Childhood Acute Bacterial Meningitis in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Childhood acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. The usual practice of commencing antibiotic therapy before the complete laboratory result is available necessitates the knowledge of the current most frequent aetiologic agents of meningitis and the antibiogram in the local population.This study was undertaken to prospectively investigate childhood acute bacterial meningitis in patients attending the children emergency unit at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. One hundred and fifty CSF specimens obtained from children suspected to have acute bacterial meningitis were analyzed using microscopy, culture, biochemical tests and latex agglutination tests. A total of 23 (15.3%) out of 150 were confirmed bacterial meningitis. Eleven (47.8%) out of the 23 cases were caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, 7 (30.4%) Haemophilus influenzae type b, 3 (13.0%) Neisseria meningitidis and 2 (8.7%) for others comprising of Staphylocuccus aureus and Klebssiella pneumoniae. No statistically significant association was established between ABM and variables like age <5 years, sex, social class and immunization status (p>0.05). Penicillin and ampicillin resistances were established among 16.7% and 11.1% of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates respectively. There is need for periodic surveillance of prevalence, aetiology and antibiotic resistance pattern of childhood bacterial meningitis in order to optimize antibiotics management.