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Original Article
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| Etiological agents isolated from stool samples of children under the age of five years in Windhoek, Namibia | ||||||
| Maria Amukoshi1, Innocent Maposa2, Sylvester Rodgers Moyo3, Munyaradzi Mukesi4 | ||||||
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1Maria Amukosi, Graduate, Biomedical Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia.
2Innocent Maposa, Lecturer, Mathematics and Statistics, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia. 3Sylvester Rodgers Moyo, Professor, Biomedical Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia. 4Munyaradzi Mukesi, Lecturer, Biomedical Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia. | ||||||
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| Amukoshi M, Maposa I, Moyo SR, Mukesi M. Etiological agents isolated from stool samples of children under the age of five years in Windhoek, Namibia. Edorium J Microbiol 2017;3:1–9. |
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Abstract
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Aims:
Diarrheal diseases constitute a major health problem globally, especially in lower income groups in developing countries. The majority of deaths from diarrhea occur in children under the age of five years. The aetiology of diarrhea is huge and comprises different bacteria, parasites, viruses and other factors like malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, milk and food intolerances, diseases of the bowel or prior antibiotic therapy.
Methods: This study evaluated intestinal parasites and bacteria isolated from stool samples of children under the age of five years in Windhoek, Namibia, as well as determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the isolated intestinal bacteria. This was a retrospective review of intestinal parasitic and bacterial pathogens isolated from stool samples of children under the age of five analyzed at the Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP), Windhoek Central laboratory during the period 2012 to 2014. A total of 1392 stool sample records of children under the age of five years were analyzed for the presence of intestinal parasites and bacteria, and the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the isolated bacteria were determined. Results: Pathogens were isolated from 236 (17%) of the samples that were analyzed. Salmonella species were the most isolated enteropathogen 36 (2.6%) followed by Giardia lamblia with 26 (1.9%). The ≤12 months age group had the highest frequency of bacterial isolates 35 (45.5%) while the highest frequency for parasites 11 (31.4%) was from the >13–≤24 months age group. Majority of the bacterial isolates were resistant to amoxicillin and highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin. Conclusion: Salmonella species were the most common intestinal pathogens isolated from the stool samples of children under the age of five while Giardia lamblia was the common intestinal parasite that affects younger children. | |
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Keywords:
Antimicrobial, Bacteria, Children, Giardia lamblia, Parasites, Salmonella, Stool
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Author Contributions:
Maria Amukoshi – Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published Munyaradzi Mukesi – Substantial contributions to conception and design, Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published Innocent Maposa – Acquisition of data, Analysis and interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published Sylvester Rodgers Moyo – Analysis and interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published |
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Guarantor of submission
The corresponding author is the guarantor of submission. |
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Source of support
None |
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Conflict of interest
Authors declare no conflict of interest. |
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Copyright
© 2017 Maria Amukoshi et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information. |
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