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Diarrhoea is a disease condition of having at least three loose or liquid bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days leading to dehydration as a result of fluid and electrolyte losses. The aim of this study was to identify epidemiological factors leading to diarrhoea amongst children (0–5) years in selected hospitals in Makurdi, Benue State. An interviewer structured questionnaire was administered to 377 respondents. This was to enable the identification of certain risk factors that the respondents may be exposed to as well as potentially confounding variables and some basic demographic and clinical information regarding the people and their practices. Out of 377 cases examined, 51 (13.5%) were found positive for diarrhoea, which comprised 17 (13.2%) out of 129 male and 34 (14.3%) out of 248 female children. Highest prevalence was in children between aged 13-24 months, 23 (29.5%) and the least was among children between the aged 49-60 months and ≤ 12 months. There was statistically significant difference (P

Objective: To determine the prevalence of bacterial organisms from raw milk of cows in Gwagwalada and determine their susceptibility to commonly used antimicrobial agents. Methods: A total of 120 samples of milk were obtained from lactating cows that were at different stages of postpartum from six different locations in Gwagwalada metropolis. Samples were subjected to Microbact™ 24E system identification, isolation and characterization of isolates, and antibiotics susceptibility test. Results: The most prevalent organisms were Staphylococcus aureus (34.1%), Escherichia coli (27.3%) and Bacillus species (18.2%) while the least isolated were Salmonella species (11.4%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.0%). The highest resistance patterns were shown by Staphylococcus aureus which displayed resistance to five drugs: amoxicillin, ampiclox, levofloxacin, norfloxacin, chloramphenicol and streptomycin. The least resistance was displayed by Bacillus species which were resistant to only two drugs, norfloxacin and chloramphenicol. Pseudomonas aeroginosa dissipated the highest pattern susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, gentamicin and streptomycin while Salmonella species showed the lowest pattern of susceptibility to ciprofloxacin only. Other microorganisms dissipated susceptibility patterns ranging from 16.6%–100.0%. Conclusions: This study documented the occurrence of bacterial flora in raw milk of apparently healthy lactating cows in the Gwagwalada area. The variation in patterns of multidrug resistance and susceptibilities in our studies may lead to possibility of transfer of antibiotic resistance from raw milk consumers. More studies are required using higher molecular techniques to expose different species of microorganisms causing milk borne illness and their antibiotic resistant genes.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Salmonella isolates in the mesenteric lymph nodes of apparently healthy slaughtered food animals at Maiduguri central abattoir, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 154 lymph nodes (cattle-54, camel-22, sheep-12, goats-66) were collected from slaughtered animals and analysed using standard microbiological and biochemical methods. Results: An overall prevalence of 39.0% [95% confidence interval (CI): 31.3–46.7] was obtained. The prevalence rate across studied species ranged from 24.2% (95% CI: 13.9–34.5) in goats to 61.1% (95% CI: 48.1–74.1) in cattle. There was statistically significant association between Salmonella infection and species of food animals (P < 0.05). Males had a high prevalence of 44.7% (95% CI: 28.9–60.5) as compared with females (37.1%; 95% CI: 28.3– 45.9) (P > 0.05). Younger animals had slightly higher prevalence (44.0%; 95% CI: 24.5–63.5) compared with adults (38.0%; 95% CI: 29.6–46.4) (P > 0.05). All isolates showed marked susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazole and chloramphenicol. Whereas, high resistance patterns to ampicillin, kanamycin and streptomycin, and moderate resistance patterns to kanamycin and tetracycline were observed from camels. Conclusions: Salmonella is high in the mesenteric lymph nodes of apparently healthy slaughtered food animals in Maiduguri. Therefore, it is recommended that further studies should be carried out to identify the serotypes and phage typing of the isolates, and hazard analysis and critical control point should be applied in handling of meat and meat products to avoid the risk of foodborne salmonellosis as well as appropriate use of antibiotics like ciprofloxacin in food animals.

The prevalence and antimicrobial sensitivity ofSalmonellafrom dogs in Maiduguri Metropolis were determined using standard bacteriological methods to assess the risk of possible transmission ofSalmonellainfection from dogs to humans. Of 119 samples,Salmonellawas isolated from 52 (43.7%). Males had higher prevalence of 50.0% compared with 34.7% in females(P<0.05). Dogs older than 24 months had higher prevalence of 61.0% and the lowest was seen in dogs aged 13–24 months(P<0.05). The prevalence of 31.8%, 41.2%, and 58.8% was observed in dogs aged 3–6, 10–12, and 7–9 months, respectively. High prevalence of 49.5% was observed in Mongrels, while Terrier and Alsatian breeds had 30.0% and 8.3%, respectively.Salmonellaisolates from Alsatian and Terrier breeds showed about 100% susceptibility to all the tested antimicrobials. Higher percentage of theSalmonellaisolates from Mongrels also showed susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (89.7%), amoxicillin (87.6%), vancomycin (86.6%), and chloramphenicol (84.5%). However about 50% of these isolates showed resistance to ofloxacin. The carrier status ofSalmonellais high among dogs especially Mongrels. Therefore good environmental hygiene, discouraging straying coupled with feeding of dogs with properly cooked and uncontaminated feeds was recommended to mitigate risk of human salmonellosis.