Prevalence And Antibiotic Susceptibility Of S.Pneumoniae Among Inpatients In A Tertiary Hospital In Jalingo, Taraba State

Background & Objectives: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and poses a heavy burden on the society. This study assessed the prevalence of Streptococcus pneumoniae among inpatients in Specialist Hospital Jalingo,,Taraba State as well as the antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates. Materials and Methods: Standard procedures were followed in the collection of 106 specimens (sputum, nasal, throat and wound swabs,) from inpatients who had stayed a minimum of 72 hours on admission in the male and female wards of Taraba State Specialist hospital Jalingo, Taraba State. Following the same line. S. pneumoniae isolates were identified based on their characteristic alpha haemolysis on blood agar and sensitivity to optochin and bile solubility. Also, antibiotic susceptibility test was performed by Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method for all isolates Results: The prevalence of S. pneumoniae among the inpatients was 33.3% while that of males and female were respectively 29.1% and 31.4% (p=0.798). However, the prevalence obtained from the sputum, nasal, throat and wound swabs were respectively 51.4%,7.1%,34.3% and 4.5%(p value=0.000).Meanwhile, the prevalence obtained from the age groups: 1-10,11-20,21-45,46-60,61-75, and >75 yearss were respectively 58.3%,,14.3%,19.1%,18.2%,54.5% and 54.5%(p=0.007).Neverthless,High resistance was recorded with Amoxacillin(93.8%),Imipenem(85.7%) and Gentamycin(75%) while low resistance was observed with Erythromycin(8.7%),Ciprofloxacin(11.1%) and.Azythromycin(18.2%). Conclusion :There was a significant difference in the prevalence of S.pneumoniae among inpatients of various ages as well as among specimens used in the detection.The specimen influenced the prevalence in both male and female .However,the influence due to the specimen was only among those aged 21-45.On the other hand,the prevalence of S.pneumoniae among females was not influenced by age whereas among males it was .Neverthless,multidrug resistance strains were also obtained..