Microbial Contents and Antibiotics Susceptibilities from Hand Washing Stations during COVID-19 Pandemic in Lagos, Nigeria

The COVID-19 pandemic put every government in the globe on red alert;safety protocol and long-standing infection prevention and control (IPC) measures such as hand and oral hygiene, social/ physical distancing, use of face mask were rigorously enforced. This study evaluated microbial (bacterial, fungal) contents of rinsate, bowl water, water from tap, and the neighborhood drainage in selected hand washing stations in Agege, Alimosho, Mainland, Island and Shomolu local government areas (LGAs) in Lagos, Nigeria. The identities of bacterial isolates were confirmed with 16S rRNA sequencing while the fungi were identified by colonial appearances. The antibiotics susceptibility testing (AST) of the bacteria against structurally unrelated antibiotics was performed and interpreted according to standard guidelines. Sixty-seven (67) bacterial and fifty-one (51) fungal isolates were recovered from mainly water bucket with tap and rinsates across all the LGAs. There were marked microbial loads (some too numerous to count at 10-3 dilution) across Alimosho, Lagos Island and Mainland. Forty (40) representative bacterial isolates were selected for 16S rRNA sequencing. The occurrence of microbial isolates in the samples was at varying degrees;Klebsiella spp. (37.5%), Bacillus spp. (32.5%), Enterobacter spp. (17.5%), were the predominant bacteria while Aspergillus spp. (46.2%), yeasts (34.6%), Sporothrix schenckii (11.5%) and Penicillium spp. (7.7%) constituted the fungal isolates. The biological weapon, B. anthracis was recovered from a water bucket with tap in Alimosho. The antibiotics susceptibility testing of the bacteria showed high degrees of resistance profile;45 (69.2%) to ampicillin, 41.5% amoxicillin/clavulanate while 47.6% were resistant to two (2) or more antibiotics. This study demonstrated high microbial load during the pandemic at the study LGAs, presence of environmental commensals reputed for debilitating opportunistic infections in man and risk of passing heavy load of these potential pathogens to the public.

Late Commencement of Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs in Three Directly Observed Treatment Short Course Centres in Benue State Nigeria: A Neglected Correlate of Tuberculosis Management

Background: Most researches on the correlate of Tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes place emphasis on sociodemographic characteristics of the patients, Human Immunodeficiency Virus status and CD4+ count of patients and nutrition among others. This study assessed the effect of delay in commencement of anti-TB regimen on the treatment outcomes of all Tuberculosis patients treated between 2011 and 2014 in three directly observed treatment short course centres in Benue State, Nigeria. Methodology: A retrospective cohort study with convenient sampling technique was used for all registered Tuberculosis patients enrolled for treatment within the reviewed period. Chi-square (χ2) test was used for test of association between the independent variables and the main outcomes of the study, with statistical significance set at p-value of 5%. Results: Of the total 1711 cases reviewed, the males to females ratio was 3.9:1. The mean age for the males’ patients was 39.0 ± 15.3 years and the females 33.7 ± 14.2 years. Majority of the patients were new pulmonary Tuberculosis cases and they commenced their treatment after 3 weeks of diagnosis. Higher failure and death rate were reported amongst the patients who commenced their treatment late (78.7% and 42.5% respectively). The relationship between the treatment outcome and the time of commencement of anti-TB drug regimen was statistically significant (p Conclusions: Commencement of anti-TB drugs in all diagnosed Tuberculosis patients is an important correlate that must be addressed in order to achieve the global goal of reducing Tuberculosis prevalence to the level at which it will no longer constitute a public health problem in Nigeria.