ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF STREPTOCOCCUS PNEUMONIAE AMONG PNEUMONEIC PATIENTS IN TWO HOSPITALS IN BAUCHI STATE, NIGERIA

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram positive, alpha-hemolytic, anaerobic organism and a significant human pathogen recognized as a major cause of pneumonia. This study was carried out to isolate and characterize Streptococcus pneumoniae among pneumoneic patients in two hospitals in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Sputum and throat swab samples were collected from a total of 373 patients and inoculated on blood agar for the isolation of pneumococci. Gram staining, sensitivity to optochin as well as bile solubility tests were carried out to identify the alpha-haemolytic streptococcus strains. All isolates biochemically identified as Streptococcus pneumoniae were further confirmed using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Out of the 373 samples analyzed 255 (68.4%) were alpha-hemolytic, Gram-Positive isolates, of which, 14 (3.8%) were biochemically identified as Streptococcus pneumoniae. PCR detection of autolysin gene in the isolates revealed that only 9 (2.4%) were molecularly identified as Streptococcus pneumoniae. Higher occurrence of 6.4% was observed among the age group of 0-4 years old, followed by 1.9% among the age group of 5-9 years while the least was 1.6% among the age group of 55-59 years old but the difference was not statistically significant at p>0.05. It was concluded that Streptococcus pneumoniae could be a common cause of pneumonia among individuals of 0-4 years in the study area and PCR amplification of autolysin gene is a better approach for identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Keywords: Streptococcus pneumoniae, pneumonia, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), autolysin gene