Biology subjects

Ashar, S. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Ashar, S. J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Investigation of Bactericidal effect of Earwax on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus isolated from skin and stool samples of undergraduate students, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

Earwax is a normal product of the ear, which protects the skin of the ear from water, dirt dust and infection. The aim of this study was to determine the antibacterial activity of earwax on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli isolated from skin and stool respectively. Bacteriological investigations were carried out using culture and morphological characteristics, conventional biochemical tests and antibiotic susceptibility testing of both earwax and conventional antibiotics against the presumptive isolates. Occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus (58.3%) and Escherichia coli (45.8%) in skin and stool samples were respectively determined based on cultural and morphological characteristics. Conventional biochemical tests were carried out on the 14 and 10 presumptive Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli isolates and then 10 and 8 presumptive isolates were detected respectively. The antibacterial activity of the test agent was determined using the agar well diffusion technique; five different concentrations (20% v/v, 40% v/v, 60% v/v, 80% v/v, and 100% v/v) of the test agents were evaluated against the bacterial isolates. The earwax showed antibacterial activity against both isolates (except the 20% v/v for Staphylococcus aureus) at all concentrations used with antibacterial activity directly proportional to earwax concentration and a better antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (zone of inhibition 20mm) aureus than Escherichia coli. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out on the 10(41.7%) and 8(33.3%) presumptive isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli respectively based on Kirby Bauer method. Highest rate of susceptibilities of the Staphylococcus aureus isolates to antibiotics were observed in Erythromycin (100%), while for Escherichia coli were observed in Erythromycin and Levofloxacin (100%). Meanwhile, highest rate of resistant to Staphylococcus aureus isolates were observed in Gentamicin (100%) while for Escherichia coli was observed in Amoxicillin (100%). This study shows that earwax plays a critical role in the fight against infectious microorganisms as some of the antibiotics.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2023

Occurrence of Salmonella species in local and commercial chickens slaughtered at Samaru and Sabon-gari live bird markets, Kaduna State.

Salmonellosis is a bacterial infection caused by members of the genus Salmonella. It is one of the most common and important zoonotic diseases. The route of infection from animals to humans is usually through contaminated food, water and environment. Bacteriological investigation on 303 cloacal swab samples collected from local (139) and commercial (164) chickens slaughtered at Samaru and Sabon-gari live bird markets, Kaduna State was carried out to determine the occurrence of Salmonella species. Cultural isolation and identification using conventional biochemical tests, microgen test kit and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification of invA gene of the Salmonella isolates was carried out. Isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility tests, phenotypic detection of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases (ESBLs) producing Salmonella isolates using the modified Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) ESBL confirmatory test. The occurrence of Salmonella species based on cultural and biochemical tests was found to be 13 (4.29%), microgen kit identified 7 (53.8%) of the 13 Salmonella species while PCR based on invA gene confirmed 9 (69.2%) as the overall occurrence rate of Salmonella species. Meanwhile, the study also revealed rate of occurrence of Salmonella species in local chickens 8 (61.5%) which was higher compared to commercial chickens 1 (7.69%) with a statistical significant association ({chi}2 = 8.775, P = 0.003) between the occurrence of Salmonella species in local and commercial chickens. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out using panel of 12 antibiotics from 8 different antibiotic classes. Highest rate of sensitivity of the isolates to antibiotics was observed for Ofloxacin with 90%, while all the isolates (100%) were resistant to Nalidixic Acid, Cefazolin, Amoxicillin + Clavulanic Acid, Oxacillin and Penicillin. This study revealed multidrug-resistance (MDR) profile of Salmonella with a total of (25%) of Salmonella isolates being resistant to 5 antibiotics belonging to 4 different classes of antimicrobials with the highest multiple antibiotic-resistant (MAR) indices ranging from 0.58 to 0.91. All the nine (9) isolates of Salmonella tested were found to be negative for ESBLs production. Therefore, it is concluded that Salmonella species are present in local and commercial chickens slaughtered at Samaru and Sabon-gari live bird markets, Kaduna State and could pose serious public health risks to handlers and to consumers of poultry meat and its products.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2023

Isolation and Identification of possible pathogenic bacteria on carrots sold at community market, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

Carrots (Daucus carota) are root vegetables that can be purple, red, yellow or white colour based on their pigmentation and variety. Due to the awareness of its high nutritional content such as vitamins, minerals and carotene, they are mainly consumed raw, possibly exposing one to the risk of being infected. Studies on the pathogenic Bacteria associated with fresh carrots sold in the community market at Ahmadu Bello University, main campus Samaru Zaria, were carried out using cultural techniques. Salmonella Shigella agar, MacConkey agar and Eosin methylene blue agar were the growth media for the isolation of the pathogenic Bacteria. Twelve fresh carrots were randomly bought from different food vendors in the community market, and then 10g of the outer layer (epidermal) scrapings were collected from each sample and homogenized in 90 ml of buffered peptone water. It was then serially diluted and 0.1ml of each 104 and 105 dilutions were plated on EMB, SSA, and MacConkey agar. Isolates were identified by gram staining and biochemical tests. The bacteria were identified to be Proteus species, Citrobacter species, Klebsiella species, and Salmonella species. Proteus spp was predominantly isolated among the bacterial isolates (41%) followed by Citrobacter spp (25%), Klebsiella spp (17%) and Salmonella spp (17%). These organisms may have been introduced to the carrots during growth, harvesting, handling, storage and distribution. The presence of the organisms is a public health risk because of the diseases known to be caused by them. It is therefore imperative that adequate hygienic practices be put in place during the cultivating and handling of carrots. A high level of susceptibility was observed in Ciprofloxacin at (100%) and Augmentin at (50%), while the high level of resistance was observed to be high in Gentamicin at (100%).

microbiology↗