Bacteriological profiles and drug susceptibility of Streptococcus isolated from conjunctival sac of healthy children

Abstract

Background: To investigate bacterial flora and antibiotics susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from the conjunctival sac of heathy children. Methods: Bacteria were isolated from the secretions of conjunctival sac of healthy children between 2015 and 2018. Antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated S. pneumoniae strains were determined using microbroth dilution method. Results: The sac secretions were collected from a total of 6440 children. 1409 samples presented bacterial growth, accounting for 21.8% of the samples. Among the 22 bacterial species isolated, 528 samples presented Grampositive Staphylococcus spp. growth, accounting for 37.4% of the isolates, followed by Corynebacterium spp., counting for 30% of the isolates and Streptococcus pneumoniae, counting for 21.4% of the isolates. Antibiotics susceptibility tests showed that the majority of S. pneumoniae isolates were sensitive to most antibiotics tested. However, 72.8 and 81.2% of the isolates were resistant to erythromycin and tetracycline, respectively, and over 10% of them were resistant to gentamicin, tobramycin and rifampicin. Conclusions: The bacterial flora of healthy children is mainly consisted of Gram-positive bacteria belonging to Corynebacterium spp. and Streptococcus spp.; most of S. pneumoniae isolates were sensitive to antibiotics except erythromycin and tetracycline.

Clinical Characteristics of External Ocular and Periocular Infections and Their Antimicrobial Treatment Patterns Among a Ghanaian Ophthalmic Population; A Multicenter Study

“…Furthermore, in a prospective observational study among patients undergoing cataract surgery in the USA, Ta et al showed that almost eight of every ten ocular specimen obtained from patients eyes had a bacteria etiology 26 . On the one hand, estimates from the present study is signi cantly higher and varies substantially compared to studies in China 13,18 , Iran 20 , South Korea 14 and Nepal 15 with prevalence estimates far lower than 50% [13][14][15]18,20 . Although geographical settings, study population, seasonality and laboratory procedures could account for such variations as reported earlier, a plausible reason for our observation may be attributable to the fact that our study unlike previous investigations enrolled patients from multiple eye care facilities hence the burden of infections maybe summative.…”

“…We observed a slightly higher proportion of Gram-negative bacteria compared to Gram positives as etiological agent in our study. This ndings contrast with studies from China 13 , Ethiopia 11 , Saudi-Arabia 16 , Uganda 4 and United States of America 26 where Gram negatives were found to be signi cantly lower compared to Gram positive bacteria and with proportional estimates of ranging from six to ten percent 4,11,13,16,26 . Conversely, the proportionate distribution of Gram negatives to positive bacteria found in this study are parallel with results from several existing literatures 2,5,8,10 .…”

“…Though microscopic, the wide biodiversity of bacteria pathogens makes it burdensome for ophthalmic clinicians and physicians when selecting appropriate antibiotic therapy in routine clinical management of ocular and periocular infections. Previously, authors from several geographical jurisdictions have investigated the burden and etiology of bacteria eye infections, however, outcomes from these studies varied considerably [13][14][15]18,20,25,26 . The prevalence estimates of medical conditions such as bacteria ocular and periocular infections are critical in informing eye care service delivery and in the development of policies to strengthen eye care practices yet there is presently limited ophthalmic data to propagate such transitions within the Ghanaian context.…”

“…Globally, eye infections of bacteria origin remain a signi cant contributor to ocular morbidity and blindness, and the burden is increasing 1,2 . Further, results from ocular microbial studies across different populations show no obvious pattern in prevalence estimates (ranging from 21.8-82.5%) across Africa [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] , Asia [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] , Australia 21,22 , Europe [23][24][25] and North America 26 . Similarly, the bacterial etiology speci cally proportion and nature of Gram bacteria as well as the species of bacteria commonly implicated in ocular and periocular infections vary across geographical regions and settings 2-13,15−20,22,24−26 .…”

Bacteriological Profile of Conjunctiva Bacterial Flora in the Northeast of China: A Hospital-Based Study

“…The conjunctiva is the mucous membrane that lines the internal aspect of the eyelids and extends to the orbital globe, and the conjunctival sac is the space bound between the palpebral and bulbar conjunctiva 1 . Given its continuous exposure to the outside environment, the normal commensal ora and potential pathogens can be detected in the conjunctival sac 2 .…”