Streptococcus pneumoniae Nasopharyngeal Colonization and Antibiogram of Isolates from Paediatric Population in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Aims: This research aimed to evaluate and identify Streptococcus pneumoniae from nasopharynx samples of children and carry out antibiotic susceptibility assay on the isolates; being that pneumococci is well noted as a significant cause of invasive pneumonia in infants with the challenge of antibiotic resistance, which may worsen due to the emergence of such strains among children population.

Methodology: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted between March and September 2023 in the Nsukka area of Enugu. Samples were collected from 100 children population using sterile swab sticks. These were inoculated unto blood and chocolate agar and then incubated at 37o C, morphological and biochemical characteristics were used for identification. An antimicrobial susceptibility test using the disk diffusion method was performed on isolates. The multi-discs used were pefloxacin 10ug, Gentamicin 10ug, Ampiclox 30ug, Cefuroxime 20ug, Amoxacillin 30ug, Ceftriazone 25ug, Ciprofloxacin 10ug, and Streptomycin 30ug, Co-tirmoxazole 30ug, and, Erythromycin 10ug.

Results: The results identified 8.0% of pediatric with pneumococcal carriage. Males were 10.0% while females were 5.0%. The age distributions were as follows: 0-5 years 4(8.7%), 6-10 years 1(3.1%), 11-15 years, 3(13.6%). There was no significant difference in the age range distribution of the pneumococci colonization (p=0.074). There was 66.7% sensitivity rate of S. pneumonia. The resistant rates were 75% each to Ampiclox and Amoxicillin. Cefuroxime was 87.5% resistant.