an online international journal allowing free unlimited access to abstract and full-text of published articles. The journal is devoted to the promotion of health sciences and related disciplines (including medicine, pharmacy, nursing, biotechnology, cell and molecular biology, and related engineering fields). It seeks particularly (but not exclusively) to encourage multidisciplinary research and collaboration among scientists, the industry and the healthcare professionals. It will also provide an international forum for the communication and evaluation of data, methods and findings in health sciences and related disciplines. The journal welcomes original research papers, reviews and case reports on current topics of special interest and relevance. All manuscripts will be subject to rapid peer review. Those of high quality (not previously published and not under consideration for publication) will be published without delay. The maximum length of manuscripts should normally be 10,000 words (20 single-spaced typewritten pages) for review, 6,000 words for research articles, 3,000 for technical notes, case reports, commentaries and short communications. Submission of Manuscript:The International Journal of Health Research uses a journal management software to allow authors track the changes to their submission. All manuscripts must be in MS Word and in English and should be submitted online at http://www.ijhr.org. Authors who do not want to submit online or cannot submit online should send their manuscript by e-mail attachment (in single file) to the editorial office below. Submission of a manuscript is an indication that the content has not been published or under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors may submit the names of expert reviewers or those they do not want to review their papers. Enquiries

The aqueous and ethanol extracts of four spices ( Monodora myristica, Piper guineense, Xylopia aethiopica, Tetrapleura tetraptera ) were prepared and the antibacterial properties assessed using the agar diffusion method. The test organisms were Enterohaemorrhagic E.coli, Shigella, Salmonella, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella pnemonium, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Bacillus sp. and Enterococcus faecalis. The susceptibility of the test bacteria strains to various antibiotics was performed. The aqueous extracts had antimicrobial activities on all test organisms used (MIC values of 30-60mg/ml and a range of inhibition, 10-25mm). The ethanol extracts were less sensitive (3.3-26mg/ml on E. feacalis). The phytochemical screening of the potent extracts revealed the presence of terpenoids, flavonoid and glycosides. The test organisms showed susceptibility to majority of the antibiotics used ranging from an average of 10mm-37mm. The aqueous extracts can be used as an alternative therapy to the use of antibiotics as the zones of inhibition exhibited by the test strains to both were comparable.

One hundred samples from healthy animals were screened for the presence of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157: H7 and 17 were positive for EHEC 0157:H7 after confirmation using serology kits. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns showed the isolates to be highly susceptible to the various antibiotics screened with a few showing multiple antibiotic resistance. The plasmid profiles revealed that 8/17 (47%) of the animal isolates harboured detectable plasmids ranging in size from 0.564 kb to >23 kb.

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of town planning, infrastructure, sanitation and rainfall on the bacteriological quality of domestic water supplies. Methods Water samples obtained from deep and shallow wells, boreholes and public taps were cultured to determine the most probable number of Escherichia coli and total coliform using the multiple tube technique. Presence of enteric pathogens was detected using selective and differential media. Samples were collected during both periods of heavy and low rainfall and from municipalities that are unique with respect to infrastructure planning, town planning and sanitation. Results Contamination of treated and pipe distributed water was related with distance of the collection point from a utility station. Faults in pipelines increased the rate of contamination (p<0.5) and this occurred mostly in densely populated areas with dilapidated infrastructure. Wastewater from drains was the main source of contamination of pipe-borne water. Shallow wells were more contaminated than deep wells and boreholes and contamination was higher during period of heavy rainfall (p<0.05). E. coli and enteric pathogens were isolated from contaminated supplies. Conclusions Poor town planning, dilapidated infrastructure and indiscriminate siting of wells and boreholes contributed to the low bacteriological quality of domestic water supplies. Rainfall accentuated the impact.

Purpose: The study was conducted to survey the knowledge and behavioural practices of food handlers in bukas (a type of local restaurant) in Nigeria with the aim of assessing the hygiene practices of food handlers and whether they were knowledgeable about typhoid fever and its mode of transmission. Methods: One hundred and seventy four (174) Respondents were ad- ministered questionnaires on their sociode- mographic characteristics, behavioural practices and knowledge of typhoid fever. Results: Ma- jority of the food handlers drank pure water (32.1%), borehole water (32.6%) and public tap water (31.1%) at the about the same frequecy. More than half (62.2%) washed their hands with water only before eating while 27.7% did not wash their hands always before preparing food. After using toilets, 71.9% washed their hands with soap and water while 28.1% washed their hands with only water. When asked if they had heard about typhoid fever 90% said they had heard, out of which15.6% did not know how it was contracted while the others had partial knowledge. Conclusion: Food handlers play a prominent role in the transmission of typhoid fever and so it is important that the food handlers are well informed about their hygiene status and the causes of typhoid fever trans- mission and ways by which typhoid fever spread is prevented. This will go a long way to help reduce the incidence of typhoid fever in the country