Research Papers/Topics in Applied Microbiology

The Spectrum Of Bacteria Causing Urinary Tract Infection Among Pregnant Women Attending Sabasaba Clinic And Their Susceptibility To Antimicrobial Agents

ABSTRACT Urinary tract infections (UTI) during pregnancy can lead to serious obstetric complications, poor maternal and perinatal outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determinethe prevalence of bacterial UTI in pregnant women in Morogoro municipality, Tanzania. This study was conducted at SabaSaba Health Centre from May 2014 to July 2014 involving 196 pregnant women. Mid stream of urine samples were obtained and analyzed by dipstick and processed for culture. Out of 196 pregnant women ...

Food Additives And Hygienic Status Of Flavoured Fruit Juices Manufactured In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

ABSTRACT  The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of juices manufactured and sold for immediate consumption in Dar es Salaam Municipalities, Tanzania. The assessments were based on identifying the levels of preservatives, hygienic practices in manufacturing industries and determine microbiological quality of the juices. High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) method was modified and validated for determination of benzoic and sorbic acids, while direct titration method was ...

Epidemiological Study Of Infectious Bursal Disease Virus In Selected Districts Of The Copperbelt Province In Zambia

ABSTRACT Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is a highly contagious disease of young chickens between 3 and 6 weeks of age. It is caused by infectious bursal disease virus(IBDV) which occursworldwide affecting livelihoods of resource - compromised poor communities. In Zambia, there is scantily documented information on the epidemiology of IBD. In-depth knowledge on the epidemiology of IBD is needed for effective control measures. This study aimed at molecular detection of circulating IBDV strain...

Isolation, Identification And Antibiogram Of Salmonella Enterica From Chicken Eggs Collected From Selected Wards In Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

ABSTRACT Eggs provide protein to human. However, consumption of contaminated eggs with pathogenic Salmonellae (Salmonella enterica) imposes negative impacts to human health causing salmonellosis. The present study aimed at isolation, identification and antibiogram testing of Salmonella enterica from chicken eggs in Morogoro Municipality. A total of 570 raw, boiled, cracked, clean, and faecal soaked chicken eggs (120 local and 450 exotic) were collected from selected areas and examined from No...

Bacterial Contaminants Of African Indigenous Leafy Vegetables And Their Antibiotics Sensitivity Characteristics: A Case Study Of Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

ABSTRACT A study was conducted in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania to investigate the bacterial load found on African indigenous leafy vegetables, their sources and their sensitivity to commonly used antibiotics. A total of 126 samples of fresh African indigenous leafy vegetables (amaranth, nightshade and sweet potato leaves), water used for irrigation from rivers and shallow wells and manure fertilised soils were collected at farm sites and market outlets for bacteriological analysis. Bacteri...

Prevalence And Related Risk Factors Of Porcine Cysticercosis And African Swine Fever In Selected Urban/Peri-Urban Areas Of Morogoro, Tanzania

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to estimate the prevalence and related risk factors of porcine cysticercosis (caused by Taenia solium) and African swine fever (ASF) in domestic pigs, and assesses the state of pork inspection in urban/peri-urban areas of Morogoro region, Tanzania, between November 2010 and January 2011. A two stage random sampling was employed. A total of 260 live pigs were tested serologically. Serum samples were tested for the presence of circulating parasite antigen usi...

Investigating The Perfomance Of Lateral Flow Devices In Diagnosis And Genetic Characterization Of Foot And Mouth Disease Virus In Tanzania

ABSTRACT A study on rapid detection and diagnosis of foot and mouth disease (FMD) field outbreaks was carried out in field settings using a Svanodip® foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV)- antigen (Ag) test lateral flow device (LFD) in Serengeti and Ngorongoro districts of Tanzania. Epithelial tissues from cattle (n=80) were collected from different villages and tested at penside using Svanodip® FMDV-antigen test to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of LFDs relative to gold standard re...

Occurence And Distribution Of Pathogenic Viruses And Fungi In Sweet Potato Varieties In Gweru

ABSTRACT Viruses and fungi are the major threat to sweet potato production because they reduce yield by up to 90% thereby threatening food security. A study was carried out to identify pathogenic viruses and fungi affecting sweet potato and to determine their distribution across varieties and sites in Gweru. A total of 28 samples belonging to five different sweet potato varieties were collected from nine sites in Gweru. Plants were screened for viruses using two methods namely direct observat...

MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PREDICTABILITY OF MENINGOCOCCAL OUTBREAKS IN UPPER EAST REGION OF NORTHERN GHANA

ABSTRACT Background: Outbreaks of Cerebrospinal meningitis, which occur seasonally and periodically continue to be a burden in the African meningitis belt in spite of improved control and preventive mechanisms. Although, immunoprophylaxis remains the most effective strategy to manage meningococcal meningitis, early detection of the causative pathogen could improve the prognosis. However, Hospital (Case) Based Surveillance System (HBSS) is limited at providing information (lags-in-time) on th...

PREVALENCE OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS IN GBOKO, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) is a major public health problem in Nigeria. It was declared a national emergency in 2006 after which an emergency plan for the control of TB in Nigeria was developed. The country is currently ranked 10th among the 22 high TB burden countries in the world. Tuberculosis is an important opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS. Benue state is the highest HIV endemic state in Nigeria and investigation of tuberculosis cases and Mycobacterial resistance patterns are needed....

MICROBIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF FERMENTATION ON THE NUTRIENT, ANTINUTRIENTS AND FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF FERMENTED LIMA BEANS SEEDS (Phaseolus lunatus).

ABSTRACT Semi- solid raw Lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus) were fermented for a period of ten days, chemical (proximate composition, antinutritional contents, pH, and total titratable acidity) and physical changes (temperature, odour, and texture) occurring during the fermentation of the lima beans were monitored. The fermentation was carried out for 48, 96, 120, 168 and 192 hours respectively at ambient temperature. The microbial load was as well monitored. Microorganisms isolated from the sam...

BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION OF UGANDAN PAPER CURRENCY NOTES POSSESSED BY FOOD VENDORS AROUND MULAGO HOSPITAL COMPLEX

BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION OF UGANDAN PAPER CURRENCY NOTES POSSESSED BY FOOD VENDORS AROUND MULAGO HOSPITAL COMPLEX Muhumuza Allan1, Catherine Atuhaire2, Musisi Nathan3, Francis Ejobi4, Samuel Nambile Cumber5* 1School of Biosecurity, biotechnical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Production and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Uganda 2Faculty of medicine, Department of Nursing, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda 3School of Biosecurity, biotechn...

Co-infection of HIV and Some Opportunistic Pathogens Among Patients Attending Two Referral Hospitals in Akure

ABSTRACT The  seroprevalence  studies  of  Plasmodium  falciparum,  Mycobacterium  tuberculosis  and Samonella typhi, HIV and co-infections by the four pathogens were carried out among patients attending Don Bosco Medical centre Akure and Ondo State Specialist Hospital, Akure. Venous blood were collected from a total of 500 randomly selected patients aged 1 to ≥ 91 years  that attended the hospitals  for routine medical check up. Diagnostic test kits (“Determine” and ‟Unigo...