https://www.journalsajrm.com/index.php/SAJRM <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>South Asian Journal of Research in Microbiology</strong>&nbsp;<strong>(ISSN: 2582-1989)&nbsp;</strong>aims to publish high quality papers (<a href="/index.php/SAJRM/general-guideline-for-authors">Click here for Types of paper</a>) in all aspects of Microbiology. By not excluding papers based on novelty, this journal facilitates the research and wishes to publish papers as long as they are technically correct and scientifically motivated. The journal also encourages the submission of useful reports of negative results. This is a quality controlled, OPEN peer-reviewed, open-access INTERNATIONAL journal.</p> South Asian Journal of Research in Microbiology en-US South Asian Journal of Research in Microbiology 2582-1989 https://www.journalsajrm.com/index.php/SAJRM/article/view/513 <p><strong>Background:</strong> <em>Salmonella</em> species are important public health pathogens associated with bloodstream infections, particularly in settings where sanitation and healthcare access may be limited.</p> <p><strong>Aims:</strong> This study evaluated the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of <em>Salmonella</em> spp. isolated from patients’ blood specimens at Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia.</p> <p><strong>Methodology: </strong>A total of 470 whole-blood samples were collected from 470 patients and cultured. Suspected organisms were recovered from 88 samples (18.7%). Seventy-four suspected samples were sub-cultured onto selective media, including Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate agar, <em>Salmonella</em>-Shigella agar and MacConkey agar. Positive bacterial growth was obtained from 22 samples (29.7%), while 66 samples (75.0%) were negative after sub-culture. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, and the results were interpreted in relation to the tested isolates and reported inhibition-zone patterns within the hospital.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Higher susceptibility was observed with cefuroxime, ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin. Azithromycin and nalidixic acid showed lower susceptibility, while ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate and chloramphenicol showed moderate activity. Gentamicin and tetracycline showed resistance among the isolates tested. None of the isolates was reported as multidrug resistant.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The findings indicate the need for continued blood culture surveillance and antimicrobial susceptibility testing to support the management of patients with <em>Salmonella</em> infections in the study setting.</p> Precious Nnedimma Sabastine-Nkeonadi Elendu C. Onwuchekwa Uzochukwu Kenneth Chukwu Ebubechi Uloma Okey-Kalu Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2026-07-17 2026-07-17 20 7 18 26 10.9734/sajrm/2026/v20i7513 https://www.journalsajrm.com/index.php/SAJRM/article/view/512 <p>Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a central component of safe and high-quality healthcare. Healthcare-associated infections remain an important public health concern because they contribute to morbidity, mortality, prolonged hospitalisation, antimicrobial resistance and increased healthcare costs. This review synthesises key IPC practices used in healthcare settings, with emphasis on the chain of infection, standard precautions, transmission-based precautions, safe clinical procedures, environmental hygiene and occupational health measures. The review explains how interruption of any link in the chain of infection can reduce disease transmission. Core standard precautions include hand hygiene, appropriate use of personal protective equipment, respiratory hygiene, safe injection practices, environmental cleaning, reusable instrument processing, and safe management of linen and biomedical waste. Contact, droplet and airborne precautions are also discussed in relation to common infectious conditions and multidrug-resistant organisms. In addition, the review highlights the importance of surveillance, institutional IPC programmes, staff training, vaccination, post-exposure management and occupational health support. The findings indicate that IPC is not limited to individual practices but depends on consistent implementation, institutional commitment and continuous monitoring. Strengthening IPC systems can support safer care environments, protect patients and healthcare workers, and improve overall healthcare quality.</p> Saubia Rahim Taukir Alam Konain Abbas Aniket Lodhi Anam Khan Zikra Perveen Saqib Zameer Anees Akhtar Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2026-07-08 2026-07-08 20 7 1 17 10.9734/sajrm/2026/v20i7512 https://www.journalsajrm.com/index.php/SAJRM/article/view/514 <p><em>Helicobacter pylori</em> remains one of the most prevalent bacterial infections affecting the Nigerian population, with reported seroprevalence figures among the highest documented globally. Despite this burden, the relationship between infection, clinical outcome, and health system response in Nigeria remains incompletely characterised, and existing reviews on the subject are largely descriptive rather than critically integrative. This review synthesises and critically appraises the Nigerian and relevant regional African literature on the epidemiology, diagnostic practice, clinical and pathological significance, and treatment of <em>H. pylori</em> infection. Evidence indicates markedly heterogeneous prevalence estimates across age groups, geopolitical zones and diagnostic methods, generally exceeding two-thirds of adults and rising progressively through childhood in association with low socioeconomic status, household crowding, and inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure. Diagnosis in Nigeria continues to rely disproportionately on invasive endoscopic biopsy-based methods and serology, reflecting limited availability of urea breath testing, stool antigen assays and culture-based antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Clinically, infection is strongly associated with chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, yet gastric cancer incidence in Nigeria remains comparatively low relative to infection prevalence, reproducing the so-called African enigma at a national level. Treatment outcomes are increasingly threatened by high but geographically variable antimicrobial resistance, particularly to metronidazole and, in some but not all locales, clarithromycin. Methodological heterogeneity, small sample sizes, hospital-based sampling frames, and the scarcity of population-representative and longitudinal data limit the strength of causal inference across all thematic areas. This review identifies priority research needs, including nationally representative prevalence surveys, expanded access to non-invasive and susceptibility-guided diagnostics, and prospective evaluation of resistance-adapted eradication regimens, and situates Nigerian data within an emerging Africa-specific consensus framework for management of the infection.</p> Rhoda Nwalozie Chiamaka Esther Kingdom Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s). The licensee is the journal publisher. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 2026-07-22 2026-07-22 20 7 27 43 10.9734/sajrm/2026/v20i7514