Geographic expansion of dengue incidence has drawn a global interest to identify the influential factors that instigate the spread of this disease. The objective of this study was to find the environmental factors linked to dengue incidence in a dengue epidemic area of Nepal by negative binomial models using climatic factors from 2010 to 2017. Minimum temperature at lag 2 months, maximum temperature and relative humidity without lag period significantly affected dengue incidence. Rainfall was not associated with dengue incidence in Chitwan district of Nepal. The incident rate ratio (IRR) of dengue case rise by more than 1% for every unit increase in minimum temperature at lag 2 months, maximum temperature and relative humidity, but decrease by .759% for maximum temperature at lag 3 months. Considering the effect of minimum temperature of previous months on dengue incidence, the vector control and dengue management program should be implemented at least 2 months ahead of dengue outbreak season.

The expansion of dengue vectors from lowland plains to the upland hilly regions of Nepal suggests the likelihood of increased risk of dengue. Our objective was to assess the effects of meteorological variables on vector indices and populations of dengue vectors in two different ecological regions of Nepal. An entomological survey was conducted in Kathmandu and Lalitpur (upland) and Chitwan (lowland) of Nepal in three different seasons from July 2015 to May 2016. The effect of meteorological variables on vector indices (house index, container index and Breteau index) and Aedes spp. population abundance was analyzed. A gamma regression was used to fit the models for vector indices and a negative binomial regression was used to model Aedes spp. population abundance. Monsoon season showed higher values for vector indices and vector populations compared to post-monsoon and pre-monsoon. Overall, the factor temperature-rainfall effect had a more significant influence on vector indices compared to relative humidity. The regression models showed that relative humidity has a greater impact in Chitwan than in Kathmandu. Variation was observed in the effect of predictor variables on Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus abundance. Temperature and rainfall contribute to the vector indices in the upland hilly region while relative humidity contributes in the lowland plains. Since vector prevalence is not only linked to meteorological factors, other factors such as water storage practices, waste disposal, sanitary conditions and vector control strategy should also be considered. We recommend strengthening and scaling up dengue vector surveillance and control programmes for monsoon season in both upland and lowland regions in Nepal.

Staphylococcus genus comprising both Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) are widely distributed in nature and can infect diversity of hosts. Indeed, staphylococci are the major pathogens causing biofilm associated infections caused by contaminated hospital indwelling devices. These infections are persistent in nature being highly refractory to various stresses including antibiotics. Implementation of efficient diagnostic techniques for the biofilm production would help minimize the disease burden. Thus, early detection of pathogenic strains producing biofilms warrant the utmost importance in diagnostic laboratories especially in resource limited settings. Among 375 isolates collected from different clinical specimens, 214 (57%) were identified as coagulase negative staphylococci and 161 (43%) S. aureus. Detection of In-vitro biofilm formation in these isolates were carried out by three commonly used phenotypic assays and a genotypic assay. While evaluating the results, tissue-culture method with supplemented glucose and sucrose showed the best correlation with the results of genotypic assay.

This study aimed to isolate, purify, and characterize a potential thermophilic cellulase-producing bacterium from the Himalayan soil. Eleven thermophilic bacteria were isolated, and the strain PANG L was found to be the most potent cellulolytic producer. Morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular characterization identified PANG L as Bacillus licheniformis. This is the first study on the isolation of thermostable cellulase-producing Bacillus licheniformis from the Himalayan soil. This bacterium was processed for the production of cellulase enzyme. The optimum conditions for cellulase production were achieved at 45C after 48h of incubation at pH 6.5 in media-containing carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and yeast extract as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, in a thermo-shaker at 100rpm. The enzyme was partially purified by 80 ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by dialysis, resulting in a 1.52-fold purification. The optimal activity of partially purified cellulase was observed at a temperature of 60C and pH 5. The cellulase enzyme was stable within the pH ranges of 35 and retained 67 of activity even at 55C. Cellulase activity was found to be enhanced in the presence of metal ions such as Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Ba²⁺. The enzyme showed the highest activity when CMC was used as a substrate, followed by cellobiose. The K_m and V_max values of the enzyme were 1.8mg/ml and 10.92μg/ml/min, respectively. The cellulase enzyme obtained from Bacillus licheniformis PANG L had suitable catalytic properties for use in industrial applications.

Background: Lower respiratory tract infection is a common cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A crosssectional study was carried out with an objective to study the antibiogram of Gram-negative isolates of patients with lower respiratory tract infection visiting Kathmandu Model Hospital.Methods: A total of 274 specimens including sputum, endotracheal aspirates, suction tips were cultured as per standard microbiological technique. Antibiotic susceptibility and detection of Extended-spectrum beta- lactamases (ESBLs) were performed following Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI 2014) guidelines.Results: Respiratory pathogens were recovered from 24.6% (n=65) cases. Klebsiella pneumoniae (40%) was the commonest isolates. The highest prevalence of multidrug-resistance (69.23%) was observed in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus baumannii complex. Extended-spectrum beta- lactamases were detected in Escherichia coli (n=4), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=4) and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus baumannii complex (n=1).Conclusions: High prevalence of multidrug-resistance and extended- spectrum beta- lactamase producers were observed in respiratory isolates. For effective management of lower respiratory tract infections, an ultimate and detailed microbiological diagnosis and susceptibility testing is required.