Occurrence of Diarrheagenic Pathogens and Their Coinfection Profiles in Diarrheic Under Five Children and Tracked Human Contacts in Urban and Rural Settings of Eastern Ethiopia.

Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Nontyphoidal Salmonella, and Shigella are common cause of childhood diarrhea in countries like Ethiopia, but data on their sources and coinfection profiles is limited. A cross sectional study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2023 to determine the prevalence, coinfection, and monthly occurrence rates of major diarrheagenic bacteria in diarrheic under five children and asymptomatic contacts at urban and rural settings in Ethiopia. A total of 345 stool samples were collected from; 262 diarrheic children visiting Hiwot Fana Hospital, Kersa, and Adelle Health Centers; and 83 caretakers and siblings through case based contact tracing. Samples were analyzed using standard laboratory procedures and the overall prevalence of enteric pathogens was 26.96%, with the highest isolation rate during the winter and peaks of 73.91% in February. The occurrence of the pathogens in children and tracked contacts was 27.86 and 24.09%, respectively. In our study, 8.53% coinfection and 23.66% single pathogen infection was recorded in diarrheic children. The study also showed 4.51 and 3.88% of diarrhea in children from urban and rural had attributed to bacterial coinfection, respectively. The most prevalent pathogen in diarrheic children was Diarrheagenic E. coli (10.31%), and followed by Campylobacter. On the other hand, Diarrheagenic E. coli was the second dominant bacteria following Shigella in the traced contacts, with prevalence of 8.43% and 9.64%, respectively. Based on the study site, the prevalence of Diarrheagenic E. coli and Nontyphoidal Salmonella was higher in children from urban than those from rural. However, the occurrence of each pathogen had no significant differences (P > .05) between settings. The high pathogens occurrence rate in the current study indicates the need for strong control strategies and better child carrying and treatment of diarrheal diseases at both urban and rural settings. Further studies on possible sources and factors attributing to the occurrence of enteric pathogens in children are also recommended.

Investigation on Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, and coliforms in beef from Ethiopian abattoirs: A potential risk of meat safety.

The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of Salmonella enterica (S. enterica) antimicrobial resistance based upon phenotypic assessment, and level of sanitation indicator organisms from 150 beef carcasses collected from three representative abattoirs in eastern, central, and southern Ethiopia. Samples were screened for S. enterica prevalence following the U.S. Department of Agriculture Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG) and confirmed by real-time PCR. The S. enterica isolates were phenotypically evaluated for susceptibility to a panel of 13 antimicrobials using disk diffusion method as described in Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institutes guidelines. In addition, the coliform, total coliform, and generic E. coli populations were quantified by plating onto E. coli/coliform petrifilms. A total of 45 isolates of S. enterica were confirmed using real-time PCR. The overall prevalence of S. enterica at the carcass level was 22.7% (95% CI, 16.0-30.0). However, based on the sampling points, S. enterica prevalence detected on hides was 13.3% (95% CI, 8.0-18.7), pre-evisceration was 12.0% (95% CI, 7.3-17.3), and post-evisceration was 4.7% (95% CI, 1.3-8.0). The prevalence of S. enterica was significantly lower on post-evisceration as compared to hides (p = .009) and pre-evisceration (p = .022). No differences were detected for the prevalence of S. enterica between abattoirs (p = .346). Finally, the prevalence of S. enterica was highest during the wet season (p = .011). The overall mean log CFU/cm2 ± SD of generic E. coli, coliform, and total coliform counts were 4.55 ± 0.99, 4.91 ± 1.13, and 4.98 ± 1.09, respectively. About 20% of S. enterica exhibited phenotypic multidrug resistant. The most frequently detected resistance was to Tetracycline (28.9%), followed by Streptomycin (22.2%) and Sulfisoxazole (20.0%). The data from this study highlight the need to implement interventions on improvement of sanitary practices in abattoirs.

Isolation and Characterization of Urease-Producing Soil Bacteria.

Urease is an enzyme produced by ureolytic microorganisms which hydrolyzes urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide. Microbial urease has wide applications in biotechnology, agriculture, medicine, construction, and geotechnical engineering. Urease-producing microbes can be isolated from different ecosystems such as soil, oceans, and various geological formations. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize rapid urease-producing bacteria from Ethiopian soils. Using qualitative urease activity assay, twenty urease-producing bacterial isolates were screened and selected. Among these, three expressed urease at high rates as determined by a conductivity assay. The isolates were further characterized with respect to their biochemical, morphological, molecular, and exoenzyme profile characteristics. The active urease-producing bacterial isolates were found to be nonhalophilic to slightly halophilic neutrophiles and aerobic mesophiles with a range of tolerance towards pH (4.0-10.0), NaCl (0.25-5%), and temperature (20-40°C). According to the API ZYM assays, all three isolates were positive for alkaline phosphatase, leucine aryl amidase, acid phosphatase, and naphthol_AS_BI_phosphohydrolase. The closest described relatives of the selected three isolates (Isolate_3, Isolate_7, and Isolate_11) were Bacillus paramycoides, Citrobacter sedlakii, and Enterobacter bugandensis with 16S rRNA gene sequence identity of 99.0, 99.2, and 98.9%, respectively. From the study, it was concluded that the three strains appear to have a relatively higher potential for urease production and be able to grow under a wider range of growth conditions.

In vitro antibacterial activities of methanol and aqueous leave extracts of selected medicinal plants against human pathogenic bacteria.

People use medicinal plants as diet, and for treatment of infectious and noninfectious diseases and they use brief procedures like frying and cooking to do so. Medicinal plants; Moringa oleifera, Azadirachta indica, and Lepidium sativum which is believed to have active components that help to treat and manage various diseases were investigated for their antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhi, Streptococcus agalactiae and Shigella boydii. Solvent methanol and aqueous were used for extraction of crudes by means of maceration. Susceptibility testing was determined by using disc diffusion method and Minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by broth dilution method. Heat treated plant material activity against test pathogen was aimed to identify resistance capacity of plant material at different interval of time and temperature. All plant extracts under study was active against all tested pathogen after exposure to 45 °C for 30 min. The antibacterial activities of the non-heat-treated extracts of Azadirachta indica were relatively low; the results of this study show that extracts of Azadirachta indica have better residual antibacterial activities. Methanol extracts of all plant leaves showed highest activity as compared to the aqueous extracts. This is probably assigning the choice of extraction solvent for extracting desired active phytochemical from plants. Many of the people in the study area were illiterate and they did not have awareness about the ways use of medicinal plants. They use the medicinal plants by cooking and frying for different purposes. In the main, plant material can be affected as the temperature of treatment is increases with respect to various times of exposures.

Application of Microbial Bioenzymes in Soil Stabilization.

Soil stabilization is a mechanical or chemical alteration of one or more soil properties to create an improved soil material possessing the desired engineering properties. The aim of this article was to review bioenzyme-based soil stabilization techniques with an emphasis on bioenzymes production, mechanism of soil stabilization and future challenges, and opportunities of the sector. Soils are stabilized to increase strength and durability or to prevent erosion and dust generation. Cost-effective soil stabilization technology has been a fundamental part of any construction and is very important for economic growth in any country. In some cases, construction has been challenged due to the high cost of soil stabilization processes. Besides, methods of stabilizations using common stabilizing agents are getting costly. Currently, there is a growing interest to identify new and green technology to improve construction techniques and to expand the road network. Therefore, the search for new materials and improved techniques to process the local materials has received an increased focus. For developing countries, bioenzymes are now creating an opportunity to improve soil stability with tremendous effectiveness in the overall process of soil stabilization. In the world, bioenzymes have been used in different projects for several years and are generally proprietary products, often of patented formulation that needs intensive field tests. Currently, the use and production of bioenzymes is becoming the most promising key for the advancement of a country by saving time, energy, and finance. It also reduces environmental pollution due to carbon emission by the conventional stabilizers. Thus, a better understanding of this emerging technology is of utmost importance to exploit any improvement it can offer to soil stability. With little research and practice, it is possible to produce soil stabilizing bioenzymes using local raw materials. Due to this, production of low cost, easily and widely applicable, and environmentally friendly enzymatic formulations from locally available raw materials should be the interest of research and academic institutes of any country.

Molecular detection of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis among smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Jigjiga town, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Molecular methods that target drug resistance mutations are suitable approaches for rapid drug susceptibility testing to detect multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The aim of the study was to determine MDR-TB cases and to analyze the frequency of gene mutations associated with rifampicin (RIF) and/or isoniazid (INH) resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients. METHODS: Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed. Sputum specimens were collected, and using a pretested questionnaire, data for associated risk factors for drug resistance were collected from 105 consecutive smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Karamara General Hospital. Specimens were transported to Harar Health Research and Regional Laboratory, Harar, where molecular drug susceptibility testing was performed using GenoType® MTBDRplus assay. RESULTS: Of the total 105 sputum specimens, 98 (93.3%) gave interpretable results, in which 67 (68.4%) were new cases and 31 (31.6%) were previously treated cases. Of these, 80 (81.6%) were sensitive to both drugs and 18 (18.4%) were resistant to RIF and/or INH. The prevalences of MDR-TB in total cases, new, and previously treated cases were 10 (10.2%), 3 (4.5%), and 7 (22.6%), respectively. Among the ten total RIF-resistant specimens, eight (80%) had resulted because of absence of rpoB WT8 and presence of MUT3 and in all specimens, the amino acids changed were Ser531Lue. Of the 18 total INH-resistant specimens, 15 (83.3%) had mutations in the katG gene (katG MUT1, Ser315Thr1), indicating high-level resistance, while 3 (14.7%) had mutations in the inhA promoter gene (Cys15Thr), indicating low-level resistance. CONCLUSION: Among the mutations associated with resistance to RIF and INH, the majority were in codon 531 of the rpoB gene and codon 315 of the katG gene. Relatively high prevalence of MDR-TB was observed in the study.

The role of spices and lactic acid bacteria as antimicrobial agent to extend the shelf life of metata ayib (traditional Ethiopian spiced fermented cottage cheese).

Spices and lactic acid bacteria have natural antimicrobial substances and organic compounds having antagonistic activity against microorganisms. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of spices and lactic acid bacteria as antimicrobial agent to extend the shelf life of metata ayib. Antimicrobial activities of spices and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) filtrates were determined by agar well diffusion method against E. coli, S. aureus, S. flexneri and S. peumoniae. Aantimicrobial activity of garlic was found to be the most effective against all the tested pathogens. Inhibition zones of garlic extract against all pathogens was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater than the remaining spice extracts. Inhibition zones (12.50 ± 1.00 to 15.50 ± 1.00 mm) of ginger and R. graveolens ethanol extracts against all tested pathogens were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater than the remaining solvent extracts. Inhibition zone of O. basilicum ethanol extract against all pathogenic bacteria was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) greater than hexane and acetone extracts. Lactobacillus isolates were shown the highest antimicrobial activity than the other LAB isolates against all pathogens. The synergistic effect of spices together with LAB might be contributed a lot to preserve and extend shelf life of metata ayib. Their antimicrobial activity can reduce the risk of spoilage and pathogenesis. The possible reason of LAB isolates was may be due to production of lactic acid, acetic acid and secondary metabolites like bacteriocins. Aseptic processing of traditional cottage cheese (ayib) is by far needed to minimize risks associated during consumption of metata ayib.

Evaluation of biomass of some invasive weed species as substrate for oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) cultivation.

This study assessed the bioconversion of Agriculture wastes like invasive weeds species (Lantana camara, Prosopis juliflora, Parthenium hysterophorus) as a substrate for oyster mushroom (Pleurotus species) cultivation together with wheat straw as a control. The experiment was laid out in factorial combination of substrates and three edible oyster mushroom species in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. Pleurotus ostreatus gave significantly (p < 0.01) total yield of 840 g kg(-1) on P. hysterophorus, Significantly (p < 0.01) biological efficiency (83.87%) and production rate of 3.13 was recorded for P. ostreatus grown on P. hysterophorus. The highest total ash content (13.90%) was recorded for P. florida grown on L. camara. while the lowest (6.92%) was for P. sajor-caju grown on the P. juliflora. Crude protein ranged from 40.51-41.48% for P. florida grown on P. hysterophorus and L. camara. Lowest crude protein content (30.11%) was recorded for P. ostreatus grown on wheat straw. The crude fiber content (12.73%) of P. sajor-caju grown on wheat straw was the highest. The lowest crude fiber (5.19%) was recorded for P. ostreatus on P. juliflora. Total yield had a positive and significant correlation with biological efficiency and production. Utilization of the plant biomass for mushroom cultivation could contribute to alleviating ecological impact of invasive weed species while offering practical option to mitigating hunger and malnutrition in areas where the invasive weeds became dominant.