title: Nasopharyngeal carriage and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Streptococcus pneumoniae among pediatric outpatients at Gondar University Hospital, North West Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of death among children in Ethiopia. S. pneumoniae nasopharyngeal carriage can result in endogenous infections and bacterial spread in the community. S. pneumoniae drug resistance is rapidly increasing worldwide. The aim of the study was to assess the nasopharyngeal carriage and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of S. pneumoniae among pediatric outpatients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted on children aged ≤10 years from February to May of 2012. Data on potential risk factors were gathered using an interview-based questionnaire. Nasopharyngeal specimens were collected with a sterile plastic cotton tip swab. Bacteria were characterized by colony appearance, Gram staining, and optochin susceptibility and bile solubility tests. An antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed using the disk diffusion method. A logistic regression analysis was used to examine the possible risk factors. All tests with p value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 234 children screened, 41.03% carried S. pneumoniae. Age-related downward trend for S. pneumoniae carriages (50.9% in <3-year-olds, 40.7% in 3- to 5-year-olds, 40.0% in 5- to <8-year-olds, and 33.3% in 8- to 10-year-olds) were observed. Children living with siblings < 5 years old (p = 0.003) and in a house having one room (p = 0.004) were associated with higher S. pneumoniae carriage. S. pneumoniae showed 33.2% resistance to erythromycin and tetracycline, 29.2% to cotrimoxazole, 14.6% to chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin, and 10.4% to penicillin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The S. pneumoniae carriage rate was higher among younger children. High antimicrobial resistance of S. pneumoniae against erythromycin, tetracycline, and cotrimoxazole was observed. Being in the young age group and living with younger children are risk factors for pneumococcal carriage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia. Electronic address: abezew@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Abate
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Assefa
authors.forename: Baye
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gelaw
authors.forename: Yitayal
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shiferaw
authors.forename: Zemene
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tigabu
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*
keywords: Ethiopia; S. pneumoniae; antimicrobial susceptibility; children; nasopharyngeal carriage