Epidemiological Survey of Tonsillitis Caused by Streptococcuspyogenes Among Children in Awka Metropolis (A Case Study of Hospitals in Awka Community, Anambra State)

Abstract

The epidemiological survey of tonsillitis caused by Streptococcus pyogenes among children in Awka metropolis was carried out using samples from three different hospitals. A total number of 73 throat swabs were collected from children aged between 5 weeks - 5 years. Swab sticks were streaked onto Blood agar and MacConkey agar for isolation of the test organism. Organisms recovered were Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus species, Proteus species, Pseudomonas species and Klebsiella species. Streptococcus pyogenes presented the highest number; 19 out of the 39 bacterial isolates recovered. The results showed that the prevalence of bacterial tonsillitis, specifically Streptococcus pyogenes, is 8% in infants aged between 5weeks to 11months and 17% in children aged between 1-5 years. From the results, the higher percentage of the prevalence of bacterial tonsillitis in children aged 1-5 years showed that school children are quite susceptible to Tonsillitis. This is because tonsillitis can be transmitted directly from person to person and indirectly via formites as well as respiratory secretions.This research work has shown that the drugs, Cefuroxime, Azithromycin, Ceftazidine and Gentamicin were 100% sensitive to Streptococcus pyogenes, hence can be recommended for the control of this organism.