The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) calls for a reduction of child mortality by two third between 1990 and 2015, the reality is that although progress is been made, much more remains to be done. The prevalence rate of diarrhoea in Nigeria is 18.8% and is a menace in sub-Sahara Africa; and in this part of West African it accounts for an estimated 150,000 deaths yearly amongst children under five due to poor hygienic and sanitary practices. Diarrhoea's status as the second leading killer of children under five is an alarming reminder of the vulnerability of children in Nigeria, saving the lives of millions of children at risk of death from diarrhoea is possible with a comprehensive strategy that ensures all children in need receive critical prevention and treatment measures. This report is written with the intent to let our government re-focus her attention on the prevention and management of diarrhoeal diseases as central to improving child survival in the country and justify the need to embrace Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) set by WHO to achieve universal access to clean water and basic sanitation, which is the primary preventive measures to reduce the burden of diarrhea in the country.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is known to show resistance to beta-lactam class of antibiotics. MRSA is among the highest superbugs posing dangerous threats to humans. This study aimed at determining the in-vitro synergistic evaluation of Moringa oleifera, Hunteria umbellate and Azadirachta indica extracts with existing antibiotics (Azithromycin, Clindamycin and Vancomycin) on isolated MRSA from fomites. MRSA was isolated using the BBL™ Oxacillin agar screen test (Müller Hinton Agar with 6 μg/mL Oxacillin and 4% NaCl). The Minimum Bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the MRSA were determined by Agar well diffusion using antibiotics in solitary, plant extracts in solitary, combination of these antibiotics with plant extracts at different concentrations. The agar diffusion assay showed that H. umbellate extract-Azithromycin combination had the least zones of inhibition ≥21.00±1.92 mm in 75% of all isolates testedwhile M. oleifera extract-Azithromycin combination had the highest zones of inhibition ≥22.20 ±2.27 mm. Comparison of bactericidal activities of all plant extracts and antibiotics synergy shows Azithromycin to have a significant value of P>0.05. The agar well diffusion method showed synergistic effects between combination of antibiotics and all extracts with significant increase in the zones of inhibition of the test antibiotics against environmental strains of MRSA. The synergistic interactions indicated that the inhibitory potentials of the plant extracts increased hence, combining natural products derived from phytochemicals and antibiotics could be another way to mitigate and fight against resistant infectious bacteria.

Shigellosis is a worldwide health concern especially in developing countries with poor sanitation, lack of personal hygiene and use of contaminated water supplies especially for young children. The emergence of multidrug-resistant Shigella strains incidence imply that shigellosis is an unsolved global health problem causing diarrhoea. This study therefore was carried out to determine the resistant plasmids of multidrug resistant serotypes of Shigella species isolated from stool samples of school children among selected communities in Odeda Local government with their biodata. A total of 10 Shigella spp isolates were obtained from stool samples collected from school children. Antibiotics susceptibility was performed and multidrug resistant isolates were selected for plasmid profiling. Plasmid profiling of multi-drug resistant Shigella isolates was done by alkaline lysis method. Molecular characterization for identification of the bacterial isolates was carried out using 16S rRNA gene sequencing method. Data obtained were analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Somatic serotyping characterized the isolates to be Shigella flexneri (2.02%), Shigella boydii (1.2%) and Shigella sonnei (0.81%). Plasmid profile analysis showed detectable plasmids with estimated sizes between 100bp to 1200bp. Genomic characterization revealed the isolates belonging to Shigella sonnei strain M-X2D, Shigella flexneri strain MHW4.1 and Shigella boydii strain 3052-94. This study confirmed the emergence of multidrug resistant R-plasmids among Shigella spp causing diarrhoea amongst school children in Abeokuta environs, Nigeria.