Antibiotic resistance profiles of oral flora in hippopotami (Hippopotamus amphibius): implications for treatment of human bite wound infections
Name of Faculty: Veterinary Science
Name of department: Veterinary Tropical Diseases
First author of the paper: Professor Anita Michel
Authors: Maralize Engelbrecht, Francois Roux2 Jeanette Wentzel and Annelize Jonker
Email address:
Name of submitter: Professor Karen Keddy
Capacity of submitter: Head of Department: Veterinary Tropical Diseases
Email address of submitter:
Submitting authority: Faculty of Veterinary Science
Short description of the research: The common hippopotamus (
Hippopotamus amphibius
) which occurs in rivers, lakes and wetlands in sub-Saharan Africa, is known for its aggressive behaviour when defending its territory. This leads to numerous attacks on people close to water often leading to life-threatening injuries and severe wound infections. Our study investigated the bacterial spectrum common to the oral cavity of the hippopotamus and the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of those bacteria as this is of crucial importance to the effective treatment of bite wound infections caused by hippopotami. The findings showed that the bacteria usually residing in the hippopotamus' mouth are aquatic bacteria with a high level of antibiotic resistance to several antibiotic drugs which are commonly used to treat bite wound patients. This study highlights the need for revised, more effective treatment protocols that take into consideration the antibiotic susceptibility profiles reported in this paper.
For the full paper see below:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
Support UP's fight against hunger to feed struggling students
Hunger and financial hardships are silent struggles for thousands of students on the University of Pretoria (UP) campus, turning academic success into an uphill climb. However, the university has launched its Giving Month campaign, appealing to the public, alumni and businesses to step in and help students in need. The campaign aids 2 000 students through a nutritional programme. The phrase, 'it takes a village', rings true for the institution as it aims to address hunger through the aid of the public. At the heart of this effort is the Student Nutrition and Progress Programme (SNAPP), which provides qualifying students with daily meal credits or food parcels twice a month. SNAPP project co-ordinator, Daisy Ngwenya, said students sit through lectures and write exams on empty stomachs. 'It's heartbreaking, because we know how hunger affects concentration and academic performance,' said Ngwenya. She said the need is overwhelming, with 2 000 of Tuks' 56 000 students currently on the waiting list for SNAPP. Yet, due to limited resources, only 250 students are receiving support. 'Imagine if the 250 students supported by SNAPP didn't have that help. 'That's 250 young people forced to worry about where their next meal comes from while trying to achieve their dreams. It's not fair,' Ngwenya said. Beyond hunger, the university is also tackling financial exclusion through initiatives like the Vice-Chancellor and Principal Scholarship Fund, which helps 'missing middle' students whose families earn too much for government aid, but too little to cover university fees. Ngwenya said even small acts of kindness can go a long way. 'When we hand out food parcels, students often say, 'This is more than enough'. Their gratitude reminds us why we can't stop trying to help.' Nqwenya is inviting the public to contribute in the following ways: – Donate non-perishable food items like long-life milk, pasta, sugar or canned goods at Loftus Stadium. – Make a financial contribution via the university's secure online giving portal. – Join the Food Pack-a-Thon on July 30 at Hatfield campus, where Vodacom Bulls and Isuzu Bulls Daisies players will help pack food parcels for students. 'Together we can ensure no student is left behind because of hunger or poverty.' UP spokesperson Sashlin Girraj said food insecurity is one of the most urgent issues facing students today. He added that they cannot ignore the fact that many students are going hungry. 'This is not just a university issue, it's a community issue. 'We need partnerships with alumni, businesses and the public to ensure our students don't have to choose between education and survival.' Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to [email protected] or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok.
The South African
2 days ago
- The South African
Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet suffers global outage
SpaceX chief Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service experienced an hours-long global network outage late on Thursday, which executives attributed to a key software issue. The service interruption was announced on X at about 22:00 (SA time) on Thursday by Starlink's official handle. Users in the United States and Europe began reporting problems with the service an hour before the Starlink announcement on Downdetector, a website that tracks issues in internet-based services. 'Service will be restored shortly,' South Africa-born Musk posted on X, apologising for the outage. 'SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again.' The tech billionaire later reposted a statement from Starlink Vice President of Engineering Michael Nicolls, who said the disruption was due to the 'failure of key internal software services that operate the core network.' Nicolls also said the Starlink network had 'mostly recovered' from the outage, which 'lasted approximately 2.5 hours.' About two hours later, Starlink posted that the issue was resolved and that service was restored. User reports on Downdetector began after 21:00 (SA time), peaking at 21:34 (SA time) and tapering out at 05:00 (SA time). Starlink, a subsidiary of Musk's space rocket venture SpaceX, has deployed more than 6 000 low-orbit satellites to provide high-speed internet to isolated and poorly connected areas. Starlink currently leads the satellite internet race, with European competitor Eutelsat – which is backed by France and the United Kingdom – lagging behind with 600 satellites. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news. By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
The Herald
2 days ago
- The Herald
Drowning rates in SA go up while global figures drop, says Lifesaving SA
Drownings in South Africa are increasing, bucking the global trend where the rates are dropping, Lifesaving South Africa (LSA) warned in a statement to mark World Drowning Prevention Day on Friday. 'While global drowning deaths have dropped by 38% over the past two decades, South Africa's rates are rising,' the federation said, adding the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated at least 2,700 drowning deaths a year, with children under five at the greatest risk. Africa has seen a 3% decline, while South Africa has struggled to deal with the threat. WHO statistics showed at least 1,600 drowning deaths a year in the country, but these figures did not include deaths from flooding disasters, LSA said. 'In South Africa the crisis is worsened by climate change and flooding disasters, such as those in the Eastern Cape in June, and preventable risks such as unsafe farm dams and canals, inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure and traditional baptism ceremonies at rivers and along coastline.'
