A Study on the Bacteria and Fungi causing upper Respiratory Tract Infections(URTIs) in Children visiting Benghazi pediatric Hospital

Abstract

A total of 300 specimens of swabs were collected from patients who had upper respiratory tract infections for this study during a period of ( August, 2016 to June, 2017). The specimens were taken from outpatient department (OPD) of the Childrenʼs Hospital in Benghazi, Libya, from different areas of upper respiratory tract which were nose, tonsils and pharynx, aged between one year to 13 years. The data collected were analyzed with respect to age, sex and areas of upper respiratory tract. The study showed that all patients tested had a single microbial infection. Males constituted 172 patients (57%) while females were 128 (42.6 %) of infected subjects. The results of the bacterial growth showed that 297 samples of isolates (99%) were positive of growth while there was no growth of pathogens in three patients or (1%) of samples. The isolates were examined morphologically, by biochemical tests, API and BBL Streptocard. The infectious bacteria that appeared were: Staphylococcus aureus (31%), Streptococcus pyogenes (28.3%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (21.3%), Klebsiella pneunoniae (8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6%), Escherichia coli (two isolates) and Bacillus cereus (two isolates), while Staphylococcus epidermidis (one isolate). The infectious fungi were Aspergillus niger (2.3%) and Candida albicans (0.3%).