Bacteriological aspects of purulent meningitis in the Yopougon university hospital, 1995-1998

Objective - The authors had for aim to determine the frequency and the distribution of germs responsible for purulent meningitis in the Yopougon University Hospital (Abidjan). Material and methods - Three hundred and sixty two purulent CSF collected over four years, were analyzed by bacteriological methods commonly used to detect meningitis. In 85.4% of the cases, the CSF was collected in children between 0 and 15 years of age among whom 40% from one month to two years of age. 28.2% of the CSF samples were lymphocytic and 71.8% were compatible with a purulent meningitis. Results - Two hundred and eighteen strains were Isolated; including S. pneumoniae (46%), H. influenzae b (29.2%), N. meningitidis (14.1%), Streptococcus group B (6.8%), and a low percentage of enterobacteria (3.2%). Their distribution according to age range correlated to literature data, S. pneumoniae being found in all age ranges even though it was more frequently found between one month and five years, the monthly distribution did not show any specificity except for H. influenzae b. The strains presented variable levels of susceptibility to common antibiotic drugs such as penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, tetracycline. Conclusion - Surveillance for the main bacteria responsible for community meningitis, especially S. pneumoniae, is imperative to identify the various serotypes circulating and assess their susceptibility to efficient and available antibiotic drugs. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.