Antimicrobial resistance of abnormal vaginal discharges microorganisms in Ouagadougou,Burkina Faso

Objective:To assess the prevalence of bacterial strains and fungal strains infecting the vaginal tract and test their sensitivity to antibiotics in women attending Saint Camille Medical Centre in Ouagadougou.Methods:From January 2008 to December 2009,a total of 2000 vaginal swabs were cultivated for bacterial and fungal identification and isolation.Furthermore,bacterial strains were tested for their susceptibility to several antibiotics used in routine in the centre. Results:The results revealed that microbial isolation and identification was attempted for 1536/2000 sample,a positivity rate of 76.80%.Candida albicans(48.76%),followed by Escherichia coli(16.67%),Streptococcus agalactiae(8-14%) and Staphylococcus aureus(7.55%) were the major agents of genital tract infections in patients.Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum combined accounted for less than 7%.Trichomonas vaginalis was identified in 1.04%coses.The antimicrobial tests revealed that the microorganisms developed resistance to several antibiotics including beta lactams.However,antibiotics such as cefamenzol,ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin were still active on these bacteria.Conclusions:The results reveal that many sexually active women are infected by one or more microbial pathogens,probably because of the lock of hygiene or the adoption of some risky behaviors,such as not using condoms or having multiple sexual partners.Efforts should be made to address these points in the country.

Epidemiology and antibiotic resistance of bacterial meningitis in Dapaong,northern Togo

Objective:To assess the seasonality of the bacterial meningitis and the antibiotic resistance of incriminated bacteria over the last three years in the northern Togo.Methods:From January 2007 to January 2010,533 cerebrospinal fluids(CSF) samples were collected from patients suspected of meningitis in the Regional Hospital of Dapaong(northern Togo).After microscopic examination,samples were cultured for bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility. Results:The study included 533 patients(306 male and 227 female) aged from 1 day to 55 years [average age(13.00±2.07) years].Bacterial isolation and identification were attempted for 254/533 (47.65%) samples.The bacteria]species identified were:Neisseria meningitidis A(N.meningitidis A)(58.27%),Neisseria meningitidis W135(N,meningitidis W135)(7.09%),Streptococcus pneumoniae(S.pneumoniae)(26.77%),Haemophilus influenza B(H.influenza B)(6.30%) and Enterobacteriaceae(1.57%).The results indicated that bacterial meningitis occur from November to May with a peak in February for H.influenzae and S.pneumoniae and March for Neisseriaceae. The distribution of positive CSF with regards to the age showed that subjects between 6 and 12 years followed by subjects of 0 to 5 years were most affected with respective frequencies of 67.82%and 56.52%(P【0.001).Susceptibility tests revealed that bacteria have developed resistance to several antibiotics including aminosides(resistance rate】20%for both bacterial strains),macrolides(resistance rate】30%for H.influenzae) quinolones(resistance rate】15% for H.influenzae and N.meningitidis W135).Over three years,the prevalence of S.pneumoniae significantly increased from 8.48%to 73.33%(P【0.001),while the changes in the prevalence of H.influenzae B were not statistically significant:4.24%,vs.8.89%,(P= 0.233).Conclusions: Our results indicate that data in African countries differ depending on geographical location in relation to the African meningitis belt.This underlines the importance of epidemiological surveillance of bacterial meningitis.

Antimicrobial,antiplasmodial,haemolytic and antioxidant activities of crude extracts from three selected Togolese medicinal plants

Objective:To investigate the antioxidant,antimicrobial,antiplasmodial,acute toxicity and haemolytic activities of methanolic extracts of three plants.Phytochemical analysis to determine the phenolic contents was also carried out.Methods:The 2,2-diphenyl-1- picryl-hydrazyl（DPPH） free radical scavenging,NCCLS broth microdilution and Plasmodium Lactate Dehydrogenase（pLDH） assays were used to determine antioxidant,antimicrobial and antiplasmodial activities,respectively.Haemolysis assay was conducted on A+ human red blood cells and acute toxicity on male Swiss albino mice.Phenolics were quantitatively determined using spectrophotometric methods.Results:The DPPH assay yielded interesting antioxidant activities of methanolic extract of Parinari curatellifolia（P.curatellifolia） and Entada africana （E.africana）(IC50 were 0.20±0.01μg/mL and 0.47±0.01μg/mL,respectively).This activity was highly correlated with phenolic contents of extracts.The antimicrobial tests displayed minimal inhibitory concentrations（MICs） values ranging from 0.90 to 1.80 mg/mL for Serratia marcescens （5.marcescens） the most susceptible bacterial strain.MIC value was 1.20 mg/mL for susceptible fungal strains including Mucor rouxi（M.rouxi）,Fusarium oxyporum（F.oxyporum） and Rhizopus nigricans（R.nigricans）.pLDH assay showed moderate antiplasmodial activity of Balanites aegyptiaca（B.aegyptiaca）(IC50= 24.56±3.45μg/mL),however this extract was highly haemolytic and toxic in mice(LD50= 625±128mg/kg).Conclusions:Our results support in part the use of the selected plants in the treatment of microbial infections.In addition the plant showed interesting antioxidant activity that could be useful in the management of oxidative stress.