Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research

Abstract: Traditional methods employing selective, differential and non-selective media were used to isolate and identify different species of bacteria from rural drinking water reservoirs of Mount Darwin district of Zimbabwe. The colony counts from non-selective nutrient agar plates gave an indication of the overall level of bacterial activity from each water sample. Open deep wells, shallow wells and rivers were found to be the most heavily contaminated water sources. Borehole water sources had very low total microbial loa…

Abstract: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been reported as one of the aetiological factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCCA). This study reports the prevalence of HCCA in patients with and without HBV in Northeast Nigeria over a period of five years. A total of 114 patients consecutively diagnosed with HCCA and tested for Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), between January 1996 and December 2000, were studied. There were 81 males and 33 females, ranging in age…

Abstract: Heavy industrial activities and agricultural processes require consumption of many halogenated compounds, and release them continuously as pollutants into the environment. These xenobiotics show high toxicity and persistence and cause many problems to the society, soils and ground water. Microbial dehalogenases are involved in the biodegradation of many important chlorinated compounds. A bacterial strain identified as Methylobacterium sp. HJ1 is able to degrade the herbicide 2,2-dichloropropionic acid by removal of…

Abstract: The present study was undertaken to find the predominant etiological agent of dermatophytoses among the patients attending the outpatient clinic of Mycology Section, Department of Dermatology, Madras Medical College and Hospital, Chennai. Specimens were collected from suspected patients with dermatophytoses and examined for the presence of fungal elements, cultured, isolated and identified. Among the 90 suspected patients with clinical symptoms of dermatophytoses, 71 (78.9%) were confirmed in culture. Trichophyton…

Abstract: The presented study aims to characterize Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079 and DSM 20242 and Bifidobacterium bifidum DSM 20082, DSM 20215, DSM 20239 and DSM 20456 strains. Within the framework of the performed investigations, the author evaluated their biochemical properties, resistance to antibiotics, antagonism towards selected pathogens as well as the effect on their survivability of different environmental conditions with special emphasis on the conditions prevailing in the human gastrointestinal tract. The p…

Abstract: The study was conducted to determine the antibiotic resistance profile of Escherichia coli isolated from clinically healthy pigs and their commercial farm environments. Differential and selective media were used to isolate a total of 142 E. coli strains from 202 samples. These were tested against 16 antibiotics using the disc diffusion method. The isolates showed high resistance rates to Cefuroxime (89.4%), Nitrofurantoin (89.4%), Tetracycline (74.6%), Ceftazidime (73.9%), Cefotaxime (72.5%) and Cephalexin (53.5%)…

Abstract: This study was undertaken to conduct a baseline risk analysis of raw camel milk with special emphasis on Salmonella enterica serovars. Cross-sectional studies were designed to investigate the prevalence of S. enterica serovars in a major camel milk production zone of Kenya. A total of 196 samples were assessed for possible presence of S. enterica. The samples included composite milk from the individual camel udders, bulk milk from collection and market centres, faeces, soil and water samples. Of the 196 samples tes…

Abstract: Rhizobium isolates from root (Sesbania procumbens) and stem nodules (S. rostrata and S. procumbens) of Sesbania species were shown to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in culture supplemented with L-tryptophan. Production of IAA was maximal after 72 h of incubation when the bacteria reached stationary phase of growth. The cultural requirements were optimized for maximum IAA production. The effect of carbon (1%) and nitrogen sources (0.1%) revealed that glucose and potassium nitrate were best promoters for IAA prod…

Abstract: The bioactive compounds of root extracts of Carica papaya L. were extracted, using water and organic solvents, and were investigated for antibacterial activity against some pathogenic bacteria using the cup plate agar diffusion method. The aqueous extracts did not show significant activity, but the organic extracts had significant activity with the methanol extracts demonstrating the highest activity against the test bacteria. The extracts demonstrated higher activities against all the gram-negative bacteria than t…

Abstract: Procedures for dipping of chicken carcasses in trisodium phosphate (TSP), lactic acid (LA) and acetic acid (AA) were evaluated to determine their effectiveness for reducing E. coli NCTC 10538 and aerobic total counts on the chicken meat surfaces. Chicken portions were dipped in a suspension of E. coli (7 log CFU/ml) for 20 s and kept for 90 min to allow E. coli to get attached to the chicken surface. The chicken portions were then dipped in 8, 10, and 12% concentration of TSP, 1, 2, and 3% concentration of LA, and…

Abstract: This study was carried out in order to determine the incidence of urinary tract infection in children and adolescents, identify the uro-pathogens responsible for the infection and study the antibiotic sensitivity patterns of the uro-pathogens. Clean voided mid-stream urine samples were collected in sterile universal bottles from 301 children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 18 years at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital complex (OAUTHC) Ile-Ife, Nigeria from December 2005 – July 2006. Culture…

Abstract: To correlate the prevalence of TORCH (Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus and Herpes simplex) infections with incidence of abortion in pregnant women in the Malabar area of Kerala, in order to establish basic knowledge for future pregnancy care. Patients attending the Institute of Maternity and Child Health, Calicut Medical College, Kerala were subjected for the study. Seventy one miscarriage cases and thirty normal pregnant women were studied through their medical, clinical, and serological data. Results w…

Abstract: A survey was carried out to monitor during a two -month period the incidence of Aspergillus in samples of stored cassava chips traditionally produced in southern Cameroon. Seventy- two samples associated with two forms of chips (cassava balls and cassava pellets) were collected in two locations (Yaoundé and Ebolowa) and 13 Aspergillus species were isolated. In both locations, Aspergillus versicolor was seldom isolated, whereas A. flavus and A. clavatus were most frequently isolated. The level of recovery of isolate…

Abstract: The effect of oil-pulling on the reduction of total count of bacteria was determined. There was a remarkable reduction in the total count of bacteria. The process of oil- pulling reduced the susceptibility of a host to dental caries. The in-vitro antibacterial activity of sesame oil against dental caries causing bacteria was determined. Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus were found to be moderately sensitive to the sesame oil.[...]

Abstract: The vehicles usually involved in salmonellosis outbreaks are meat, eggs, poultry and milk. Recently, Salmonella outbreaks were reported in some vegetables such as tomatoes and unpasteurized juice. After inoculation of Salmonella zanzibar onto food samples, growth and survival of S. zanzibar in orange juice and salami were monitored. Our results showed that S. zanzibar is able to grow and survive in orange juice and also in salami. However, growth in salami was more important than in the case of orange juice. Storag…