Current Microbiological Research in Africa

Scientific output in low- and middle-income countries is greatly challenged by numerous factors. This is particularly pronounced in sub-Saharan African countries, despite the continent being the world’s second largest and second most-populous continent, currently undergoing rapid economic growth. Financial constraints and unclear areas of focus when funding is available, are among the limiting factors, with the consequence being the development of inadequate policies, especially those relating to environmental protection and conservation.This 13-chapter book is a unique piece in the field of microbiology, designed to stimulate some research areas in Africa by illustrating interesting and informative examples of the current applied research agenda in environmental microbiology in selected countries within the continent. With authors from the North, South, East and West of Africa, the book touches diverse applied methods and approaches to meet the pragmatic needs faced by environmental microbiologists in Africa. Also included are topics on viruses, bacteria (including cyanobacteria), and protozoa, and their importance in disease. Sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, and eco-friendly oil and hydrocarbon bioremediation and degradation approaches are highlighted. Microbial involvement in different common indoor (e.g., household kitchens, latrines, and hospitals) and outdoor settings including air, soil, and water habitats, and their resistance to commonly used antibiotics, are described. Hopefully, the work presented here will stimulate the need for increasing modern training and funding initiatives to prepare African microbiologists to meet the challenges they face in African universities and research laboratories.

Dr. Abia is an Applied and Environmental Microbiologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa with over 10 years of experience in microbiology. He holds a Doctor Technologiae in Water Care from the Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa. Dr Abia currently leads the Molecular and Environmental Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance section of the Antimicrobial Research Unit (ARU), UKZN. His current research focuses on triangulating the molecular epidemiology of antibiotic resistance between humans, animals, and the environment. He also serves as a specialist panel member at the South African Water Research Commission and the National Research Foundation for the review of research grants.Dr. Lanza has been involved in research, teaching, curriculum development, and consulting in the environmental sciences for more than 35 years including ecotoxicology, environmental impact assessment, applied and environmental microbiology, aquatic ecology, and water quality.  He has worked as a research scientist in industry, for environmental consulting firms, for international environmental advocacy organizations, and major educational institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, Mahidol University and Burapha University in Thailand, New York University, the University of Texas, the University of Massachusetts where he was the Director of the Environmental Science Program. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, and served on the US Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board. Dr. Lanza is currently Research Professor of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Microbiology in the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY.