E. Mohammed et al., Prevalence of bacterial pathogens in children with acute respiratory infection in Addis Ababa, ETHIOP MED, 38(3), 2000, pp. 165-174
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.