Viral and bacterial etiology of severe acute respiratory illness among children?

摘要

Background Globally, pneumonia is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children, with the highest burden experienced in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. However, there is a dearth of information on the etiology of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in Africa, including Niger. Methods We implemented a retrospective study as part of national influenza sentinel surveillance in Niger. We randomly selected a sample of nasopharyngeal specimens collected from children Results Among the 160 samples tested, 138 (86?%) tested positive for at least one viral or bacterial pathogen; in 22 (16?%) sample, only one pathogen was detected. We detected at least one respiratory virus in 126 (78?%) samples and at least one bacterium in 102 (64?%) samples. Respiratory syncytial virus (56/160; 35?%), rhinovirus (47/160; 29?%) and parainfluenza virus (39/160; 24?%) were the most common viral pathogens detected. Among bacterial pathogens, Streptococcus pneumoniae (90/160; 56?%) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (20/160; 12?%) predominated. Conclusions The high prevalence of certain viral and bacterial pathogens among children