In Nepal, little is known about the microbiological profile of wound infections in children and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Total of 450 pus/wound swab samples collected were cultured using standard microbiological techniques and the colonies grown were identified with the help of biochemical tests. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion technique. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates were detected by using cefoxitin disc and confirmed by determining minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of oxacillin. 264 (59%) samples were culture positive. The highest incidence of bacterial infections was noted in the age group of less than 1 year (76%). Out of 264 growth positive samples, Gram-positive bacteria were isolated from 162 (61%) samples and Gram-negative bacteria were found in 102 (39%) samples. Staphylococcus aureus (99%) was the predominant Gram-positive bacteria isolated and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (44%) was predominant Gram-negative bacteria. About 19% of S. aureus isolates were found to be methicillin-resistant MIC of oxacillin ranging from 4 μg/mL to 128 μg/mL. Among the children of Nepal, those of age less than 1 year were at higher risk of wound infections by bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common bacteria causing wound infections in children.

A wound is any physical injury involving a break in the skin, and exposed subcutaneous tissues provide a favorable substratum for a wide variety of microorganisms to contaminate and colonize. In this study a total of 870 plus samples were collected from patients visiting B & B hospital suspecting wound infection and then analyzed. The causative agents were isolated, identified by culture and biochemical tests and their susceptibility pattern to antibiotics were determined by using CLSI guidelines. Out of total samples, 476(44.8%) showed bacterial growth. Among growth cases 22.9% were mixed growths. Among all bacterial isolates, 12 species were identified of them, 70.6% were Gram-negative and 29.4% were Gram-positive. Among Gram-positive isolates, Staphylococcus. Aureus (74.2%) was most common followed by CoNS (8.6%), Non hemolytic Streptococci (8.6%), Enterococcus spp. (4.3%) and â -haemolytic Streptococci (4.3%). Among Gram-negative bacteria, the most common isolate was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (31.5%) followed by E.coli (24.8%), Acinetobacter spp. (14.6%), Enterobacter spp. (14.0%) and Klebsiella spp. (13.4%). Proteus spp. and Citrobacter spp. were less common. With regard to AST pattern, S. aureus was most susceptible to chloramphenicol and highly resistance to penicillin. Among them, 7.7% were MRSA. For other Gram-positive isolates as well, effective drug was found to be chloramphenicol. For P. aeruginosa, the most effective drug was imipenem (94.3%) followed by amikacin (63.2%). Likewise, for other Gram-negative bacteria most effective drug was imipenem followed by amikacin. Among the total P. aeruginosa isolates, 58.5% were found to be MDR. For all these P. aeruginosa isolates MIC on gentamycin and ciprofloxacin illustrate the simultaneous presence of ciprofloxacin resistance and reduced gentamycin susceptibility. These results indicated that antibiotic resistance in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were increasing in alarming trend that leads to the failure of treatment.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/njst.v15i2.12121Nepal Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 15, No.2 (2014) 91-96

Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient required for plant growth and development. It is central to many biological processes, including nucleic acid synthesis, respiration, and enzymatic activity. However, the strong adsorption of phosphorus by minerals in the soil decreases its availability to plants, thus reducing the productivity of agricultural and forestry ecosystems. This has resulted in a complete dependence on non-renewable chemical fertilizers that are environmentally damaging. Alternative strategies must be identified and implemented to help crops acquire phosphorus more sustainably. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding and utilization of soil microbes to both solubilize inorganic phosphate from insoluble forms and allocate it directly to crop plants. Specifically, we focus on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, ectomycorrhizal fungi, and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria. Each of these play a major role in natural and agroecosystems, and their use as bioinoculants is an increasing trend in agricultural practices.

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