Water occupies about 75% of the earth surface, yet access to portable water remains the most daunting task for
everyone due to its frequent contamination. The physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of water
samples from Okokpon River was determined on a monthly basis between October, 2011 and May, 2012.
Routine laboratory procedures were employed in water analyses. The physicochemical parameters recorded
were all lower than SON and WHO limit except turbidity (1.73±0.33 to 7.42±1.51NTU), iron (0.76±0.15 to
1.35±0.27mg/l) and lead (0.76±0.15 to 1.35±0.27). Electrical conductivity, total dissolved solid, alkalinity,
potassium and total hardness showed significant difference (p < 0.05) at the downstream. The heterotrophic
bacterial and fungal counts ranged from 2.16 to 5.89 ×105cfu/ml and 3.01 to 3.69×105cfu/ml respectively with
the highest at downstream which also had a significant difference for the heterotrophic bacterial counts
(P<0.05). The coliform and Escherichia coli counts ranged from 35 to 180 MPN/100ml and 6 to 50 MPN/100ml
respectively with the highest at the midstream. Enterobacter aerogenes and Aspergillus niger had the highest
frequency of occurrence, 5.56% and 7.82% for bacterial and fungal isolates at midstream and upstream
respectively. Plasmids were detected in Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter
and Streptococcus species which ranged from 2027bp to 23130bp. The water had higher turbidity, iron, lead
and microbial values than the SON and WHO limits. Therefore, it is not suitable for drinking except treatment
by at least boiling. Members of the community are advised to halt indiscriminate pollution of the water body
to prevent further contamination.

The cyanide component of cassava mill effluent (CME) is highly toxic to man and its environment. This research was aimed at biodegrading cyanide from cassava mill effluent with various concentrations of cyanide, variable pH
values, inoculum size and phenol. The heterotrophic bacterial and fungal counts were 6.32 x 108±0.01cfu/ml and 2.87 x 108±0.11cfu/ml, respectively. The microorganisms isolated and characterized were: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus sp., Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus sp., Micrococcus sp., Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas, sp. Salmonella sp., Corynebacterium sp., Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp. and Saccharomyces sp. The physicochemical parameters: pH (4.81), electrical conductivity (4860uS/cm), cyanide (17.13 mg/l), chemical oxygen demand (2041.20
mg/l), biological oxygen demand (1490.08mg/l), total dissolved solids (2478.60 mg/l), Chromium (19.44 mg/l), Manganese (136.08mg/l), Iron (340.20 mg/l) and Nickel (121.50 mg/l) were above the Federal Environmental Protection Agency standard for effluent discharge. Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Aspergillus species which had the highest turbidity values with enrichment medium supplemented with 1% cyanide were used for the batch biodegradation studies. Pseudomonas sp. had the best degradative ability of all isolates used even in the presence of phenol, an inhibitory substance. However, of all the varied substrate concentration used, 30ppm with other conditions remaining constant gave the highest degradative ability of 32.73% at a residence time of 8 days. Also, the highest biodegradation rate of 74.5% and 71.03% were achieved at pH, 6 and inoculum size of 6ml respectively at a
residence time of 8days for 30ppm while other parameters were kept constant. The findings revealed that Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp. and Aspergillus sp. could be utilized for remediating cassava mill effluent contaminated environment containing cyanide.

Herbicides not only control weeds but also affect soil microorganisms which are responsible for numerous biological processes essential for crop production. The study aimed at determining the effect of herbicide contaminated soils on its physicochemical, microbiological and some enzymatic properties. Standard methods were used for soil sampling and analyses. The physicochemical parameters recorded were pH (5.17 – 5.41), electrical conductivity (98.00 – 237.00 uS/cm), particle size (89.21 – 91.11%) and heavy metals with iron being the highest at all contaminated locations (44.10 – 106.65 mg/kg). There was high significant difference in physicochemical parameters at locations A, C and E (P<0.001). The three impact assessment indices revealed the same pattern of heavy metals contamination; Pb2+ > Cr2+ > Fe2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Mn2+ > Ni2+. Location E had the highest heterotrophic bacterial and fungal counts of 4.19 x 106 and 1.85 x 106 cfu/g, respectively while location A had the least of 2.78 x 106 cfu/g and 1.13 x 106cfu/g for bacterial and fungal respectively. The microorganisms identified were Pseudomonas fluoriscens, Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus niger, 13.64%; Bacillus sp. 11.36%; Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium, Rhizopus and Candida species, 9.09%; Serratia sp. 6.82% and Escherichia coli, 4.55%. Pseudomonas flouriscens produced the highest enzyme, maltase with concentrations of 0.313, 0.407, 0.421 and 0.429 mg/ml at days 2, 4, 6, and 8, respectively closely followed by invertase with 0.363, 0.421 and 0.429 mg/ml at day 4, 6 and 8, respectively. Herbicide application had negative impact on the soil properties studied. This study recommends that maltase, invertase and amylase enzymes produced by Pseudomonas fluoriscens could be employed as biocatalysts for treating herbicide contaminated soils so as to guarantee environmental safety and public health for all.

Water is the second essential factor for life after oxygen and it offers a number of benefits and services to man and his environment. The effect of human activities on the physicochemical and bacteriological qualities of water samples from Ujiogba River was carried out using standard techniques. The concentrations of physicochemical parameters; electrical conductivity (17.5 ± 4.30 μS/cm), colour (0.07± 0.04), sulphate (0.88 ± 2.15 mg/l), nitrate (0.19 + 2.27 mg/l) and phosphate (0.56 ± 0.45 mg/l) were higher at the midstream. Iron had the highest concentration of all heavy
metals analysed at the midstream (0.12 ± 1.37 mg/l) although all heavy metals were below the SON / FEPA limit. The midstream had the highest mean counts for heterotrophic bacterial and coliform counts of 6.33 ± 0.40 x 106 cfu/ml and 4.28 ± 0.52 x 106cfu/ml respectively, which were higher than the WHO recommended limit of 100 cfu/ml and 0cfu/ml for heterotrophic bacterial and coliform counts respectively. The bacterial isolates identified were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella (12.68%), Salmonella, Pseudomonas, Shigella, Staphylococcus (11.27%) and Bacillus, Micrococcus,
Enterobacter sp (9.86%, 9.86%, 9.68%) respectively. The midstream showed a significant difference for electrical conductivity, turbidity and coliform counts (P<0.05). Antibiotics resistance profile revealed multiple resistance patterns. Consumers of the water are advised to reduce the human activities in Ujiogba river so as to prevent continuous pollution of the water body 

The increasing anthropogenic disposal of untreated sewage causes major damage to the ecosystem. This study assessed sewage from Ogwa and Ebelle communities for its physicochemical and microbial qualities. Standard methods were used for the analyses. The physicochemical parameters had low concentrations except pH (5.27±0.03 – 5.76±0.20), nitrate (15.42±0.01 – 62.30±0.11mg/l), phosphate (12.28±0.28 – 75.40±0.46mg/l), Chemical oxygen demand (542.87±0.18 – 1850.11±0.14mg/l), Biochemical oxygen demand (198.63±0.18 – 497.62±0.03mg/l), zinc (4.12±0.12 – 10.38±0.02mg/l), nickel (5.82±0.21 – 25.22±0.12mg/l), chromium (1.45±0.10 – 4.12±0.01mg/l) and lead (1.11±0.02 – 2.43±0.03mg/l) which were higher than FEPA recommended limit. The concentrations of heavy metals in the sewage samples were statistically significantly different compared to the control (p<0.05). The heterotrophic bacterial, coliform and fungal counts ranged from 1.0×10⁶ ± 0.02 - 8.57×10⁶ ± 0.12cfu/ml, 0.00 ×10⁶± 0.00 - 5.82 ×10⁶± 0.04cfu/ml and 0.10×10⁶ ± 0.00 - 4.94×10⁶ ± 0.07cfu/ml respectively. Among the bacterial identified Staphylococcus aureus had the highest (18.21%) while Rhizopus sp. had the highest (3.89%) of all fungal isolates. The parasites identified belonged to eight genera with Ascaris lumbridoides present in all samples with the highest at Eguare, Ogwa. There is need to construct good sewers to allow for discriminate disposal thereby promoting safety of the environment and it’s teeming population. 

The indiscriminate discharge of Cassava mill effluent pose serious environmental and public health implications. This work was aimed at assessing the biodegradation potentials of indigenous microbial isolates from cassava mill effluent using screening and shake flask degradation tests. The mean heterotrophic bacterial and fungal counts were 3.4±0.26 x 106cfu/ml and 1.1±0.20 x 106cfu/ml respectively. The microorganisms isolated, characterized and identified include the genus Pseudomonas (15.48%), Bacillus (12.41%), Acetobacter and Rhizopus (10.88%), Corynebacterium (9.33%), Lactobacillus, Micrococcus and Aspergillus (7.79%), Staphylococcus and Penicillium (6.25%) and Saccharomyces species (4.62%). The pH (5.39 ± 0.14), electrical conductivity (2506.90 ± 45.35), sulphate
(210.87 ± 5.31), nitrate (365.28 ± 3.61), phosphate (107.70 ± 2.10), cyanide (19.93 ± 0.25), chemical oxygen demand (1728.33 ± 19.66), biological oxygen demand (1141.51 ± 12.69), iron (206.43±2.05), zinc (54.56 ± 0.62), manganese (19.96 ± 0.35), copper (10.67 ± 0.10) and nickel (3.28 ± 0.46) in mg/l were above the Federal Environmental Protection Agency standard for effluent discharge. Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Aspergillus and Penicillium species which had the highest turbidity were used for bioremediation studies. The consortium of microorganisms demonstrated the highest efficacy. Bioremediation of cassava mill effluent by these microorganisms was manifested in the reduction of biological oxygen demand (consortium of Pseudomonas and Bacillus species 97.42%), (Aspergillus and Penicillium species 75.32%) and chemical oxygen demand (Pseudomonas and Bacillus species 37.63%), (Aspergillus and Penicillium species 44.97%). The study has shown that microbial isolates have the potentials of reducing pollution effect thereby enhancing management of cassava mill effluent before eventual discharge into the environment.

Cassava mill effluent has become a major cause of environmental degradation which affects soil properties. This
study revealed the impact of cassava mill effluent on microbial diversity, physicochemical parameters and heavy
metal concentrations in the receiving soils collected in triplicate between April and June, 2015 from five sites in
Ogwa, Edo State, Nigeria. Standard methods were used for the soil analysis. The mean heterotrophic, coliform
8 8 8 and fungal counts ranged from 1.38 + 4.6x10 CFU/g to 8.90 + 5.5x10 CFU/g, 1.20 + 6.1x10 CFU/g to 9.4 +
8 8 8 5.6x10 CFU/g and 4.17 + 2.4x10 CFU/g to 7.90 + 2.8x10 CFU/g respectively (p<0.05). The microbial isolates
identified in order of decreasing prevalence were Staphylococcus aureus (19.71%), Escherichia coli (12.87%), Proteus
sp. (12.50%), Bacillus sp. and Klebsiella sp. (12.01%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.30%), Penicillium sp. (7.21%),
Aspergillus sp. (6.25%) and Rhizopus sp. (3.13%). The pH values ranged from 5.78 – 6.12, electrical conductivity
(112 - 211 μS/cm), chloride(30.24 – 56.97 mg/kg), sulphate (1.23 – 2.32 mg/kg), nitrate (15.90 – 29.96 mg/kg),
phosphate (10.98 – 20.68 mg/kg), total carbon (3.17 – 5.83%), total nitrogen (0.32 – 0.58%) and moisture
+ + 2+ content (10.65 – 17.63%), Na (42.56 – 80.18 mg/kg), K (78.40 – 147.70 mg/kg), Ca (9.07 – 17.09 mg/kg),
2+ Mg (11.09 – 20.89 mg/kg). The pH at the different sample locations were lower than the control, and other
physicochemical parameters were higher (p<0.05). The concentrations of heavy metals in the contaminated
2+ 2+ 2+ soils are in the following ranges : Fe (7.95 - 14.98 mg/kg), Zn (0.22 - 2.13 mg/kg), Mn (0.35 - 1.18 mg/kg), 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 6+ Cu (1.01 - 1.90 mg/kg), Ni (0.24 - 0.80 mg/kg), Cd (0.001 - 0.60 mg/kg), V (0.19- 0.72 mg/kg), Cr (0.26 - 2+ 1.03 mg/kg) and Pb (0.04 - 0.35 mg/kg). These values are still below the permissible limits recommended in Nigeria by the Department of Petroleum Resources except for iron which was higher in all sampled sites and 3+ 2+ significantly different from the control (p<0.05). The order of accumulation of heavy metals was Fe > Cu > 2+ 2+ 6+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ Zn > Mn > Cr > Ni > V > Cd > Pb . The cassava mill effluent negatively affected the soil microbial diversity, physicochemical parameters and heavy metal concentrations in the impacted soils.

The phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of the acetone root extract of Aloe vera was investigated in this study. Different concentrations (200 mg/ml, 100 mg/ml and 50 mg/ml) were prepared and tested against seven different bacterial isolates which included Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Proteus mirabilis. Phytochemical screening of the acetone root extract was done using standard test procedures. Susceptibility testing was done by employing the agar diffusion technique while the microtitre plate method was used for the minimum inhibitory concentration.. The phytochemical screening revealed a high presence of carbohydrates and slight presence of glycosides, alkaloids and saponins. The antimicrobial attribute of the extract indicated highest activity at 200 mg/ml against Streptococcus pyogenes with an inhibitory zone of 22.00 mm while the lowest activity was observed at 50 mg/ml against Proteus mirabilis with zone of inhibition of 5.33mm. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) as low as 6.25mg/ml was achieved against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. It is concluded that the phytoconstituents of Aloe vera root were of medicinal importance and had the ability to successfully inhibit the growth of microorganisms which are of significant health concerns to mankind. Thus the plant is probably a suitable choice for the development of new drugs that could be used to treat some ailments which afflict man.

Abstract: This study revealed the microbial contamination of Naira notes in relation to season as well the
antibiogram on224 pieces of Naira notes collected from some village markets in Esan Land. Five naira (N5), Ten
naira (N10) and One Thousand naira (N1000) had contamination rates of 19.43%, 17.72% and 5.33% respectively.
The contamination rates were 23.51% for Ujiogba, 21.12% for Ogwa and 16.99% for Ekpon markets. Among the
gram positive isolates, Staphylococcus epidermidis had antimicrobial resistance rate of 86.70% against ampicillin
and Staphylococcus aureushad the least of 30.00% against amoxicillin. Among the gram negative isolates,
Escherichia coli had resistance rate of 90.00% against ampicillin while Proteus sp. had the least of 40.00% against
augumentin. The study has revealed that the lower denominations of Naira notes had higher microbial contamination
rate during the rainy season than the dry season at p<0.05. This work recommend Education/enlightenment on
proper handling/storage of Naira notes and personal hygiene would asa way out.

Sachet water is the ultimate source of drinking water in Nigeria. Twelve brands of sachet water
vended in Ugbor village, Oredo Local Government Area, Benin City were analysed to determine
the sensory properties, pH and the bacteriological quality using standard methods. Antibiotic
susceptibility profile of the bacteria isolates was carried out using the disc diffusion method. All
the samples were clear and odourless. The pH readings of the water samples ranged between 5.0
and 7.2. Bacterial growths were recorded in eleven out of the twelve water samples. The total
heterotrophic count was between 2.2 -8.9×101
cfu/ml. Coliforms were present in six of the water
samples with a count of 2.2-4.3×101
cfu/ml. The isolates were identified as Staphylococcus
aureus, Pseudomonas sp, Aeromonas sp, Corynebacterium sp, Bacillus sp, Bacillus badius,
Proteus vulgaris and Escherichia coli. Staphylococcus aureus had the highest percentage
occurrence of 24% while Bacillus sp., Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium sp. had the lowest
percentage occurrence of 8% each. It was observed that all of the isolates were resistant to
Ceftazidime (caz), Cefuroxime (crx), and Augmentin (aug) and sensitive to Ciprofloxacin (cpr)
and Ofloxacin (ofl). Most of the isolates were sensitive to Gentamicin (gen) except for
Pseudomonas sp., Escherichia coli, and Proteus vulgaris. Most of the isolates were resistant to
Cefixime (cxm) except for Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium sp. and Bacillus badius.
Eleven of the twelve sachet water samples studied did not meet WHO standard for drinking
water, hence, routine monitoring of producers of sachet water should be enforced.

Three lactic acid bacterial (LAB) strains; Pediococcus pentosaceus IO1, Tetragenococcus halophilus PO9 and Lactobacillus cellobiosus BE1 isolated from different traditionally fermented products were evaluated for their bacteriocin activity against Staphylococcus aureus
and the influence of pH and heat treatment on their bacteriocin activity was assessed. The crude bacteriocins produced by the LAB strains were highly thermostable, retaining their activity even after heat treatment at 115 oC for 15 min, and stable at pH range of 2 – 9 with higher activity at acidic pH (pH 2 and 5). These results indicate that the bacteriocins produced by bacteriocinogenic LAB isolates could be used as biopreservatives in acidic and heat-processed foods.

The present study aimed at studying the bacteriological quality of African Salads and antibiotics resistance
pattern of isolates before and after plasmid curing to ascertain if the resistance to multiple antimicrobials was
plasmid mediated. The results showed mean Salmonella/Shigella count of the African salad samples ranged
from 25× 105cfu/g to 201× 105cfu/g, Staphylococcal count ranged from 39× 103 cfu/g to 215× 105cfu/g, coliform
count ranged from 27× 103 cfu/g to 215× 105 cfu/g and Listeria count ranged from 6× 103cfu/g to 113×
105cfu/g. The prevalent bacteria were Listeria sp having a 60% occurrence while Escherichia coli had a 30%
occurrence. The species of bacteria isolated were identified as Listeria sp, E. coli, Klebsiella sp, Proteus sp,
Salmonella sp, Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella sp. All isolate were susceptible to gentamycin and ofloxacin.
Resistance was observed with erythromycin (90.0%), cloaxacilin (70.2%), augmentin (60.5%), ceftazidime
(34.7%) and cefuroxime (22.2%). Plasmid analysis showed that most of the isolates carried plasmids greater
than 10kbp and after plasmid curing the isolates were cured of its resistance to cloxacillin and ceftazidime but
some isolates still retained resistance to erythromycin (25.8%), augmentin (16.9%) and cefuroxime (19.7%).

Acute toxicity of four heavy metals and two pesticides on a fresh water snail, Melanoides
tuberculatus (Gastropod, Thiaridae) was investigated. Adult M tuberculatus was exposed
for a four-day period in laboratory conditions to a range of heavy metal: Arsenic (As),
Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb) and pesticides: Cypermethrin and Chlopyrifos.
The median lethal concentration, LC50 values for the 96-hour exposure to As, Cu, Cd and
Pb were 6.24, 8.60, 15.22 and 1082.10mg/l respectively, while the LC50 values for the 96-
hour exposures to Chlopyrifos and Cypermethrin were 2.45and 3.81ml/l respectively.
Arsenic was the most toxic heavy metal to M. tuberculatus, followed by Cu, Cd and Pb
(As>Cu>Cd>Pb).
Between the two pesticides under study, chlopyrifos was found more toxic than
cypermethrin. Mortality was assessed and median lethal concentration (LC50) was
calculated. Mortality increased with the increase in mean exposure concentration and
times for all metals and pesticides. No mortality was recorded for the control as all the
values obtained were zero.
This study indicates that M tuberculatus is sensitive to heavy metals and pesticides and
therefore can be used to monitor the presence of pollutants at low concentration levels in
waterbody.

The biodegradation potentials of microorganisms isolated from different sampling points of Eleme petrochemical industrial effluent were analyzed. Eleme Petrochemical effluents take various forms which include; processed wastewater (raw effluent); clarified water (waste water undergoing treatment); retention pond gate (treated waste water) and receiving river. Biodegradation potentials of microorganisms isolated from the effluents were determined by shake flask degradation and screening test. The physicochemical analysis revealed that effluents from Eleme Petrochemical Company Limited generally contained low concentrations of physicochemical pollutants except for total suspended solids (78.48 ± 0.01mg/l) and oil and grease (25.80 ± 0.02mg/l) contents which were higher than FEPA recommended limits. The isolated microorganisms identified to the genus level included Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Serratia, Micrococcus, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Vibrio, Proteus, Achromobacter, Citrobacter, Flavobacterium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Monilia and Trichoderma. Pseudomonas had the highest frequency of occurrence (10.33%) among bacteria while Aspergillus had the highest frequency of occurrence (19.58%) among fungi. Microbiological enumeration revealed that process waste water had the highest counts for total heterotrophic bacterial (THBC) (9.0×103cfu/ml) and total fungal counts (TFC) (5.0×103cfu/ml) while retention pond gate contained the highest counts for total hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial (THUB) (5.7×103cfu/ml). Pseudomonas, Serratia, Bacillus, Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium were the most dominant microorganisms capable of utilizing petrochemical industrial effluent. The consortium of microorganisms demonstrated the highest efficacy to utilize petrochemical industrial effluent. Biodegradation of petrochemical industrial effluents by these microorganisms was manifested in the reduction of physicochemical parameters such as BOD (consortium of Pseudomonas and Bacillus sp., 96%) and COD (consortium of Aspergillus and Penicillium, 89%).

The activities of digestive enzymes in the gut
regions of African giant land snail, Archachatina
marginata were investigated during aestivation
induced in the laboratory by the withdrawal of
water and food for three weeks. All studied
enzymes, amylase, α-glucosidase, cellulase, lipase,
and protease, were detected on the gut regions
(oesophagus, crop, stomach and intestine).
Aestivated snails had significantly lower enzyme
activities in all the gut regions than the active
snails. Furthermore the stomach recorded the
highest enzyme activities of all the gut regions.

The present study aims to evaluate the fungal inhibitory activity of seed kernel oil extracted from mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruit. Mango is one of the most important tropical fruits that is abundant in Nigeria. Thus, there is an abundant supply of mango seed kernels which are considered as wastes after consumption or industrial processing of mango fruits. The oil was extracted from the mango seed kernels by solvent extraction process. Agar dilution assay was used to evaluate the inhibitory activity of the mango seed kernel oil against Aspergillus niger and Penicillium italicum. The mango seed kernel oil (MSKO) was found to inhibit growth of the two fungi tested at different concentrations (1.33%, 2.67% and 4.0%). 4% concentration of MSKO in the agar brought about a reduction in the mycelial growth diameter of A. niger at Day 7 from 44.0 ± 1.41 mm (control) to 35.5 ± 0.71 mm while the reduction in the mycelial growth diameter of P. italicum at Day 7 was from 44.0 ± 14.14 mm (control) to 33.0 ± 0.00 mm. Mango seed kernel oil produced mycelium growth inhibition of A. niger and P. italicum at 4% concentration, with percentage inhibitions of 19.32% and 25.0%, respectively. The results revealed that P. italicum was more sensitive to the mango seed kernel oil than A. niger. These results
suggest that mango seed kernel oil could have potential applications in the food industry to prevent fungal associated food spoilage from important pathogenic genera Aspergillus and Penicillium.

Abstract
Water is a universal solvent, needed to sustain life. This study revealed the extent of microbial contamination in Ujiogba River, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. Forty – two water samples from three sampling points along the course of the river were collected and analysed from January to April, 2012, to determine the river’s microbial load. Seven bacterial isolates identified include Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas sp., Salmonella sp., Shigella sp., Streptococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae. The fungal isolates included Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., Fusarium sp. and Rhizopus sp. The bacterial counts ranged from 21 to 96 x102cfu/ml, with the highest frequency of occurrence in Escherichia coli (25.81%) and least in Salmonella sp. (4.84%). The microbial load of water collected downstream was significantly different from the other sampling points. The pH and temperature ranged between 6.8±0.28 to 7.7±1.64 and 28±1.63°C to 35± 2.16°C, respectively. The water was contaminated and did not meet the minimum standard requirement of drinking water as prescribed by the World Health Organisation and United States Environmental and Protection Agency. The microorganisms isolated are capable of causing a lot of waterborne diseases. There is need for continuous monitoring so as to improve water quality and safeguard consumers from the impending public health diseases outbreak.

A total of 160 sputum samples were obtained from pneumonia patients (1 – 30 years) attending the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City. The microorganisms encountered included Streptococcus viridians, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Staphylococcus species. S. viridans was highest in occurrence (51.5%) and Staphylococcus sp. was the least (2.9%). Their antibiotic resistance pattern revealed that streptomycin had the highest activity (94.1%) and gentamycin the least (23.8%). Amoxicillin resistance gene (amxr) was detected in 89 (88.1%) out of the total isolates. When these resistant isolates were subjected to curing using 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate, 73 (82.0%) lost their resistance genes. An average transfer rate of 53.88% and 33.59% were obtained for intraspecies and intergeneric transfer of amxr gene respectively. Intraspecies gene transfer rate was significantly higher than intergeneric at p<0.001, using the chi – square goodness of fit test for statistical analysis.

Based on the previous knowledge of spontaneously fermenting maize for the preparation of Ogi,
four growth media were used for the isolation of the different common group of organisms
implicated. Yeasts and Molds were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida sp.,
Rhodotorula sp., Aspergillus niger and Penicillium sp. The bacteria were Lactobacillus plantarum,
Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus fermentum, Streptococcus lactis, Enterococcus feacalis,
Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter sp., Citrobacter sp., Klebseilla sp., Bacillus
subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus licheniformis, Aerobacter sp., and Corynebacteria sp. A sharp
decrease in pH of fermenting gruel from 5.7 to 3.5 was observed within 24 hours while titratable
acidity increases within the first 48 hours with a further increase and decrease in pH and titratable
acidity at 72 hours.These isolates were subjected to pH ranges of 3.5 – 6 and all were able to grow
at optimum pH 6 with a reduction in the number of isolates as pH reduces. Growth in temperature
ranging from 250C to 500C, salt (NaCl, MgS04, K2HP04, CuS04 and ZnS04) and sugar (glucose,
sucrose, lactose, melibiose and raffinose) concentrations of 0.2% to 1% were carried out on all the
isolates. With increase in temperature and salt concentration, a reduction in the number of isolates
that grew was observed. From this study, the optimum conditions that favours the growth of all the
group of organisms was found to be pH 6, 300C, 0.2% of the salts used and a significant population
of all the group of organisms utilized glucose as their best carbon source.

In order to investigate the mechanism of antibiotic resistance of some bacterial pathogens from the sputum of pneumonia patients, 160 sputum samples were collected from patients within 1-30 years of age attending the outpatients department of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City. 101 (63.1%) out of this number gave growth for bacterial pathogens. The bacteria isolated included Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus sp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus viridans and Moraxella catarrhalis. The highest in occurrence was S. viridians (51.5%) and the least was Staphylococcus spp (2.9%). The age group 1-5 years had the highest bacterial count (69.9%) while age group 21-25 years had the least count (50%). The isolates were highly resistant to the various antibiotics used. The resistance rate was highest for streptomycin (94.1%) and lowest for gentamycin (20.8%). 89(88.1%) out of the total number, showed the presence of amoxicillin resistance (amxr) gene. When these resistant isolates were subjected to curing in the presence of 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate, 73(82.01%) lost their amxr gene which showed that this gene was probably located on a plasmid in these strains.

The growth performance and the activities of glycosidases (amylase, cellulase and α-glucosidase) in the foot muscle of giant land snail, Archachatina marginata were examined during aestivation. Aestivation significantly affected the growth performance of the snails as active snails gained 16.4±0.02g while the aestivated snails lost 15.5±0.1g. Three glycosidases were detected in the foot muscle of the snails at varying levels: 33-37 Abs/min (α-glucosidase), 11-15 Abs/min (amylase) and 28-31 Abs/min (cellulase) with the active snails having significantly higher activities (Abs/min) in α-glucosidase and cellulase. Aestivation thus significantly affects the foot muscle activities of A. marginata