DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY

Plants have shown immense contribution to man’s nutrition as they are also used for medicinal purposes. There is a need to develop alternative antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases, microorganisms are rapidly developing resistance to the available once. Hence, the leaf of Dacryodes edulis (African pear) was analyzed for its phytochemical and anti-bacterial properties on clinical bacteria isolates Klebsiella sp., Proteus sp. and Escherichia coli. Samples of leaf were obtained from Okhoro community in- Benin metropolis, dried, blended into powder and macerated using sterile distilled water and methanol as solvent. Antibacterial assay was carried out via Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Findings from this research showed that Dacryodes edulis leaf aqueous extract was active against Klebsiella sp. with a mean zone of inhibition (ZOI) of 8.00±0.00mm across all concentrations (12.5, 25, 50 and 100 µg/ml). Proteus sp. and E. coli had mean ZOI of 8 ±0.70mm at 12.5µg/ml and at 100µg/ml the ZOI was 10 ±0.28mm and 12 ±0.14mm respectively. Methanol extract was only active to Proteus sp and Klebsiella sp with a mean ZOI of 8 ±0.00mm at 12.5µg/ml and 25µg/ml respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of aqueous extract against all isolates is 12.5µg/ml and it was bactericidal to only E.coli at a concentration of 50µg/ml. Methanolic extract had a MIC of less than 12.5µg/ml for Proteus sp and 12.5µg/ml for Klebsiella sp. The MBC was 12.5 and 50 µg/ml for Proteus sp and Klebsiella sp respectively. All test organisms were resistant to all standard antibiotics used. They were susceptible to gentamycin which serves a control. Despite the fact that the extract was able to inhibit the growth of the organisms, the isolates are regarded as resistant to the extract because their ZOI were less than the standard value of resistance which is 14. Phytochemical screening reveals that phenol, flavonoid, saponin, tannin, alkaloid and steroids were present in aqueous and methanol extract of the leaves .More work should be done to test the presence of active metabolites to determine its antibacterial activity.

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is an illness caused by a virus. This virus is a new coronavirus that has spread throughout the world. It is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person to person. This study was carried out to access the incidence andprevalence of COVID-19 among the students in the University of Benin, Nigeria. A cross- sectional survey of eligible study participants was carried out with a view to collecting both outcome variables and covariates at one point in time in the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Science. However, only participants who test negative to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgG and IgM) by rapid diagnostic test will be eligible for the prospective cohort study, which will involve data collection at baseline (day of registration into the study) and at follow-up (between 14 and 21 days after recruitment into the study). A total of 77 students from the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Science participated in the study and 54(70.1%) were positive to anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG. The incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 among the students in the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Science, University of Benin shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a cause for concern among students