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Diarrhoea is one of the foremost public health problems worldwide especially among Children under five years in developing countries. Only few studies have investigated the epidemiology and virulence of Escherichia coli pathotypes in South-Eastern and South-Western Nigeria leaving the Northern part of the country unstudied. In this study, a total of 100 isolates of E. coli (45%) were obtained from the stool of 222 diarrhoea patients who were children below five (5) years attending Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, and Institute of Child Health, Banzazzau; an annex of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika-Zaria, Nigeria. The isolation and biochemical identification of the E. coli isolates were performed using standard microbiological procedures. A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to differentiate the five (5) major diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli pathotypes (EHEC, ETEC, EPEC, EIEC and EAEC) in one reaction condition, by using different diarrhoeagenic E. coli primers for different virulent genes found in E. coli. From the result obtained, only one (1) percent of the isolates was found to harbor the virulence gene out of the 100 E. coli isolated from the diarrhoea stools of children employed in this study.
ABSTRACT
Aims: To study the susceptibility profile of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from orthopaedic patients to antibiotics and methanolic extracts of Parkia biglobosa. Background: Antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus has attained alarming proportions worldwide; with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) becoming a major pathogen of public health importance associated with community and hospital acquired infections. Wound infections in orthopaedic patients with multidrug resistant pathogens significantly delay or prevent the union of fractured bones. The increasing prevalence of multidrug resistance in Staphylococcus aureus isolates calls for the search for alternative anti-staphylococcal agents. Methodology: Suspected staphylococcal isolates from wound, skin and bed swab samples from orthopaedic patients in a tertiary hospital in Zaria, Nigeria were characterized by established microbiological procedures and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern determined by the Kirby-Bauer-CLSI modified disc agar diffusion (DAD) technique. The activity of crude methanolic extract of the root, stem bark and leaf of Parkia biglobosa on the isolates determined. Results: A total of 179 isolates were confirmed S. aureus: wounds (24.6%), skin (39.1%) and bed (36.3%). The isolation rates for MRSA from the various sites were: wound (75%), skin (51.4%) and bed (73.8%). Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed that the isolates were generally resistant to ampicillin (100% for all sites); ceftriazone (wound 69.7%, skin 72.2%, bed 70.8%); gentamicin (wound 54.5%, skin 52.8%, bed 37.5%) and ciprofloxacin (wound 51.5%, skin 47.2%, bed 35.4%). The phytochemical screening of the methanolic extract of the leaf, root and stem bark of Parkia biglobosa showed the presence of saponin, tannin, flavonoids and cardiac glycosides. The stem bark of Parkia biglobosa showed the greatest activity against all the multidrug resistant MRSA isolates at the 10mg/ml-25mg/ml concentration range used. In the search for alternative antistaphylococcal agents from natural sources, Parkia biglobosa will be a possible candidate for further investigation. Conclusion: There was high prevalence of multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from the clinical and surveillance samples from the orthopaedic patients.
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Aims: To investigate the antimicrobial activity of ethyl acetate and residual aqueous fractions of the methanol extract of Alchornea cordifolia leaf against Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12600, Escherichia coli ATCC 11775 and Candida albicans ATCC 18804 in comparison to standard antibiotics. Study design: Extraction of Alchornea cordifolia leaf, partitioning of the extract, susceptibility tests (Zones of inhibition) and Minimum Inhibitory and Bactericidal Concentrations determination. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Medicinal Plant Research and Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Idu – Abuja, Nigeria and Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, July and October. Methodology: The leaves of Alchornea cordifolia (Schum. & Thonn.) Muell. Arg. were collected, dried at room temperature and extracted with methanol using a soxhlet extractor. The methanol extract was partitioned between ethyl acetate and distilled water to obtain an ethyl acetate sub-fraction (EAF) and an aqueous residual fraction (AF). Agar well diffusion and agar dilution methods according to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) were used to test the antimicrobial activity of the ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions of Alchornea cordifolia against the above mentioned microbial species. Results: Both fractions; ethyl acetate and residual aqueous fractions of the methanol extract showed antimicrobial activity against the standard organisms viz: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12600, Escherichia coli ATCC 11775 and Candida albicans ATCC 18804. The highest activity was observed for the ethyl acetate fraction against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12600 with zone of inhibition of 27 mm, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (M.I.C) of 1.25 mg/ml and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (M. B. C) of 2.5mg/ml. Conclusion: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12600, Escherichia coli ATCC 11775 and Candida albicans ATCC 18804 were susceptible to the ethyl acetate sub-fraction and residual aqueous fractions of the methanol extract of Alchornea cordifolia leaf.
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Purpose: An investigation of the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from healthy women to ten commonly used antimicrobial drugs was carried out as a basis for a guide for empirical antimicrobial treatment using urine samples. Method: The samples collected from healthy women volunteers in Zaria were cultured and screened for S. aureus using standard microbiological procedures. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was investigated using disc diffusion technique. Result: A total of 54(36) S. aureus isolates were isolated from 150 urine samples collected. Of the 54 isolates; 16 (29.6); 15 (27.8) and 23 (42.6) were from married but not pregnant; pregnant and single women respectively. The isolates were highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin; gentamicin; ofloxacin; sparfloxacin and pefloxacin in both groups (married and single). The differences observed in all the antimicrobial drugs tested for both groups were not statistically significant (p0.05). A total of 34 (63) of the isolates showed multi-drug resistance and only 6 (11) were susceptible to all the antimicrobial drugs tested. Conclusion: This observation calls for measures to reduce the reservoir of antimicrobial resistant organisms in healthy populations
Subject(s)
Anti-Infective Agents , Staphylococcus aureus , Women's HealthABSTRACT
Stock and diluted 'in-use' solutions of chlorhexidine gluconate 0.3w/v and cetrimide 3w/v (savlon) and chlorinated lime and boric acid solution (Eusol) in three hospitals in Zaria were tested for contamination using standard methods. Both solutions of savlon were found to be heavily contaminated; but Eusol was not found to be so contaminated. The bacteria contaminants isolated include pseudomonas aeruginosa; escherichia coli; staphylococcus aureus; micrococcus sp. and bacillus subtilis