The study was carried out to evaluate the isolation and identification of the prevalent bacterial flora and their antibiotic resistance pattern from fresh vegetables sold in the local markets of Aizawl town. Methodology and results: Three vegetables:-Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), potato (Solanum tuberosum) and cabbage (Brassica Oleracea) were randomly collected from different vendors of three local markets in Aizawl town. All the vegetables were washed with double distilled water and cultured onto Mac-Conkey agar and sub-cultured into nutrient agar to obtain pure culture for the identification. Samples were analyzed to study the density of microorganisms by standard plate count (SPC). Mean microbial load ranged from 2.46×10 5-11.85×10 5 CFU/mL for market A; 1.3×10 4-2.51×10 6 CFU/mL for market B and 1.09×10 5-3.14×10 6 CFU/mL for market C. Approximately 41 bacterial isolates made up of 7 genera of bacteria were made from the 3 vegetable groups. Enterobacter spp. (39.02%), Klebsiella spp. (26.82), Proteus spp. (9.76%), Staphylococcus spp. (9.76%) and E. coli (4.88%), Citrobacter sp. (4.88%) and Serratia spp. (4.88%) were the bacteria species isolated. Antibiotic sensitivity patterns of the isolates were determined and almost all of them were resistant to commonly used antibiotics. The percentage of Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) bacteria against the total load was very high (80.5%), and the ESBL production is 62.16%. Conclusion, significance and impact study: Vegetable contamination with bacteria was observed in all the three markets A, B and C. Raw vegetables from the markets were considered unfit for making fresh produce for human consumption and adequate cooking with proper handling before consumption is suggested.

Artisanal refining of crude oil is a common practice in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and this has continuously posed serious environmental and health risks. This was designed to investigate the microbial dynamics and physico-chemical properties of environmental (water, sediment and soil) matrix of impacted by artisanal refining activities. Three sampling locations (Bolo, River’s state; Ekpemu, Delta state; and Twon-Brass, Bayelsa state) were studied. Finding revealed that the total heterotrophic bacterial (THB) load of the recipient water from Twon-Brass had the least count of 2.0 ±0.2 x 104cfu/ml, followed by Ekpemu (2.1 ±0.3 x 103cfu/ml), then Bolo (2.35±0.6 x 104cfu/ml). In the contrary, recipient water body in Ekpemu had the least HUB load (1.8 ±0.1 x 103cfu/ml) followed by Bolo (2.0 ±0.3 x 104cfu/ml), and Twon-Brass (2.0 ±0.8 x 104cfu/ml). The bacterial load of the un-impacted aquatic matrix revealed a higher heterotrophic bacterial load (5.8+ 0.30 x 105cfu/ml) and low HUB load (0.2+ 0.21 x 103cfu/ml). In the sediment, Bodo had the least THB load of 2.1 ±0.2 x 105cfu/g, followed by Twon-Brass (2.3 ±0.6 x 105cfu/g), and Ekpemu (2.9 ±0.3 x 105cfu/g).Bolo and Twon-Brass soil were also highly impacted with hydrocarbons with a pollution index close to 1 (HUB/THB ratio = 0.9) while Ekpemu had a pollution index of 0.7. Bacterial species associated with the samples were Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas putida, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were predominant in all the sample locations. Similarly, the artisanal refining activities also altered the physico-chemical properties of the various environmental matrix studied. Based on the finding of this study, it can be predicted that bioremediation various environmental matrix by natural attenuation is ongoing as most of the organisms isolated are hydrocarbon degraders. However, it is recommended that artisanal refining activities should be discouraged.

The spill of Crude oil from artisanal refineries and government owned pipelines has become recurrent situation in the Niger Delta, leading to devastating effects on the aquatic ecosystem. The toxicity of Crude oil from NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) refinery and selected artisanal refineries in Bolo, Twon-Brass and Ekpemu of the Niger Delta were investigated. The physicochemical properties of the products from the artisanal refineries short fall of the standards of Crude oil for refineries, as they contained impurities. The toxicity of the Crude oil was tested using three representatives of different trophic levels in the aquatic habitat; Fish (Tilapia guineensis), Crusteceans (Paleamonetes africanus), and Moluscs (Tympanotomus fuscatus). The LC50, NOEC, LOEC, and TUa were the indices used for toxicity assessment of the crude oil on the test organisms. The study revealed that all the Crude oil samples were toxic to the organisms. The degree of toxicity of crude oil showed the following trend; Ekpemu (LC50 – 0.02ppt)> Twon-Brass (LC50 – 0.06ppt)> Bolo (LC50 – 0.11ppt)> NNPC (LC50 – 4.63ppt), while the degree of sensitivity was; Tilapia guineensis > Paleamonetes africanus > Tympanotonus fuscatus. The findings further emphasize the need to control Crude oil spillage into the aquatic ecosystem.

Background & objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Non-typhoidal Salmonella and to nd their antibiotic susceptibility pattern in a tertiary care hospital in South India. A signicant global health issue is the steadily rising percentage of Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections in people. A descriptive study was conducted at Methods: a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India. Culture and sensitivity of stool samples of clinically suspected patients were done in the Microbiology laboratory from Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foundation. All samples were inoculated onto appropriate culture plates. Colonies suspected as Salmonella were identied by standard laboratory methods, initially by manual biochemical tests and by the VITEK-2 automated systems (bioMérieux) and nal serotyping by polyvalent antisera. 3 of the Salmonella isolates were sent to CMC, Vellore, India for serotyping. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed by Kirby Bauer's disc diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar and results were interpreted as per the CLSI guidelines (2022). Signed informed consent was obtained from all participants. Tests were performed in the clinical Microbiology Laboratory under the Department of Microbiology, Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foundation, Venjaramoodu, Trivandrum. Of the 244 mot Results: ion samples, Non-typhoidal Salmonella isolated were from 20 motion samples. The predominant serotype isolated was Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) in 16(80%) followed by Salmonella enteritidis in 3(15%) and Salmonella C2 in 1(5%) isolates. It was noticed by an increasing trend of resistance to Ampicillin, Chloramphenicol, Cephalosporins (Third generation) and Quinolones over this 18 month study. Based on this study, Conclusions: faecal prevalence of NTS (8.20%) were increasing among motion samples. Majority of isolates were from females (75%) with a mean age group belonging to Adults (46-60yrs). Except for Ampicillin and Cotrimoxazole, NTS isolates exhibited high rates of resistance to rst-line antibiotics. The gradual but consistent increase in resistance to Ampicillin, Fluoroquinolones, third generation Cephalosporins may restrict future treatment 1 options. Hence periodic monitoring of NTS infections, serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance trend is recommended .

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