Antibiotic resistance pattern in nasopharyngeal Neisseria meningitidis carriers among 2-12 years old children in Kermanshah, 2012

Neisseria meningitidisis is a cause of some serious disease like Meningitis which can rapidly lead to death. The Majority of person suffering from Meningitis have not had any contact with patients and it seems that asymptomatic carriers are the main source of diseases. This descriptive study aimed to investigate the prevalence of nasopharyngeal Neisseria meningitidis carriers and antibiotic resistance in preschools and primary schools children in Kermanshah. in this cross-sectional study, 554 kindergartens and schools children with a range of 2-12 years were recruited from different regions of Kermanshah, during November to March 2012. Samples were collected using a sterile swab from the back part of the pharynx (the area of the palatine tonsils) with prevention of contacting with teeth and transported to the laboratory in transport environment. After this, they were cultured on a selective culture medium which followed by performing confirmatory and antibiotic resistance tests to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility. the prevalence of Neisseria meningitides was investigated 10.6% among 554 healthy children with a mean age of 7.4 years, The resistance percentage of isolated samples to Azithromycin, Amoxicillin, Rifampin, Amoxicillin clavulanic acid, Cotrimoxazole and Ceftriaxone was 54.2 %, 100 %, 6.8 %, 96.6 %, 54.2%, 13.6%, respectively. the increasing use of antibiotics has led to a high level of antibiotic resistance, particularly Azithromycin, Amoxicillin, Rifampin, Amoxicillin clavulanic acid and Cotrimoxazole, which indicates the necessity of educating physicians and general population regarding indiscriminate usage of antibiotics.