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E. coli, which is one of the main causes of both nosocomial and community acquired infections, particularly diarrhoea in children and has been variously reported to develop or acquire resistance to a variety of antibiotics. Seventy (70) isolates of Escherichia coli from stool of diarrhoeic children below the age of five (5) attending two hospitals and a primary healthcare centre in Zaria were screened for their susceptibility to a panel of nine commonly used antibiotics. Sixteen isolates (22.9%) were found to be resistant to all the antibiotics. Majority of the isolates were resistant to the inhibitory effects of the penicillins (amoxicillin, ampicillin), tetracycline, sulphonamide/ diaminopyridines and some cephalosporins, but susceptible to the fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin) and gentamicin. A high proportion of the isolates were multi-drug resistant, with seventeen phenotypic patterns. This raises serious issues as regards effective management of infection that could be caused by these organisms. The multiple antibiotic resistance indices (MARI) for the MAR isolates was found to be high, between 0.3 to 1.0 suggesting that the isolates originated from an environment where antibiotics were often used and the continued usefulness of these antibiotics in the treatment of E. coli infections in children need to be reviewed.Keywords: E. coli; Antibiotic resistance; Diarrhoea; Children; MARI

Background Asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia remains an effective transmission pool for malaria during pregnancy, which can result in placenta parasitaemia and adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study examined asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia among pregnant women in the antenatal clinic in General Hospital, Nassarawa-Eggon, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Materials and methods A cross-sectional hospital based survey was carried out among 242 apparently healthy pregnant women presenting for booking in an antenatal clinic between June and August 2014. An interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographic data and possible risk factors for asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia. These women should not have taken antimalarial medicines two weeks prior to the interview. Microscopy was used to identify malaria parasites and haemoglobin levels were estimated. Data was analysed using Epi Info 3.5.3. Descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviations, proportions, and range were used to summarise the data and the Chi square test was used to test association between categorical explanatory variables and outcome variables. Results Mean age (± SD) was 25.5 ± 5.5 years, 118 (48.8%) of the women were in the 25–34 years age group, while 153 (63.2%) were multigravidae. Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infection was found in 55 women (22.7%; 95% CI: 18.0-28.7%) Among these, 36 (65.5%) were anaemic [OR: 2.0, CI: 1.1-3.8]. Long lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) was not used by 17 (30.9%) of the respondents. Younger age group (below 25 years) [AOR: 2.4, CI: 1.2-4.9] and non-usage of LLIN [AOR: 2.4, CI: 1.1-5.1] were significant predictors of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia. Conclusion Asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia is a health challenge among pregnant women, especially in the younger age group and can predispose them to maternal anaemia. The supply and appropriate use of LLIN should be intensified.