Prevalence of bacterial pathogens in children with acute respiratory infection in Addis Ababa

A study was conducted in the Ethio-Swedish Children's Hospital and differen t schools and kindergartens in Addis Ababa tb determine the prevalence of b acterial agents that are associated with acute respiratory infection in chi ldren from 1998-1999. A total of 883 subjects were studied, out of which 77 % were cases from the Ethio-Swedish Children's Hospital and 23% were contro ls from different schools and kindergartens. From each case and control thr oat and nasopharyngeal specimens were collected. Culture and different bioc hemical tests were used to isolate the potential bacterial pathogens. Clini cal findings like cough, difficult breathing and fever were correlated with laboratory findings. S. pneumoniae arid H. influenzae type b were the most commonly isolated bacteria in both throat and nasopharyngeal specimens; 74 % and 70% in the cases and 2% and 5% in the control groups, respectively. T his paper discusses the association between throat and nasopharyngeal carri ership of bacteria and acute respiratory infection in children in Addis Aba ba.