Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Streptococcus pyogenes Isolated from Schoolchildren in Sana’a City, Yemen

Abstract

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is considered the most common bacteria that cause respiratory tract infections and is rapidly resistant to commonly used antibiotics. So, the current investigation was designed to find out the prevalence and antibiotics susceptibility of Streptococcus pyogenes among schoolchildren in Sana'a city, Yemen. Two hundred and sixty-eight (269) swab specimens were sampled from the children's throats who attending primary school in Sana'a city between February to April 2019. The S. pyogenes strains were isolated and identified according to standard microbiological methods. Antibacterial profile susceptibility was performed by a modified Kirby- Bauer disc diffusion procedure. The obtained results revealed that 39.03% of specimens were positive to Group A S. pyogenes. The frequency rate of GAS among females (40.6%) was slightly higher than males (37.4%) with a significant difference (P<0.05). Also, the highest occurrence among the age group of 5-9 years old (48%) was more than the age group of 10-15 years (35.7%; P >0.05). A higher rate of GAS was found among schoolchildren attending government schools (41.35%) compared to private schools (36.76%). The antimicrobial profiles revealed that S. pyogenes isolates were sensitive to tetracycline (74.29%) and vancomycin (67.62%). In contrast, S. pyogenes was highly resistant to penicillin (85.71%) and ampicillin (80%). Therefore, extensive investigation is needed to understand epidemiological factors that facilitate antibiotic-resistance dissemination and develop strengthen control and preventive strategies.