Forty-one (29)kununThe high bacterial load of most of the samples can be attributed to the poor hygienic practices of the handlers and possible contamination from the utensils and water that were used for processing of the beverage. The presence of these organisms could be a matter of serious concern as these organisms are involved in some health implications causing various diseases.

Aim: Contracting infectious diseases from microbial contaminated toilet door handles is a potential threat to public health and safety. Therefore we performed microbiological screening of toilet door handles in twelve рublic toilets on Baze University campus for bacterial contamination. Methodology and Results: Biochemical analysis of bacterial isolates from entrance toilet door handles in six building blocks on Baze University camрus, revealed a general contamination by mainly seven bacterial species associated with human gut and skin flora in order of decreasing frequency as follows: Staphylococcus aureus 42.9%; Salmonella typhimurium 21.4%; Escherichia coli 14.3%; Pseudomonas aeruginosa 9.5%; Proteus mirablis 4.8%; Klebsiella oxytoca 4.8%; and Klebsiella pneumoniae with 2.3% prevalence. Results of the total aerobic mesophillic count showed A-Block with the highest amount of contamination-768*10 5 CFU/ml, while B-Block had the least amount of bacterial contamination-473*10 5 CFU/ml. The levels of bacterial contamination in the other blocks were as follows: C-Block-710*10 5 CFU/ml, D-Block-695*10 5 CFU/ml, E-Block-567*10 5 CFU/ml, and F-Block-743*10 5 CFU/ml. Conclusion: Overall of the seven isolated bacterial sрecies five were mainly gut-associated bacteria, suggesting feacal contamination. The others were skin-associated bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus), suggesting routine touch by hands, and soil-associated bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) suggesting contamination from settling dust рarticles. This study is relevant for public health and safety, as its findings reveal the presence of bacterial pathogens on toilet door handles, which is vital in preventing the spread of infectious disease.

This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author MIA designed the study, performed the statistical analysis, wrote the protocol, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript and managed literature searches. Authors BOO, GOA, PO and KI managed the analyses of the study and literature searches. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

A confounding factor for healthcare programmes in African countries is the inability of essential health tools to reach targeted locations and populations, due to poor Logistics Management Information System (LMIS). In a bid to contribute towards addressing these challenges, a pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the tracking ability, reliability and applicability of EASE App, a novel Smart Phone based Application. The App is designed to provide real-time tracking and tracing of commodities as well as curation of data in a cloud based database with restricted access which can be linked with other databases. In this study, NIPRIMAL was labelled with QR codes, and tracked within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, using the smartphone based EASE App. Data collected showed that the “EASE App” tracking had accuracy of 100% for date and time of scan, operators’ codes and product identity; and 92.83±1.69% and 99.83±0.27% accuracy for GPS mapping label for the city and country, respectively. The GPS mapping label for specific streets, roads or districts, gave an accuracy of about 64.28±3.14%. The technology was able to provide real-time data on user unique identity, user location as well as date/time of use, and the feedback report indicated that it was readily deployable and easy to use. The results demonstrate that the “EASE App” is a promising technology that can support supply chain and related data management challenges in resource poor settings. The potential benefit of the EASE App in strengthening LMIS and distribution chain system in Africa as well as future optimization of the App are discussed.