Background: Despite control measures to curtailed salmonella fruit contamination over the years, pathogenic disease outbreaks caused by the ingestion of Salmonella contaminated fresh-cut-fruits pose a significant problem to human health by the consumption of fresh and minimally processed fruits. This study aimed to enumerate and determine the prevalence of Salmonella species isolated in ready-to-eat fruits vended in Bukuru Market Jos South, Plateau state. Methodology: A total of seventy-eight ready-to-eat vended fruit samples were purchased and cultured for the enumeration of bacterial isolates according to National Food Safety Standard for Microbiological Examination. Pulp pH value of each fruit was obtained by immersing litmus paper into the pulp and results recorded. Results: Of the 78 fruits specimen, 22 (28.2%) were Salmonella positive. The prevalence rates of salmonella isolated were found to be higher (22.7%) in both coconut and avocado followed by watermelon (18.2%) and sweetmelon (13.6%) as compared with other fruits in the study area. Lower rates of 4.5% were found in banana, pawpaw, and dates with a rise in apple with 9.1% respectively. Conclusion: The study showed a high p<0.05 (7.811) prevalence of pathogenic Salmonella species isolated in ready-to-eat fruits in the study area revealing that the spread of salmonella is not independent of fruits thereby suggestive of contamination made available by fruit vendors in this part of the world. Thus, epidemiological traceability and significant measures must be taken to check the safety of these vended products before consumption.

. The widespread Helicobacter pylori infection is a substantial global health problem affecting approximately 50% of the worldwide population, with 50% infection rates in developed countries and 80% in developing countries, mainly concentrating in resource-limited settings. The mode of transmission is through the faecal-oral route, contamination of food and water, where inadequate sanitation practices, low socioeconomic status and overcrowdedness seem to relate to the high prevalence of H. pylori infections. This study sought to serologically determine the prevalence of H. pylori and the disease-associated burden in patients accessing care in a Tertiary Hospital. This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital, North-Central Nigeria, for four months (September to December 2022). There, 551 blood specimens were collected from the patients into plain tubes and spun to obtain serum for the serological qualitative analysis. Out of the 551 screened specimens for H. pylori, 79% (n=437) were 58.4% reactive female and 41.6% male. Ages 15-49 had 62%, 50-70 yrs had 26.5%, and less than 14 yrs had 11.4% respectively. Furthermore, 64.3% of female patients presented with burning pains, nausea/vomiting, and trouble breathing. In comparison, 35.5% of the male counterparts presented symptoms of dyspepsia, and 32.1% had either taken one of the Nonsteroidal-inflammatory drugs. 86.7% of the suspected patients were hand washed after using the toilet, 83.3% had a loss of appetite, 55.4% reported alcohol intake and 35.9% smoked instead. 47.7% ate from mama-put, 30.1% from street-vended foods and 22.2% from classified restaurants, while 94.7% got their drinking water from sachet, bottled, borehole or tap, and well water, respectively. Serum antibody detection of H. pylori infection was higher in female than male patients accessing care at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos. This revealed that gender could be considered a potential risk factor. Thus, early risk identification factors, such as other transmission routes, are urgently needed in defining clinical and epidemiological characteristics to facilitate appropriate supportive care and prompt treatment.

Correctional inmates are among the vulnerable groups to intestinal parasitic infections due to deprived situations characterized by inadequate facilities, malnutrition, scarce potable water, over-crowding, and poor hygiene. Two hundred and fifty faeces of inmates of Jos Correctional Facility were investigated for the prevalence of intestinal parasites between May and June 2019, using the wet mount and formol-ether concentration techniques. Results obtained showed that from the 250 faecal samples examined, 57(22.8%) were infected with various intestinal parasites. Nine (9) different intestinal parasites identified were Entamoeba histolytica 38.60%), Entamoeba coli (15.78%), Ancylostoma duodenale (4.04%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.53%), Taeniasp (8.77%), Schistosoma mansoni (3.51%), Giardia lamblia (3.51%), Enterobius vermicularis (3.51%) and Trichuris trichuria (1.75%). The 9 different intestinal parasites were grouped into helminthes (42.1%) and protozoa (57.9%). Higher infection rate of 45.6% was recorded among those within age ranges 21-30 years. Inmates who were in prison for <2 years had higher (56.1%) infection rates compared with other inmates (43.9%). The findings are in agreement with similar studies from other penitentiaries in Nigeria resulting in significant health problems among inmates including anemia, malabsorption in the gastrointestinal tract and other complications. Thus, the need to scale up periodic routine examination of all inmates including stool samples, hemogram and the prompt treatment of infected individuals would significantly improve their health conditions. Keywords: Intestinal parasites; Jos Prison; inmates and prevalence.

A cohort study measured the occurrence and risk factors of nosocomial infections in the neonatal intensive care unit of Abha general hospital, Saudi Arabia. Of 401 neonates who stayed at least 48 hours in the unit, 77 developed infections, a period prevalence of 19.2% and an incidence of 13.7 infections per 1000 patient-days. The most frequent infections were: pneumonia (50.0%), primary bloodstream (40.9%) and skin and soft tissues (6.5%). In logistic regression analysis, mechanical ventilation (OR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.39-5.19) and total parenteral nutrition (OR = 5.62, 95% CI: 2.78-11.35) were identified as significant risk factors. Neonates suffering from nosocomial infections had more than 3 times the risk of dying compared to neonates free of infection.

Our aim was to describe the frequency of HIV infection among patients with tuberculosis and compare their characteristics with patients with TB but not infected with HIV. Patients with cough >3 weeks duration attending 8 hospitals in Abuja, Nigeria were screened with smear microscopy and culture and tested for HIV. Chest X-rays were graded by 2 readers. 731 (62%) of 1186 patients had positive cultures and 353 (48%) of these 731 patients were smear positive. 1002 (85%) patients were tested for HIV and 546 (55%) were positive. 53% (329/625) of the culture positive patients and 58% (217/377) of the culture negative patients were HIV positive. Anorexia, weight loss, low BMI (<18.5), haemoglobin (<11 gm/dl) and albumin and high ESR and liver enzymes were more frequently observed among patients with TB coinfected with HIV than in patients without HIV. Coinfected patients had less cavitations and lung involvement on X-rays than patients without HIV. In conclusion, the prevalence of HIV is very high among patients with TB in Abuja, Nigeria. The presence of HIV decreases the sensitivity of smear microscopy and complicates the diagnosis of TB. Selected clinical and laboratory parameters could be used to identify individuals with TB who are likely to be coinfected with HIV.

To determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites among foreign junior staff working in the College of Medicine of King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Stool analysis and Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test are offered freely to our staff as part of routine medical examination in our Department. The candidates for this study thus volunteered themselves. Nonetheless, their consent was sought for this additional test. This study took place between September 2006 and February, 2007. Fresh stool samples collected first thing in the morning in wide-mouthed clean, dry and grease-free containers were preserved in 10% formal-saline. The samples were concentrated using the formol-ether technique and examined for parasites. Sixty-five (65) junior staff, all of Asian origin, participated in the study. Twenty-four (24) 37%, had no parasites in their stool, while 41 (63%), were positive. Out of the forty-one (41) who had stool parasites, nineteen (19) had only one (1) parasite each, sixteen (16) had two (2), four (4) had three (3), one (1) had four (4) and one (1) had six (6). The commonest parasite was Trichuris trichiura (28), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (19), and Hookworm sp. (15). (Table 1). Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba coli were the only protozoa identified. Those found positive were treated at the College Clinic. Poly-parasitism, two or more parasites per person, was common among these workers (22/41, 54%). The preponderance of Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides, suggests that feco-oral route constitutes an important route of acquisition and transmission. Employers of this category of workers in food and vegetable industries, must ensure they are regularly screened and if found to be infected, promptly treated to interrupt transmission of these parasites to the community.Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 53 (4) 2008: pp. 66-69

OBJECTIVE:To compare the usefulness of 4 commonly used tests in the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori H. pylori infection in Saudi patients with dyspepsia. METHODS:Patients presenting with dyspepsia at the gastroenterology clinic of Aseer Central Hospital, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between October 2005 to May 2006, who consented to participate in the study were enrolled. Patients who received anti-Helicobacter treatment or proton pump inhibitors within 30 days, or in whom endoscopy revealed cancer or gastro-esophageal reflux, were excluded from the study. Stool sample for H. pylori stool antigen HpSA were tested using the enzyme immunoassay technique 2-7 days before endoscopy. At endoscopy, gastric antrum mucosal biopsies were taken for campylobacter-like organism CLO test, histology and culture. RESULTS:There were 72 males and 43 females, age range from 18-75 years, mean age 40.09+/-15.68. Seventy-nine patients out of the 115 68.7% samples were positive for H. pylori, by culture. Culture and histology agreed in 112 cases 97.4% and disagreed in 3 cases 2.6%. The sensitivities and specificities % of histology were 97.5 and 97.2, of HpSAg were 91.9 and 98.6, and of CLO were 79.7 and 97.2 tests against culture. CONCLUSION:Culture, histology, and H. pylori stool antigen tests all have comparable results, and there is no need to use all 3 at the same time, for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. The CLO test is less sensitive, and of low negative predictive value.

We carried out a study on the prevalence of CA-MRSA in Abha and found a rate of 16% in an environment where nosocomial MRS A rate is 46%. We believe that the rate of CA-MRSA could be much lower if the patients had been interviewed with a view to eliminate obvious risk factors

BACKGROUND:Staphylococcus lugdunensis has been reported to cause several localized and blood stream infections, but not endometritis. OBJECTIVE:To desribe a case of Staphylococcus lugdunensis endometritis associated with premature rupture of membranes. CASE REPORT.A 39-year old woman presented with premature rupture of membrane (PROM) and underwent an emergency caesarean section at 40 weeks of gestation. Her endometritis was characterized by a foul odour and was so extensive that the baby was adherent to the endometrium and had to be separated by a gentle pull. In spite of these, neither the mother nor her baby suffered any adverse effect. The organism exhibited several unusual characteristics that are atypical ofstaphylococci. The baby did not develop any sepsis. The mother responded well to antibiotics and both were discharged home on the 4th postoperative day. CONCLUSION:To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this organism causing endometritis.

OBJECTIVE To determine the degree of contamination caused by parasites in commonly used leafy vegetables in Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). METHODS We carried out the study in the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Parasitology, King Khalid University, Abha, KSA, during the period September 2004 to May 2005. Five commonly used leafy vegetables, namely, green onion, radish, watercress, lettuce and leek, were washed each in water and Tris-buffer-saline (TBS). The washing solution was then centrifuged and the sediments were examined for parasites. RESULTS The use of TBS for the extraction, significantly increased the isolation rate (27.2%) of the parasites compared with the use of tap water (7.8%) (z=4.72 p<0.001). The prevalence of the parasites was 28% in green onion, 25% in radish, 17% in watercress, 17% in lettuce, and 13% in leek. The parasites were more common in the months of September to December. Ankylostoma duodenale, Entameba coli, Ascaris lumbricoides and Blastocystis hominis were the most common isolated parasites. We encountered 12 genera of parasites during the study and the least common was iodamoeba butschlii. CONCLUSION The study shows that parasites are common in leafy vegetables and the use of tap water does little to remove them. The public health implications of our findings will be communicated to the Aseer regional health authorities for appropriate community health education and other necessary actions.

Brief ReportsNeedlestick and Sharps Injuries at Asir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia Saleh Al Ghamdi, MD, FRCPC Tarik Al-Azraqi, MD, FRCPC Cornelius Bello, MD, FRCPATH, SR Hanan Gutierrez, RN, BSN, SR Mary Hyde, and RN, RM, SR Munira AbdullahRN Saleh Al Ghamdi From the Department of Infection Control and Surveillance, Assir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia Search for more papers by this author , Tarik Al-Azraqi From the Department of Infection Control and Surveillance, Assir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia Search for more papers by this author , Cornelius Bello Correspondence to: Dr. Cornelius Bello, Asir Central Hospital, P.O. Box 34, Abha, Saudi Arabia From the Department of Infection Control and Surveillance, Assir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia Search for more papers by this author , Hanan Gutierrez From the Department of Infection Control and Surveillance, Assir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia Search for more papers by this author , Mary Hyde From the Department of Infection Control and Surveillance, Assir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia Search for more papers by this author , and Munira Abdullah From the Department of Infection Control and Surveillance, Assir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia Search for more papers by this author Published Online::1 Nov 2003https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.2003.404SectionsPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AboutIntroductionMcCormick and Maki were the first to highlight the risk of healthcare workers (HCWs) suffering harm from sharps injuries.1 Since then, there has been an increase in awareness and concern about the acquisition of blood borne pathogens through needlestick injuries, especially with the advent of HIV.2 The importance and seriousness of these infections were recently emphasized by the US Department of Labor.3 The risk of such infections in health care workers has become a challenge because of high costs, labor incapacity, mortality and social stigmatization.4 With the global increase in HIV and related infections, most health institutions have in place guidelines for prevention, reporting and management of needlestick and other sharp injuries, but the enforcement of such guidelines varies from place to place, as does the response by health care workers.One of the commonest problems mitigating against proper management of sharps injuries has been the issue of non-reporting by health care workers. In a recent study of sharps injuries among Taiwanese health care workers, it was found that as many as 82% of sharps injuries were unreported.5Several reports on sharp injuries among health care workers have emerged from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.6-10 Like our report, these reports have highlighted the risky practices, the sources and locations of sharp injuries and the groups of staff most commonly affected. These reports have also highlighted some of the steps taken to reduce the incidence of sharps injuries among health care workers. However, to the best of our knowledge, our report is the first from Asir Central Hospital, a tertiary referral center in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. Our report also covers the longest period (ten years) of sharp injuries reported to date from the kingdom.PATIENTS AND METHODSAsir Central Hospital (ACH) (Abha, Saudi Arabia) is a tertiary health care center with over 500 beds. It trains nurses, technicians, undergraduate and postgraduate medical doctors, and has a work force of over 2000 personnel from over twenty different countries. It is the referral center for the Asir region of western Saudi Arabia. The hospital carries out qualitative health care services under the leadership of Western-trained consultants in almost all disciplines of medicine. It has an active infection control committee headed by an infectious diseases consultant.The hospital has kept records of sharps injuries and their management since January 1991. However, until the year 2000, the program did not include mucous membrane and non-intact skin-blood exposures. An infection control nurse keeps meticulous records for every sharps injury case, and these data are computerized. The programme involves reporting every case of a sharp injury to the nurse-in-charge, who in conjunction with her colleagues and/or appropriate consultants in the hospital, carry out necessary follow-up tests, counseling and other management. Screening for baseline data on HBsAg, anti-HCV and anti-HIV antibodies is done for every affected staff and consenting source persons. At the time of employment every foreign doctor and nurse at ACH has had negative results since a negative result is a prerequisite for obtaining a residence permit. It is hospital policy that any health care worker found to be HBsAg negative post-exposure is further screened for anti-HBsAg; if negative, he/she is given HBV vaccine. The data covering ten years (1991-2000) were retrieved and analyzed. The c2 and Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis with significance set at P=0.05.RESULTSThere were few reported cases of sharps injuries in the first 5 years (1991-1995), possibly due to lack of awareness of reporting requirements among health care workers. However, between 1996 and 1999, the reporting situation had improved. The decline from the year 2000 is most likely due to the positive impact of health education by the infection control nurses. The areas of the hospital with the highest activities, such as the operating room (OR) and the adult and pediatric intensive care units (ICU), had the highest number of sharps injuries (Table 1). Table 2 shows the sources and incidence of sharps injuries in ACH. Needle recapping, careless disposal of sharps and blood extraction were responsible for over 50% of sharps injuries. These are easily preventable by health education.Table 1. Sharps injuries by department and year at Asir Central Hospital.Table 1. Sharps injuries by department and year at Asir Central Hospital.Table 2. Sources and incidence of sharps injuries at Asir Central Hospital.Table 2. Sources and incidence of sharps injuries at Asir Central Hospital.Over 80% of sharps injuries in ACH occurred among nurses, cleaners and doctors (Table 3). Three quarters of the personnel involved were female nurses, with Filipinos and Indians constituting over 80% of cases. These figures represent the proportions of these health care workers in the employment of ACH and therefore are not statistically significant. However, the figures clearly show who should be targeted in prevention efforts.Table 3. Sharps injuries by personnel.Table 3. Sharps injuries by personnel.Table 4 shows that 17/21 (81.0%) of those injured from source-positive cases showed up for follow-up compared with only 33/127 (26.0%) of those injured from source-unknown or source-negative cases. (P<0.05). Most of those injured from unknown sources (n=94) never returned for follow-up, possibly because they did not perceive themselves at risk of acquiring any of these infections. It is noteworthy that none of the source patients had HIV. However, two had HIV false positive ELISA results that were not confirmed by western blot. Also noteworthy is the fact that none of the twenty-one affected health care workers from the identified source positive cases (all of whom had negative baseline data) never seroconverted for the period of their follow-up. This number is rather small for any meaningful conclusions.Table 4. Follow-up profile of sharps-injured staff from source positive and negative patients.Table 4. Follow-up profile of sharps-injured staff from source positive and negative patients.DISCUSSIONOur data show a steady increase in the reported cases of sharps injuries in ACH, which reached a plateau between 1996 and 1999. Several factors might be responsible, including the sustained awareness efforts of the infection control department. That the figures had started to fall by the year 2000 indicates that a saturation point might have been reached both in the knowledge and reporting of sharps injuries by our health care workers. Needle recapping was the commonest cause of sharps injuries at ACH, and nurses were the most common victims. Garbage disposal and blood extraction were second and third as causes of sharps injuries whilst cleaners and doctors followed the nurses as the second and third largest victims.These findings contrast with those of Huertas et al4 where sharps injuries followed instrumental utilization followed by careless disposal of sharp devices. Recapping came fourth in their series and nurses were second after house keeping and maintenance staff, as victims. Our findings however agreed with those of Shanks and Al-kalai6 and Memish et al,10 in which nurses were the most affected employees. Also, global surveillance studies have shown that approximately two-thirds of all reported sharps injuries occur in nurses.11 In the last two years, the use of puncture-resistant containers with disinfectant (Clorox) located at the most likely places for needlestick injuries to occur has drastically reduced the danger associated with needle recapping in ACH. It should however be noted that recapping of needles has been known as a no benefit and high-risk procedure for more than two decades.12Several suggestions have been made for preventing and limiting sharps injuries among health care workers.11-13 These include health education, behavior change (e.g., not recapping needles, disposal-related issues), introduction of barriers to protect the caregiver, safer techniques, safer devices (e.g. needleless and self-sheathing equipment), and organizational factors such as improved staffing levels. However, the cheapest, easiest and most effective method of reducing sharps injuries is through health education, leading to changes in behavior. The preponderance of sharps injuries among our nurses may be related to the low nurse-to-patient ratio and the need to carry out many procedures in a hurry. This problem is not peculiar to our hospital and should be looked at critically by all who desire to effect changes.Of the 21 sharps-injured staff from source-positive patients in our series, none seroconverted within the follow-up period. Huertas et al4 found one HBV seroconversion out of ten surface antigen exposures, one in nine with an HCV-contaminated source, and none in 54 involving HIV contamination. Memish et al,10 in their series, reported only one seroconversion to Hepatitis C.Two of our HIV ELISA-positive source patients were not confirmed by western blotting, and thus were false positive cases. Although it took one week to get the western blot report on the two samples, no postexposure prophylactic anti-retroviral drug was given to the affected staff because there was no clinical or epidemiological evidence of HIV disease in the source persons. This policy has however now changed to conform with the updated US Public Health Guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HBV, HCV and HIV14This study has shown that education and preventive efforts should be directed at the nursing staff, cleaners and doctors. Future studies should address the issue of non-reporting of sharps injuries and the role of safer techniques, safer devices and organizational factors, such as staffing levels.ARTICLE REFERENCES:1. McCormick RD, Maki DG. "Epidemiology of needlestick injuries in hospital personnel." Am J Med.. 1981; 70:928-932. Google Scholar2. Henderson DK. "Risks for exposures to and infection with HIV among health care providers in the emergency department." Emerg Med J.. 1995; 13:199-211. Google Scholar3. U.S. Department of Labour. "Occupational safety and Health Administration. Occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens; final rule (29 CFR part 1910. 1030.)" . Federal Register. 1991; 56:64175-64182. Google Scholar4. Huertas MA, Rivera-Morales IM, Romero C, Ponce-de-Leon S. "Occupational accidents and incidence of HIV infection and hepatitis B and C at a Mexican institution." Rev Invest Clin.. 1995; 47(3):181-187. Google Scholar5. Shiao JSC, McLaws ML, Huang KY, Ko WC, Guo YL. "Prevalence of non-reporting behaviors of sharps injuries in Taiwanese health care workers." Am J Infect Control.. 1999; 27:254-257. Google Scholar6. Shanks NJ, Al-kalai D. "Occupation risk of needlestick injuries among health care personnel in Saudi Arabia." J Hosp Infect.. 1995March; 29(3):221-226. Google Scholar7. Kennedy M, O’Reilly D, Mah MW. "The use of a quality-improvement approach to reduce needlestick injuries in a Saudi Arabian hospital." Clin Perform Qual Health Care.. 1998; 6(2):79-83. Google Scholar8. Paul T. "Self-reported needlestick injuries in dental health care workers at Armed Forces Hospital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia." Mil Med.. 2000; 165(3):208-210. Google Scholar9. Abu-Gad HA, Al-Turki KA. "Some epidemiological aspects of needlestick injuries among the hospital health care workers: Eastern province, Saudi Arabia." Eur J Epidemiol.. 2001; 17(5):401-407. Google Scholar10. Memish ZA, Almuneef M, Dillon J. "Epidemiology of needlestick and sharps injuries in a tertiary care center in Saudi Arabia." Am J Infect Control.. 2002; 30(4):234-241. Google Scholar11. Hanrahan A, Reutter L. "A critical review of the literature on sharps injuries: Epidemiology, management of exposures and prevention." J Adv Nurs.. 1997; 25(1):144-154. Google Scholar12. Centers for Disease Control. "Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS):Precautions for clinical and laboratory staffs." MMWR.. 1982; 31:577-580. Google Scholar13. Clarke SP, Sloane DM, Aiken LH. "Needlestick injuries to nurses in context" . LDI Issue Brief. 2002;(1):1-4. Google Scholar14. Centers for Disease Control. "Updated US Public Health Service Guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HBV, HCV and HIV and recommendations for post exposure prophylaxis. Recommendations and Reports" . MMWR.Jun29, 2001/50(RR 11);1-42. Google Scholar Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 23, Issue 6November-December 2003 Metrics History Accepted1 March 2003Published online1 November 2003 InformationCopyright © 2003, Annals of Saudi MedicinePDF download

We report here the case of myiasis of the mastoid cells in a 50-year old Saudi farmer. Eight larvae of suspected Calliphorid fly were extracted from his right mastoid at examination in the clinic. The larvae almost ate into his brain, using their powerful screw-shaped mouth parts. It is the first report of Calliphorid larvae affecting the mastoid cells from Saudi Arabia. The epidemiological and clinical implications of this finding are discussed below.

We report an unusual and lethal case of Shigella flexneri septicemia in an 8-year-old Saudi handicapped child from a social home presenting with severe toxic megacolon and acute abdomen secondary to fulminant necrotizing enterocolitis.

A total of 288 specimens made up of 84 specimens each of blood, stool, urine and 36 specimens of bone marrow aspirates were collected from enteric fever patients. The blood specimen was used for cultural diagnosis and malaria parasite (MP) test, while serum from the blood was screened by Widal test. The remaining specimens (bone marrow aspirate, stool and urine) were only used for cultural diagnosis, but their cultural diagnostic sensitivity were only calculated from the patients whose Widal tests were positive. The widal test showed that 21(25%) had significant reciprocal titre levels of > 80 and > 160 for O and H antigens respectively. Malaria parasites test also had 23(37.4%) cases positive with 1(4.4%) and 22(95.7%) of them positive and negative by widal test respectively. Stool, blood and bone marrow aspirate were 33%, 28.6% and 38.1% sensitive respectively, while the diagnostic sensitivity of urine was zero. In the diagnosis of enteric fever, it is suggested that the presumptive serology test (Widal) be carried out along with cultures from bone marrow aspirate and stool where the former is affordable and available. Malaria parasite microscopy should also be done because majority of the suspected enteric fevers may actually only be malaria fever in an environment like Nigeria which is endemic for the two diseases (malaria and typhoid fever).