Bacteria

Laundry wastewater, a category of greywater, contains various chemical constituents such as soap, suspended solids, oils, perfumes, and other pollutants at high concentrations. This study investigated the prevalence of virulence factors in bacterial isolates obtained from laundrywastewater to highlight their potential health risks. Samples were collected from residential and industrial laundry facilities, and the microbial isolates were analyzed using biochemical, molecular, and phenotypic methods. The total heterotrophic bacterial counts were recorded as 82.25 ± 4.7 CFU/mL × 10⁷ in Laundry Wastewater V and 94.50 ± 6.1 CFU/mL × 10⁷ in Laundry Wastewater W. Twenty-five bacterial isolates which include Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus spp., Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas spp. were characterized. The most frequently isolated bacterium was Staphylococcus aureus [11/25 (44.0%)], followed by Escherichia coli [7/25 (28.0%)], Pseudomonas spp. [4/25 (16.0%)], and Staphylococcus spp. [3/25 (12.0%)]. Virulence
factors such as DNase activity, lipase activity, and hemolytic activity were assessed. DNase activity was observed in 40% of the isolates, lipase activity in 52%, and hemolytic activity in 92%. Among Staphylococcus aureus isolates, DNase activity was 45.5%, lipase activity was 54.5%, and hemolytic activity was 100%. Similarly, hemolytic activity was prevalent in all Escherichia coli isolates (100%) and 75% of Pseudomonas spp. isolates. This study highlights the high prevalence of virulence factors in bacterial isolates from laundry wastewater and underscores its potential as a reservoir of pathogenic microorganisms. Untreated discharge of such wastewater poses serious public health and environmental risks. Therefore, it emphasizes the need for enhanced wastewater treatment systems and further research on the ecological and epidemiological implications of virulence factors in laundry effluents.

Point of Sale (POS) terminals have become a common feature of commercial transactions in urban environments such as Benin city, Edo State, Nigeria. This study was aimed at investigating the microbial contamination, bacterial diversity and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of microorganisms isolated from Point of Sale (POS) machines keypads within Medical Junction to New Benin Market axis of Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Twenty POS machines were randomly sampled using sterile swab sticks and the samples were analyzed using standard microbiological procedures and biochemical tests for bacterial Identification. The total heterotrophic counts ranged from 3.3 x 10³ to 9.9 x 10³. Antibiotics susceptibility pattern of the bacteria isolated was performed using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method Four main bacterial genera were isolated and identified: Escherichia coli (32.5 %), Neisseria spp. (27.5 %), Staphylococcus spp. (20 %), and Streptococcus spp. (20 %). E. coli showed the
highest prevalence with ( 32.5 % ) Antibiotic susceptibility testing, performed using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method, revealed high resistance to β-lactam antibiotics such as ampicillin, augmentin, and ampiclox, while the isolates exhibited greater sensitivity to fluoroquinolones including ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and levofloxacin. The findings confirm that POS terminals in Benin City serve as potential reservoirs for pathogenic and ugresistant bacteria, posing significant public health risks, particularly in densely populated commercial settings. Regular disinfection of POS devices, improved hand hygiene among operators and customers, and public awareness campaigns on microbial contamination are recommended to mitigate the spread of infectious agents and antimicrobial resistance.

Digestate from cattle rumen is composed of microbial biomass, organic Matter and inorganic compounds derived from anaerobic digestion, can be used as an inorganic fertilizer or raw materials for biofertilizer production. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of temperature and time relationship towards reduction of bacteria in cattle rumen digestate and its resultant safety as biofertilizer. Cattle Rumen Digestate slurry (CRD) was obtained from National Centre for Energy and Environment in the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria . The digestate was subjected to varying degrees of temp 28+2, 55, 60, 70
and 80 ℃ for a duration of 0,20,30, 40 and 60 min. The analysis carried out were for bacterial load using nutrient agar (NA) and Salmonella Shigella agar (SSA), physicochemical and heavy metal content. From the results, the lowest bacterial load of ( 0.5±0.00×10⁵cfu/ml) was recorded for exposure at 80 ⁰C after 60min and Salmonellae load recorded with (NO GROWTH) were from digestate exposure at 70 and 80 ⁰C after 40 and 60 mins respectively (for both temperatures) . Concentrations of nitrate, TK, TKN were highest at 60 ℃ and 80 ℃, TAN and TP were highest at 70 ℃ and 55℃ respectively, while 70 oC, heavy metals were lowest. This study study shows that digestate posses potential concerntration of nutrients and useful minerals which makes it suitable for agriculture land application.