Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of clinical carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolates from Sokoto, northwest Nigeria.

Emergence and spread of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are two of the major problems currently threatening global public health. In Nigeria, interest in CPE is recent. In Sokoto, northwest Nigeria, there are no data on the prevalence and mechanism underlying carbapenem resistance. In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of clinical carbapenems-resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolates in two leading hospitals in Sokoto, northwest Nigeria. A total of 292 non-duplicate Enterobacteriaceae isolated from clinical specimens processed in the diagnostic laboratories of two hospitals between January and June 2019 were collected. Of these, 129 (44.2 %) and 19 (6.5%) were resistant to third-generation cephalosporin and carbapenems, respectively. RT-PCR revealed that 10 (7.8%), 19 (14.7%) and 46 (35.7%) of the third-generation cephalosporin-resistant isolates harboured bla SHV, bla TEM and bla CTX-M genes, respectively. The modified Carba NP test result showed that only 7 (36.8 %) of the 19 carbapenem-resistant isolates were carbapenemase producing; among them, bla NDM-5 and bla OXA-181 genes were identified in five and two isolates, respectively. However, none of the carbapenemase genes investigated, including bla VIM, bla KPC and bla IMP, was detected in the remaining carbapenem-resistant isolates, suggesting a non-enzymatic mechanism. This study reports for the first time, the emergence of CPE in Sokoto state and the detection of NDM-producing Citrobacter freundii in Nigeria. The observed CPE in this study is a concern in a country where alternative antibiotics are rarely available.

Evaluation of the antibacterial and antidiarrhoeal activities of heeria insignis o. Ktze.

Heeria insignis O. Ktze (Anacardiaceae) is an indigenous African shrub used in treatment of diarrhea, venereal diseases, tapeworm, hookworm, schistosomiasis, kidney trouble and for increasing lactation in women after childbirth. The methanol and dichloromethane extracts of the leaves were evaluated for antibacterial activity (using agar-diffusion method) and antidairrheal activity (using isolated rabbit jejunum and castor-oil induced diarrhea in mice). The methanol extract gave higher antibacterial activity than dichloromethane. The order of susceptibility of test microorganisms to methanol extract were Salmonella typhi>Pseudomous aeruginosa> Staphylococcus aureus>Bacillus subtilis>Escherichia coli which were comparable to standard. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the methanol extract for these microorganisms was also determined. The minimum inhibitory concentration (mg/ml) of methanol extract against microorganisms is; B. subtilis (3.9), S. aureus (1.95), E. coli (62.5), Ps. aeruginosa (3.9) and S. typhi (1.95). On the isolated rabbit jejunum evaluation, both extracts produced concentration-dependent relation of isolated rabbit jejunum that was not blocked by phentolamine, suggesting that extracts act via mechanisms other than alpha-adrenergic receptor. In the castor oil-induced diarrheoeal test, each extract gave 80% protection at 200 mg/kg, which is comparable to loperamide 2 mg/kg with 80% protection. This finding may explain the use of the plant in diarrhea and bacterial diseases.

Antibiotic sensitivity profiles of salmonella organisms isolated from presumptive typhoid patients in Zaria, northern Nigeria.

A hundred and ten Salmonella organisms (comprising 38 Salm. typhi, 13 Salm. paratyphi and 59 non-typhi Salmonella spp.) isolated from blood of patients diagnosed of typhoid fever in Zaria, Northern, Nigeria were evaluated for their in-vitro susceptibility to eighteen antibiotics. A high percentage of the Salmonella spp. exhibited resistance to the various test antibiotics. While ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and the aminoglycosides exhibited the greatest in-vitro activity against the isolates (82.7-96.4% of the isolates were susceptible), chloramphenicol and the aminopenicilins were considerably less effective (only 54.5% of isolates were sensitive). Multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) indexing showed that 90.9% of the isolates had multiple drug resistance (MAR) index >0.2. Eighteen of these isolates were resistant to at least 12 of the 18 antibiotics; susceptible only to ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and the aminoglycosides. The percentage degree of resistance and MAR indices of the isolates to the antibiotic agents were irrespective of age and gender of the patients. The high prevalence of multiple drug resistant bacteria in this region is of epidemiological concern, as this will restrict the choices of antibiotics in the treatment of typhoid fever to a few compounds.

Phytochemical and antimicrobial activities of the Daniellia oliveri leaves.

The n-butanol soluble part and four chromatographic fractions of the aqueous ethanolic extract of the leaves of Daniellia oliveri were investigated for antimicrobial properties. All fractions showed activity against Staphylococcus aureus. A chromatographic fraction showed significant activity against the fungus Tricophyton rubrum.

Antibiotics Susceptibility Patterns of Urine Bacterial Isolates in Zaria; Nigeria

PURPOSE: The prevalence of E. coli; Ps. aeruginosa and Staph aureus isolates from urine of selected residents in Zaria was investigated. This was an attempt to elucidate the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of these bacteria commonly implicated in urinary tact infection. METHODS: Urine samples collected from students of Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Ahmadu Bello University and Kaduna State Polytechnic; Zaria; Nigeria; commercial sex workers; and illiterate men and women in Zaria were cultured and bacterial isolates identified using standard microbiological procedures. The antibacterial susceptibility of the isolated bacteria were investigated. RESULTS: A total of 206 bacteria were isolated from 150 urine samples collected from the subjects. The prevalence of the Ps aeruginosa; Staph aureus and E. coli isolates from the urine samples is 53.4 percent; 43.3 percent and 40.7 percent; respectively. Commercial sex workers had the highest (30.6 percent) prevalence of bacteria in their urine samples while the students had the least. Multiple antibiotics resistance was highest for the bacteria isolates obtained from urine samples of the students and commercial sex workers. CONCLUSION: Ps aeruginosa; Staph aureus and E. coli are highly prevalent in urine of the residents of Zaria investigated. The high multiple antibiotics resistance identified makes it necessary for antibiotic susceptibility testing to be conducted prior to antibiotics prescription in in Zaria

Synthesis and Antifungal Activity of Some Organotin(IV) Carboxylates.

Six diorganotin(IV) carboxylates prepared by reacting diorganotin(IV) dichlorides with the respective silver carboxylate have been tested for antifungal activity against Aspergillus. niger, Aspergilluus flavus and Pencillium. citrinum in Sabourand dextrose broth. The compounds generally exhibit greater fungitoxicity than the diorganotin(IV) dichlorides and the carboxylic acids from which they were synthesized. In keeping with the generally accepted notion that the organotin moiety plays an important role in deciding the antifungal activity of an organotin compound, the diphenyltin(IV) compounds were more active than their di-n-butyltin(IV) analogues. However, the order of increasing fungitoxicity of the compounds parallels that of the uncomplexed carboxylic acids. The implications of the results are discussed.

Antifungal activity of n-tributyltin acetate against some common yam rot fungi.

The antifungal activity of n-tributyltin acetate (TBTA) was examined in relation to combating yam rot disease. TBTA exhibited a significant effect in vitro and in vivo on four yam rot fungal isolates tested. However, the in vitro toxicity of TBTA was drastically reduced when 2.5% Tween 80 was the solvent instead of 25% acetone, as indicated by the MICs of 156.0 and 5.0 micrograms/ml, respectively.