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IntroductionIn Nigeria, because of increasing population, urbanization, industrialization, and auto-mobilization, petrol is the most everyday non-edible commodity, and it is the leading petroleum product traded at the proliferating Nigeria's petrol stations (NPSs). However, because of inadequate occupational health and safety (OHS) regulatory measures, working at NPSs exposes petrol station workers (PSWs) to a large amount of hazardous benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) compounds.MethodsStudies on BTEX exposures among Nigerian PSWs are scarce. Thus, constraints in quantifying the health risks of BTEX limit stakeholders' ability to design practical risk assessment and risk control strategies. This paper reviews studies on the OHS of Nigerian PSWs at the NPSs.ResultsAlthough knowledge, attitude, and practices on OHS in NPSs vary from one Nigeria's study setting to another, generally, safety practices, awareness about hazards and personal protective equipment (PPE), and the use of PPE among PSWs fell below expectations. Additionally, air quality at NPSs was poor, with a high content of BTEX and levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, and formaldehyde higher than the World Health Organization guideline limits.DiscussionCurrently, regulatory bodies' effectiveness and accountability in safeguarding OHS at NPSs leave much to be desired. Understanding the OHS of NPSs would inform future initiatives, policies, and regulations that would promote the health and safety of workers at NPSs. However, further studies need to be conducted to describe the vulnerability of PSWs and other Nigerians who are occupationally exposed to BTEX pollution. More importantly, controlling air pollution from hazardous air pollutants like BTEX is an essential component of OHS and integral to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3, 7, and 11.

Care of patients with potential CDI can involve isolation and use of antibiotics, often before a definitive diagnosis is available, impacting healthcare resource and contributing to antibiotic resistance. There is anecdotal evidence that the faeces of CDI patients have a distinctive odour, while it is well-established that changes in the gut microbiota are associated with changes in the volatile organic compounds (VOC) produced. A total of twenty-four candidate volatile biomarkers were identified from a review of the literature including in vitro, animal and human studies. Using thermal desorption-gas chromatography-time-of flight mass spectrometry (TD-GC-ToFMS), VOC emission rates were determined on stored frozen stool samples from 53 CDI-positive and 53 CDI-negative patients with unexplained diarrhoea which had previously been diagnosed using enzymatic and nucleic acid amplification tests. Sample preparation was limited to placement of a subsample in an appropriate container. Compounds exhibiting a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in emission rate between the CDI-positive and-negative groups and a corresponding area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve (ROC) >0.7 were considered potentially indicative of CDI. Seven compounds were so identified: propan-1-ol (ROC 0.75), 3-methylbutanal (ROC 0.84), ethyl propionate (ROC 0.81), hexanoic acid (ROC 0.73), 4-methylphenol (ROC 0.81), dodecane (ROC 0.80) and indole (ROC 0.85). A number of potential volatile biomarkers of CDI can be sampled rapidly and with little prior preparation from faecal samples of patients with diarrhoea. Of these 4-methylphenol (p-cresol) is of particular interest as it has been anecdotally linked to CDI and is closely related to the biology and virulence of Clostridium difficile. This approach shows promise for the rapid, point-of-care diagnosis of CDI with good sensitivity and specificity.