Background A reversal of chloroquine (CQ) resistance following a period of withdrawal has raised the possibility of its re-introduction. This study evaluated the current prevalence of Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 alleles in Plasmodium falciparum isolates, 11 years after CQ withdrawal in Southeast Nigeria. Methods Filter-paper blood samples were collected from 725 non-febrile individuals, comprising 250 children (≤ 12 years), 250 pregnant women and 225 other adults, between October 2014 and February 2015 in Nnewi town, Southeast Nigeria. Nested PCR followed by direct sequencing was employed for the genotyping of Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 genes. Results A total of 103 parasites-positive samples were recovered, comprising of 48 (19.20%) among children, 20 (20.00%) among pregnant women and 35 (15.50%) among other adults cohort. The frequency of the mutant genotype of Pfcrt 76T, 75E and 74I was 94.50% each. Parasite isolates from children had a frequency of 100% for mutant alleles in all Pfcrt codons while isolates from pregnant women and other adults had a frequency of 91% each in all codons. Haplotype distribution of pfcrt gene were 5.45, 0.00 and 76.37% for CVMNK, SVMNT and CVIET, respectively. For Pfmdr1 gene, the frequency of 86Y, 184F and 1246Y mutant alleles were 8.54, 29.27 and 3.66%, respectively. Amongst the Pfmdr1 haplotypes analysed, NFD had the highest frequency of 24.4%, followed by YFD at 6.10%. NYF and NYY occurred the least (1.20%). Conclusion The high level of Pfcrt mutations is suggestive of a sustained CQ pressure on P. falciparum isolates in the study area, despite the change of first line treatment from CQ to artemisinin combination therapy for 11 years. A new strategy to ensure the complete withdrawal of CQ from the country is recommended.

Background: Nigeria is plagued with a variety of socioeconomic problems mainly poverty, poor access to quality healthcare and poor hygienic conditions resulting in the myriad of fungal infections that are frequently encountered in clinical practice. Method: The antifungal activity of aqueous, methanolic, propanolic and benzyl alcohol extracts of Capsicum annuum fruits and seeds, Capsicum chinense fruits and seeds, Aframomum melegueta pods and seeds, Allium sativum bulbs, Allium cepa bulbs and Zingiber officinale rhizomes on Candida albicans (yeast), Aspergillus niger (mould) and Trichophyton rubrum (dermatophyte) were evaluated by the agar well diffusion method. The aqueous and alcoholic filtered plant extracts were obtained by maceration, and also methanolic extracts were also obtained by Soxhlet extraction. The results were obtained by measuring the inhibition zone diameter in millimeters and were presented by subtracting the activity of the control. Results: Aqueous and methanolic extracts of Allium sativum gave the highest inhibition of the growth of Candida albicans (22 mm), followed closely by its propanolic extract with inhibition zone diameter of 15 mm, and also, propanolic extracts of Aframomum melegueta and Allium cepa gave inhibition zone diameters of 12 mm each. Soxhlet methanolic extract of Allium sativum had the highest inhibition of the growth of Aspergillus niger with an inhibition zone diameter of 25 mm, followed closely by Zingiber officinale Soxhlet methanolic extract with an inhibition zone diameter of 22 mm, also, the propanolic extract of Allium sativum gave an inhibition zone diameter of 21 mm, whereas Soxhlet methanolic extracts of Aframomum melegueta and Allium cepa gave an inhibition zone diameter of 19 mm each. The highest activity against Trichophyton rubrum was obtained with the Soxhlet methanolic extract of Allium sativum (39 mm), followed closely by its propanolic extract with an inhibition zone diameter of 27 mm. An inhibition zone diameter of 22 mm was recorded with the benzyl alcohol extract of Allium cepa, 22 mm with the Soxhlet methanolic extract of Aframomum melegueta and 19mm with the aqueous extract of Capsicum chinense seeds. Conclusion: The in-vitro inhibitory effects of these spice extracts indicated that the test spices could serve as potential candidates for developing new systemic and topical M. Ikegbunam et al. 119 antifungal drugs against the wide range of pathogenic fungal strains, and they could also serve as natural prophylaxis against the fungal infections.

Objectives:This study evaluated the prevalence, antibiogram and molecular features of CA-MRSA in Awka, Nigeria.Methods:Confirmation of MRSA was done by testing resistance to oxacillin (1µg), cloxacillin (5µg) and cefoxitin (30µg) on sterile Mueller Hinton agar supplemented with 4% sodium chloride. The MRSA strains were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Minimum inhibitory concentration was determined using agar dilution method. Penicillin binding protein 2a was detected through rapid latex agglutination assay while mecA gene was detected by polymerase chain reaction. A total of 142 S. aureus isolates were obtained from 261 samples sourced from Staff, students and fomites of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical SciencesResult:The overall prevalence of MRSA was 22.6%. The carriage rate was higher in females (56.5%) than male (43.5%) and was highest in individuals of 20-30 years of age (57.65%). The MIC of the oxacillin sodium salt ranged from 4-32 μg/ml. The multi-antibiotic resistance indices show that 53.4% had Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Indexing (MARI) higher than 0.2. Penicillin binding protein 2a was detected in 8.4% of MRSA isolates, all from nasal carriage while mecA gene was detected in 5 of isolates.Conclusion:This study showed a very high prevalence of MRSA carriage among studied subjects.

No abstract

No abstract