Prevalence of otitis media in children attending a Primary Health Care Center in Samaru, Zaria, Nigeria

Otitis media is an inflammatory disease of the mucosal lining of the middle ear. It occurs more frequently in children due to the shorter and more horizontal eustachian tube in their ears. The focus of this study is determining the prevalence of otitis media in children aged 6 months – 10 years attending a primary health care facility in Samaru, Zaria, Nigeria. Fifty swabs from ear discharge and imparted wax were obtained from the study subjects regardless of whether they were presenting with symptoms of otitis media or not. Information on certain symptoms, as well as demographic and risk factors was obtained through the use of questionnaires. A prevalence of 54% of otitis media was obtained in this study. The following bacterial species were isolated: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (25.7%), Escherichia coli (25.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.3%), Staphylococcus aureus (14.3%), Proteus mirabilis (8.6%), Coagulase negative Staphylococci (8.6%) and Proteus vulgaris (3.7%). The infection was observed to be higher in children in the age range, six months to two years. Risk factors such as the use of cotton buds in cleaning the ear, posture of the child during breast-feeding and not being exclusively breast-fed were shown to be very prominent among the children studied. Antibiotic susceptibility tests revealed that among the Gram negative bacteria isolated, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae were resistant to more than two antibiotics. Coagulase negative Staphylococcus was resistant to all the antibiotics except Ceftriaxone, Streptomycin and Cefuroxime. On the other hand, Staphylococcus aureus was susceptible to all the antibiotics tested with the exception of Cefuroxime, Ceftriaxone and Ampiclox. Therefore, it is recommended that antibiotic susceptibility testing be conducted before treatment of otitis media in children. The importance of exclusive breast-feeding and good personal hygiene should be emphasized to nursing mothers. Key words: Otitis media, Children, Bacteria, Antibiotics, Zaria