Alice Nyambura
Technical University of Kenya
Title: Alice Nyambura is a PhD candidate at the University of Nairobi, Kenya and Faculty member, department of Food Science at Technical University of Kenya. My research focuses on food and water safety where my passion and great interest for elimination of foodborne pathogens from the environment drives me to look for a biocontrol solution such as bacteriophages to control Vibrio cholerae
Biography
Biography: Alice Nyambura
Abstract
Kenyan republic has suffered from cholera outbreaks for the last decade due to heavy rains, poor sanitation, lack of access to clean, and potable drinking water. Poor communities have no access to safe drinking water. In 2018, March to May long rains were the heaviest in the past 55 years. A total of 5756 cholera cases and 78 deaths were reported. Bacteriophages lytic to Vibrio cholerae can be used for water decontamination as alternatives to antibiotics because it has been resistant to antibiotics.
A total of 140 environmental water samples used for domestic purposes were collected from several regions between March 2015 and May 2018. Vibrio cholerae , E.coli 083, Providentia sneebia, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas were isolated .A total of 15 vibriophages were isolated using plaque assay techniques, purified, amplified, morphology revealed by TEM, 4 phages further sequenced to determine the genome sizes. Results revealed phages belonged to Myoviridae family, similar genome sizes of 148Kb, 4tRNAs; G+C was 36.4%. Isolated phages can be disseminated in environmental water for decontamination.