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%).
