Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus sp. Among Pregnant Women Attending General Hospitals in Delta Central Senatorial District, Nigeria

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus sp. among pregnant women who visit the General Hospital in Delta Central Senatorial District, Nigeria. Samples were collected from the vaginal and rectum areas of pregnant women attending the General Hospitals of Abraka, Oghara, Udu, Ughelli North and Ughelli South. Bacteriological and biochemical analyses were conducted to isolate, characterize, and identify the bacteria. Two types of bacteria were found; Enterococcus sp. and Staphylococcus sp. The study result showed that Staphylococcus aureus (13.7%) was more prevalent than other isolates and was found in samples obtained from Udu General Hospital. In comparison, Ughelli South General Hospital had the lowest prevalence for S. aureus (7.9%). Samples from Oghara General Hospital had the highest prevalence for Enterococcus sp. (3.7%) while the lowest prevalence for Enterococcus sp. (1.1%) was obtained from Ughelli South General Hospital. S. aureus (51.6%) was found to be the most prevalent bacterium, while Enterococcus sp. (11.1%) was the least prevalent. The bacterial load from the vaginal swab samples was higher than that of rectum swab samples, which suggests that pregnant women attending these hospitals may have infections. The total bacterial count among pregnant women was highest in samples obtained from Udu General Hospital (5.4±0.5), followed by Abraka (5.0±0.6), Oghara (4.8±0.2), and Ughelli North (4.5±0.15), and while the least count was recorded from samples obtained from Ughelli South General Hospital (3.0±0.2). This study helps manage and plan future medical treatments. Pregnant women should be screened early in their pregnancies, between the 12th and 16th weeks, which is the second trimester, and treated appropriately to avoid complications that arise from untreated infections.  Keywords: Prevalence, vaginal, pregnancy, women, infection