Background Historically, Nigeria has experienced large bacterial meningitis outbreaks with high mortality in children. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus), and Haemophilus influenzae are major causes of this invasive disease. In collaboration with the World Health Organization, we conducted longitudinal surveillance in sentinel hospitals within Nigeria to establish the burden of pediatric bacterial meningitis (PBM). Methods From 2010 to 2016, cerebrospinal fluid was collected from children <5 years of age, admitted to 5 sentinel hospitals in 5 Nigerian states. Microbiological and latex agglutination techniques were performed to detect the presence of pneumococcus, meningococcus, and H. influenzae. Species-specific polymerase chain reaction and serotyping/grouping were conducted to determine specific causative agents of PBM. Results A total of 5134 children with suspected meningitis were enrolled at the participating hospitals; of these 153 (2.9%) were confirmed PBM cases. The mortality rate for those infected was 15.0% (23/153). The dominant pathogen was pneumococcus (46.4%: 71/153) followed by meningococcus (34.6%: 53/153) and H. influenzae (19.0%: 29/153). Nearly half the pneumococcal meningitis cases successfully serotyped (46.4%: 13/28) were caused by serotypes that are included in the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. The most prevalent meningococcal and H. influenzae strains were serogroup W and serotype b, respectively. Conclusions Vaccine-type bacterial meningitis continues to be common among children <5 years in Nigeria. Challenges with vaccine introduction and coverage may explain some of these finding. Continued surveillance is needed to determine the distribution of serotypes/groups of meningeal pathogens across Nigeria and help inform and sustain vaccination policies in the country.

An ear infection is among the common diseases in children. There is an increased rate of antimicrobial resistance to pathogens that cause ear infections worldwide. We analyzed two years of data on bacterial isolates associated with suspected cases of ear infection and their antibiotic-resistant patterns. All records on ear swabs (n= 134) sent for culture and sensitivity, at the medical microbiology laboratory of a tertiary Health Facility in Northeastern Nigeria, from 2017 to 2018 were reviewed. The patients’ socio-demographic information, bacteria isolated, antibiotics tested, and their sensitivity patterns were extracted. Kirby-Bauer method of antibiotic sensitivity testing and CLSI guidelines were adopted. Descriptive analyses of the data were conducted. Of a total of 134 patients’ records extracted 50.7% were female, median age 12 (IQR 9-15 years). Of the 134 samples cultured, 124 (92.5%) yield bacterial growth. Eight (8) different isolates obtained were Staphylococcus aureus (38.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (17.7%), Proteus mirabilis (16.1%) Proteus vulgaris (9.7%), Klebsiella oxytoca (9.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (5.6%) Escherichia coli (2.4%) and Enterococcus spp. (0.8%), Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant isolate, while Enterococcus spp. was the least. A high resistant rate was recorded against many of the antibiotics tested. All isolate demonstrated resistance to amoxicillin and cotrimoxazole, and high sensitivity to ciprofloxacin. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common pathogens isolated. Most isolates showed high sensitivity to ciprofloxacin. The high resistance rate recorded on most of the antibiotics tested highlight the need for appropriate prescription of antimicrobials based on local susceptibility profile in the treatments of ear infection.