregnant women that participated in this study was 68.5% with a confidence interval of 64.8% - 72.2%. Women living in rural -urban areas have statistically significant higher prevalence of antibody than those in urban areas. CONCLUSION: This prevalence of rubella antibody in pregnant women suggests 1 in 4 pregnant woman is susceptible and the foetus at risk of congenital rubella malformation.

Ethnographic study on childhood diarrhoeal diseases in a rural Nigerian community.

Mothers in thirty households in a rural Nigerian community were subjected to ethnographic studies on food handling practices as they relate to diarrhoeal diseases in children. The study had a first phase of three open-ended unstructured interviews each lasting about 2 hours and a second phase of direct observations on food handling practices during preparation, administration and storage by mothers. Results indicated that as many as 20 (66.7%) of the mothers identified diarrhoea as a common cause of childhood diseases. Diarrhoea due to food contamination was recognized by as many as 18 (60.0%) respondents. Four important food handling practices relating to water treatment, handwashing before preparation and feeding, administration and storage were recognized in the first phase but the claimed practices in the first phase differed significantly from the observed practices in the second phase (p < 0.025). Many (32.1%) mothers had contaminating food handling behaviours. The low literacy level, poverty and lack of good personal hygiene among the studies population were the most likely causes of the behaviours observed.

Bacteriological study of cooked ogi (fermented cereal weaning food) and its potential safety in a rural Nigerian community.

Thirty households with children receiving the fermented cereal food ogi were selected randomly from Ajara, a rural community in Lagos State, Nigeria. Eighty-one samples of ogi were collected from these households at the time of administration to the children. The degree of bacteriological contamination and pH values of the cooked ogi samples were determined. The mean pH was 3.6 +/- 0.2. Faecal coliform contamination levels of 3 to > or = 2400/ml were recorded in 26 (31.3%) of the 81 ogi samples. Levels of faecal coliforms increased significantly (P < 0.025) during storage of cooked samples for 9 h. The high contamination rate is unacceptable and is a potential health hazard. Although fermenting food like ogi, resulting in a low pH, may reduce bacterial contamination, hygienic practices during handling and preparation should be emphasized as adjuncts in intervention for control of diarrhoeal disease in developing countries.

A comparison of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositivity and hepatitis B surface antigenemia (HBs Ag) among the same group of apparently healthy pregnant women in Lagos, Nigeria: a preliminary report.

Two hundred and fifty apparently healthy pregnant women attending the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos, Nigeria were screened for a comparison of the prevalence of HIV seropositivity and hepatitis B surface antigenemia (HBs Ag) amongst them. The Karpas AIDS cell test for HIV seropositivity and Bioman Hepatitis test kits were used as described by the manufacturers. HIV seropositive cases were confirmed using the Western blot test. Results revealed that out of the 250 pregnant women screened, 2 (0.8%) and 11 (4.4%) were HIV-1 and HBs Ag seropositive, respectively. However, the same 2 pregnant women now constituting 2 (18.2%) of the 11 HBs Ag positive pregnant women were simultaneously HIV-1 seropositive. Antibody to HIV-2 was not recorded in all HIV seropositive cases. This is the first report on the simultaneous prevalence of HBs Ag and HIV seropositivity among apparently healthy pregnant women in Lagos, Nigeria.

PIP: 250 sperm from apparently healthy pregnant patients at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria, were tested for HIV-1 and HIV-2 and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Sera were screened for HIV with the Karpas AIDS cell test using HIV-1 and HIV-2 isolated in Great Britain, and confirmed with the Karpas confirming test and the Western blot. Bioman Hepatek kits were used for hepatitis screening. 2 pregnant women (0.8%) tested positive for HIV-1 and none for HIV-2. 11 women (4.4%) had HBsAg in their serum, and among these, 2 were positive for both HBsAg and HIV-1. This is the first report of pregnant women with both HIV and hepatitis virus screens in Lagos.

Study on the pH of ogi, Nigerian fermented weaning food, and its effect on enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi.

The pH values of both cooked and uncooked ogi samples were determined and the survival of nalidixic acid-resistant enteropathogenic Escherichia coli OB 26 34/20, Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi A when seeded into cooked ogi were studied. The pH values of ogi ranged from pH 3.0 to 3.9. Cooked ogi had a slightly lower pH value than uncooked ogi. Our survival experiments showed that the inoculated enteric pathogens were considerably inhibited in cooked ogi during storage for 24 h. The antibacterial effect of cooked ogi was more pronounced on enteropathogenic E. coli with a log10 5 decline in bacterial count within 6 h.

Faecal contamination level; survival of salmonella typhi and pH changes in 'Gari' and its potential public health hazard in Lagos

The pH changes; faecal contamination level; survival of nalidixic-acid resistant salmonella typhi in 'gari' soaked in water was examined. The pH values showed that 'gari' had a range of pH 3.76 to pH 6.24. The mean pH values showed that there were no appreciable change for gari types from various sources within the studied time period of 120 minutes. Faecal coliform contamination of 4 to 2;400/g using the MPN technique were recorded in 33of the 36 'gari' samples. This high faecal coliform contamination rate of gari; a popular fermented cassava food is unacceptable and it is of public health importance. Our survival experiment showed that the seeded enteric pathogen slightly decreased in colony-forming unit (cfu) with log(0.3 10) 0.3 within the studied 120 minutes. It is concluded that our local foods should be monitored regularly for public health safety; and improved hygienic practices should be emphasized as an intervention for diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries