Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Status of Gram-Negative and Gram-Positive Bacteria on Handheld Shopping Trolleys and Baskets in Supermarkets in Ndola, Zambia

Background: Supermarkets are a place visited by individuals with different health conditions daily where microbiological contaminants through touch onto fomites such as trolleys and baskets can be passed on to other people hence potentially spreading infectious diseases. This study aimed to investigate the presence of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria on handheld shopping trolleys and baskets and their antimicrobial susceptibility status against commonly used antibiotics in Zambia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Trolleys and basket handles were swabbed and standard microbiological methods were used to identify the bacteria and disc diffusion to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility status. Data was collected from December 2021 to April 2022. Data was analysed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22. Results: Twenty-eight percent of the 200 total samples were found to be culture-positive and predominant isolates were Staphylococcus aureus (17.3%), Pseudomonas species (4.5%), Escherichia coli (2%), Corynebacterium species (2%), Staphylococcus species (1.5%) and Enterobacter aerogenes (0.5%). Staphylococcus aureus showed the most resistance to azithromycin (17%) followed by ciprofloxacin (2.8%), nitrofurantoin (2.8%) and chloramphenicol (2.8%). Escherichia coli showed 100% resistance to amoxicillin, cloxacillin and ampicillin, 75% resistance to ciprofloxacin and the least resistance to azithromycin (25%) while it was susceptible to nitrofurantoin. Staphylococcus species, Corynebacterium species, Enterobacter aerogenes and Pseudomonas species showed no resistance to any antibiotics. Conclusion: The study showed the presence of microorganisms with considerable antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics in Zambia on trolley and basket handles indicating the need for more initiatives to address proper hygiene in public environmental sites for better infection prevention and control.

桑螵蛸脂类提取物对铜绿假单胞菌的抗菌活性和抗生物膜作用（英文）

目的:探究桑螵蛸脂类提取物的成分及对铜绿假单胞菌的抗菌和抗生物膜作用。创新点:中国传统中药桑螵蛸一直广泛应用于肾病的治疗,在抗菌领域未见报道,本实验首次证明桑螵蛸脂类提取物对铜绿假单胞菌有明显的抗菌和抗生物膜作用。方法:采用气相色谱-质谱联用技术,测定桑螵蛸脂质提取物的化学成分及其相对比例。采用纸片扩散法和琼脂平板稀释法观察桑螵蛸脂类提取物对铜绿假单胞菌的抑菌效应并测定最小抑制浓度(MIC)。采用结晶紫染色法和扫描电镜(SEM)进行抑制生物被膜的试验。结论:桑螵蛸脂类提取物中含有16种化合物,最丰富的成分分别是倍半萜类化合物、单萜和微量芳香族化合物。桑螵蛸脂类提取物对铜绿假单胞菌的MIC为4 mg/ml,对铜绿假单胞菌生物被膜的抑制作用明显。

Omega-3不饱和脂肪酸对病原微生物的影响（英文）

微生物给人类带来了有利又有害的一面。这些有利的影响一般源于人们与微生物之间的共生关系。但是人类一些疾病的产生使得看似友好的微生物成为条件致病菌,使人们感染上微生物相关的疾病。人们致力于研究多种抗菌剂用于治疗和抑制病原微生物的感染,但是微生物耐药性的出现使得人们的研究进程受阻。尽管已有大量关于药物开发的研究缓解了这个难题,但微生物对这些药物的耐受性以及持续的微生物进化变异,使研究人员把重点放在筛选各种植物膳食类化合物上以用于抗菌。亚麻酸及其衍生物(二十碳五烯酸和二十二碳六烯酸)是已被广泛研究的omega-3脂肪酸,在人类的健康方面扮演着重要的角色,对大脑、眼睛、心血管系统和人的正常成长都有重要作用。然而,作为抗菌剂的使用并没有受到人们广泛的重视,可能是由于人们缺乏对其抗菌机制、药理毒性以及给药方式的了解。因此,本文综述了omega-3脂肪酸作为替代药物在治疗和预防微生物相关疾病中的作用。