title: Nasopharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis among school children at Ijede, Lagos State, Nigeria.
abstract: A total of 639 school children ranging in age from 5 to 15 years were investigated for nasopharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in Ijede, Lagos-State, Nigeria. The carriage rate was found to be 6.2%. Of the 40 children from whom meningococci were isolated, 25 (62.5%) were males and 15 (37.5%) were females. Serogrouping of the isolates showed that serogroup C Neisseria meningitidis was isolated with the highest frequency 40%, while serogroups A, B, and W135 had isolation rates of 25.5%, 17.5% and 7.5% respectively. This study has shown that group C Neisseria meningitidis is the prevalent serogroup among school children in the area, which is south of the meningitis belt in Nigeria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Odugbemi
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ademidun
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agbabiaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Banjo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009302:Nasopharyngeal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis; D016870:Neisseriaceae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D012574:Schools; D012703:Serotyping