Background: Typhoid fever is one of the most common infectious diseases in developing countries including Nigeria. Globally, typhoid fever is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in many regions of the world. People most at risk for serious complications due to Salmonella infections include older adults, pregnant women, infants, children, and people who have compromised immune systems. Design and Duration: The study involves the collection of blood and stool specimens across all ages and gender between ages 0-70 years who present with fever and diarrhoea among other symptoms of typhoid in selected hospitals within Bauchi from January 2019 to August 2020. Aim: The aim of this research is to phenotypically characterize virulence factors in Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella typhi serovars isolated from clinical specimens in selected hospitals within Bauchi. Materials and Methods: A total of 518 blood and stool specimens were collected from selected health facilities within Bauchi metropolis to determine the presence of Salmonellae pathogens. Phenotypic identification of Salmonella typhi was performed using standard microbiological procedures, virulence factors were investigated and the Kirby Bauer Disk Diffusion method was used for the determination of the antimicrobial susceptibility and Multidrug Resistant pattern of the isolates. Results and Discussion: Highest number of specimens collected was among patients with fever. Age groups 31-40 and 0-10 had the highest frequencies of occurrence respectively while age group 61-70 had the least. There was no significant difference between the age group and the number of isolates as p>0. 05. Highest frequency of S. typhi was found within the Female gender while Males recorded the lowest. The stool had the highest number of positive samples 31(21.6%) and blood had the least 17(4. 5%). Flagella was present in 18(37.5%) of 48 virulence isolates and was the most prevalent. Haemolysin was the least prevalent 4(8.3%) in all the isolates in our study. In the present study, 37(77.0%) of S. typhi isolates were resistant to 2 or more antimicrobial agents (Multidrug resistance). The highest resistance was observed in Oxacillin 46(95.8%). The isolates were sensitive to Ciprofloxacin 31(64.5%), Colistin Sulphate 29(60.4%), and Ceftriaxone 28(58.3%). All isolates 48(100%) were Multidrug-resistant and sensitive to Ciprofloxacin, Colistin Sulphate, Ceftriaxone, and Amikacin. Conclusion: This study established that Salmonella typhi was more prevalent in the middle age group, female out-patient with most cases of fever, diarrhoea, and sometimes both. Most of the Salmonella typhi recovered from this study were more from stool than blood. Of all of the isolates in this study 48(9.2%) produced two or more virulent factors, with flagella as the commonest across all the MDR isolates; which is indicative of a significant relationship between virulence factors and multidrug resistance. The emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of Salmonella has added to the urgent need for the development of more effective control measures.

Aim: The study aimed to assess the bacterial load of in rectal swabs from cattle by isolating Enterococcus spp and Escherichia coli, and determining the multidrug-resistant pattern of the isolates. Study Design: The study is a clinical-veterinary laboratory investigation involving the isolation and determination of the multidrug-resistant (MDR) profile of Enterococcus spp and E. coli isolated from cattle rectal. Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in the Yelwa and Gubi campuses Farm centers of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, Nigeria, in period extended from  April to June 2021. Methodology: Fresh rectal swab samples were collected from the randomly selected cattle and labeled. The samples were immediately transported and processed in the Microbiology laboratory at Yelwa Campus, and the bacterial load of each sample was determined using standard techniques. Enterococcus spp and E. coli were isolated using differential culture media followed by an appropriate biochemical identification test. The isolates were subjected to the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. Results: In Yelwa, the highest microbial load is 2.7 x 1012 CFU/g. while the lowest microbial load is 2.0 x 1012 CFU/g.  In the Gubi campus, the highest microbial load is 3.4 x 1012 CFU/g. while the lowest microbial load is 2.7 x 1012 CFU/g. Both in Yelwa and Gubi ,the result showed that most isolates of Enterococcus spp and E. coli are multidrug-resistant. In Yalwa some of the isolates showed 100% resistance against Norfloxacin, Rifampicin, Ampicillin, and Streptomycin, while Gentamycin gave the lowest multidrug resistance (57.4%). In Gubi, the highest was to ampicillin with (90.6%) frequency, while the lowest resistance was found in Chloramphenicol (11.3%). In Yelwa, a high percentage resistance (92.6%) was observed in Streptomycin, and Cephalexin has the lowest (20.4%). In Gubi, all the E. coli isolates had 100% resistance against sulfamethoxazole, and the lowest was in Ofloxacin (43.4%). Conclusion: This study found that cattle in the area are reservoirs of bacteria that are both part of the normal flora and opportunistic pathogens, and harbored resistance phenotypes. It is therefore advocated that the use of these animals’ faeces as manure should be done with caution, particularly after pre-treatments.

Background: Syphilis remains a public health problem in many parts of the world, including Nigeria, where is common during pregnancy. Design and Duration: This is a cross-sectional study involving pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Dogon Agogo Primary Health Centre, Jos North, from March 2017 to November, 2021. Aim: The aim of this study is to seroprevalence of Syphilis among pregnant women attending Primary health care centre in Jos North, Materials and Methods: A total of one thousand, two hundred and nineteen blood samples were screened from 2017 to 2021, using rapid diagnostic tests Patient’s demographic variables, clinical profiles and information considered to be risk factors were also collected using structured questionnaires, Patient’s demographic details, clinical profiles and information considered to be risk factors were also collected using structured questionnaires. Results: The results showed that only 33 (2.7%) were positive. This includes 14(42.4%) patients between the age of 20 – 34 years as the highest frequency, followed by 12(36.4%) in 35 – 49 years of age. Most of the syphilis-positive patients are married 21(63.6%) and had attended tertiary level of education 13(39.4%), but mostly unemployed/Housewives 11(33.3%). The clinical profile of the participants revealed that the majority 14(42.5%) of the women that attended the facility throughout this period are in their third pregnancy and above (Multigravida). They were screened during                     the first-time visit (72.7%) and first trimester (33.3%). The pregnancy outcome among the seropositive patients showed that many 14(42.4%) undergo normal delivery, but 10(30.3%) had miscarriages. Blood transfusion (81.8%), multiple sex partners (75.8%), unprotected sexual intercourse with a person of unknown status (57.6%), and previous exposure to sexually transmitted infections (84.8%) were the most prevalent risks factors observed. The overall prevalence of syphilis across the five years of sampling was 2.71% (33 of 1219), where the highest number of cases 57.6% was recorded in the year 2020, followed by 18.2% in 2018, with 3.0% in 2019 as the least. Conclusion: This study found that the prevalence of syphilis over the five-year period among pregnant women in this area is low. However, the study advocates the improvement of screening programs during pregnancy as part of routine antenatal care.