Sandesh Ghimire

The emergence of co-existence of colistin and tetracycline resistance within Escherichia coli isolates in poultry and human being narrow down the effectiveness of antibiotics, alarming a big threat to human being in disease management worldwide. The problem is more severe in the developing countries like Nepal where colistin is highly used in poultry feed and drinks. A laboratory and field based cross sectional study was conducted from February 2022 to June 2022 so as to determine the trends of colistin resistance among E. coli isolates from poultry. A total of 200 samples; 50 fecal sample, 50 cloacal swab, 50 feed sample and 50 drinking water sample of five different and most affected poultry farms of Bharatpur municipality were collected and processed for isolation, identification of E. coli, and antibiotic susceptibility testing. The resistant isolates were screened for the presence of mcr-1 and tet-B gene by using conventional PCR assays. Out of 200 samples investigated, total E. coli isolates recovered was 34% (68/200). In AST, gentamycin was found to be the least effective antibiotic showing resistance to 94.1% (64/68) isolates whereas colistin was found to be the most effective antibiotic showing resistance to only 19.1% (13/68) E. coli isolates. Among 68 E. coli isolates, 83.8% (57/68) of isolates were found to be MDR, 7 (10.29%) E. coli isolates had mcr-1 gene whereas 16 (23.52%) E. coli isolates had tet-B gene. Haphazard use of antibiotic should be completely discouraged in the poultry industries.

Background Urinary schistosomiasis is still a disease of public health concern in most tropical regions particularly in Africa. A study was conducted among school pupils aged 5-14 years to determine the prevalence and intensity of urinary schistosomiasis in Kaiama local government area of Kwara State, Nigeria from April to September, 2025. MethodsUrine specimens were collected from 382 school pupils comprising 253 (66.2%) boys and 129 (33.8%) girls, then preserved in formalin and processed. Ten milliliter of the urine specimen collected was then filtered through 25µm Wire Mesh and the supernatants examined using a compound microscope for the characteristic eggs of Schistosoma haematobium and the intensity of the infection was defined by the number of eggs per the 10 ml of urine specimen. ResultsAltogether, 74 (19.4%) of the 382 pupils examined were positive for the characteristic eggs of S haematobium (p<0.05). This prevalence was also significantly higher (p<0.05) among boys (21.7%) as compared to girls (14.7%). The highest prevalence of infection (25.8%) was seen among pupils in the age group 5-7 years. The intensity of the infection ranges from light, moderate to heavy infection both in boys and girls.Conclusions This study shows that urinary schistosomiasis is endemic in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara state, North-central Nigeria. We recommend a consistent and sustainable Health Educational Programs (HEP) and Mass Drug Administration (MDA) as immediate public health interventions that will alleviate the suffering of the infected pupils in the communities and elsewhere.