There has been a steady rise in antibiotic resistance of bacteria and this urgently calls for the discovery of alternative therapeutic agents. Honey possesses therapeutic potentials which includes antimicrobial activity. Although the antimicrobial activity of honey has been effectively established against an extensive spectrum of microorganisms, it differs depending on the type of honey. To date, not much extensive studies of the antibacterial properties of South African honeys on enteric microorganisms have been conducted. The objective of this study was to compare the antibacterial activity of extracts of six different honeys with those of medical plants commonly used in South Africa. Using a broth dilution method, the antibacterial activity extracts of six South African honeys and medicinal plants against six enteric microorganisms viz-Enterobacter cloacae, Escheriachia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii isolated from geophagia samples and Aeromonas hydrophila and plesiomonas shigelloides isolated both from stool and water samples using agar well diffusion method was done. Different concentrations of honey and plant extracts were tested against each type of microorganism. Briefly, two-fold dilutions of honey solutions were tested to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) against each type of microorganism. Extracts from both South African honeys and medicinal plants showed zones of inhibition that ranged from 6.94 to 37.94 mm. The most susceptible bacteria were Escheriachia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila and Plesiomonas shigelloides. MIC and MBC values of extracts were found in the range of 0.625 to 5.000 mg/ml. Extracts of honey showed good antibacterial activity against most organisms than the standard antibiotics such as Ampicillin and Gentamycin. Honey extracts showed antibacterial activity against most microorganisms which were showing some degree of resistance to commercial antibiotics. Extracts from South African honeys and medicinal plants exhibited variable activities against different microorganisms. This result suggests that the honeys could potentially be used as an alternative therapeutic agent against certain microorganisms.

Societies are reluctant to openly confront issues of sexuality, and this reluctance forms a barrier of communication between parents and teenagers and even between sexual partners (Wulf, 2004:2). This reluctance promotes the presence of misconceptions about sexual health, sexual risks and its consequences. Poor dialogue about sexual health between parents and teenagers is one of the contributory factors of high teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates including HIV and AIDS. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how dialogue about sexual health between teenagers and parents is conducted and to use the information gathered as a basis for making recommendations for improvement. A qualitative study of an explorative, descriptive and contextual nature was used. The researcher used the main question as a point of departure and more questions emanated from the discussions. There were 42 informants involved in the study, of which 4 were males and 38 were females. A purposive sampling method was used to collect data through in depth individual interviews and focus group discussions. The researcher strived to adhere to the principle of trustworthiness by adopting Guba’s model (in Krefting, 1991: 217). Tech’s method (Creswell, 1994: 154-55) was used to analyse the data and an independent coder was used. The results indicate that there is minimal if not absent dialogue about sexual health between teenagers and parents. Culture was identified as a major challenge to sexual health dialogue between teenagers and parents. Recommendations to enhance dialogue were made