DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY,

This study evaluated the bacteriological quality of sachet water sold on the University of Benin, Ugbowo campus. Five brands: Uniben Table Water, Faith Mark, Olivia, Uzama, and Notre Dame were sampled in the afternoon (2:00 pm) on campus. The samples were transported to the laboratory for bacterial isolation and identification using standard bacteriological techniques. Phenotypic virulence properties of the isolates were assessed, and antimicrobial sensitivity was determined using the biodisc diffusion method. Uniben Table Water had a bacterial count of 3.2±0.72 x10 4 cfu/mL, Faith Mark 2.0±0.91 x10 4 cfu/mL, Olivia 1.9±0.67 x10 4 cfu/mL, Uzama 3.3±1.51 x10^4 cfu/mL, and Notre Dame 1.1±0.96 x10 4 cfu/mL. The identified bacterial isolates
included Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus letus, and Escherichia coli. Pathogenicity tests indicated that all isolates were pathogenic, testing positive for gelatin liquefaction, DNase, spirit blue, and haemolysin assays. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus letus, and Escherichia coli were sensitive to gentamycin and ciprofloxacin but resistant to pefloxacin, ampiciox, zinnacef, amoxicillin, rocephin, and septrin. The bacterial counts exceeded the limits recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) (1.0 × 10 2 cfu/mL). These findings indicate that periodic bacteriological assessment of sachet water quality is necessary, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) should ensure quality assurance and adherence to internationally defined drinking water standards.

Atmospheric air, including indoor air, is a basic factor affecting the proper functioning of the
human body. Air pollution constitutes one of the main threats to the environments in which
people live. World Health Organization (WHO) and European Environment Agency (EEA) report that environmental risks such as air or water pollution have a significant impact on human health. Air pollution includes all substances in the Earth’s atmosphere that are not natural components, as well as natural substances in significantly increased quantities. The Earth’s atmosphere is composed of gases and vapours of chemical compounds, acid rain, airborne ashes, dust, trace elements and biological contaminants

In the past, compact discs (also known as CDs) were the unchallenged leaders of the digital era, completely changing the way we stored and accessed information. CDs, which were created by Sony and Philips in the early 1980s, swiftly overtook cassette tapes as the most popular format for music delivery. This research project aims to study the impact of temperature and humidity at different ranges on the diversity and population of fungal species colonies dominating stored CD plates. For this research experiment, a total of Thirty-six (36) were purchased, out of which twelve CDs were opened, another twelve were closed by singularly sealing each CD in a regular CD storage nylon pack, and the last set of CDs was burnt (a process of storing information of various types, raw data documents to videos. Thermometers and hygrometers were used to track temperature and relative humidity, and for four weeks, conventional protocols were followed for fungal count and identification. According to the results, there is a weekly variation in temperature, but it usually stays between 30 and 37 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, relative humidity rose regularly in the various locations under study. Fungal counts of all CD plates studied increased with an increase in humidity with time. Fungal isolated from the studied CD plates were Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus arrhizus, Mucor mucedo, Cladosporium spp., Penicillium sp. Conclusively, relative humidity had a positive correlation with the fungal load of the studies CD plate, while temperature had little effect on fungal counts.