Bacterial Etiology of Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Parts of Eastern Nigeria

Quantitative bacteriology of 200 sputa from patients with chronic bronchopulmonary disorders was carried out. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was the most frequently isolated pathogen (19%), followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae (13.6%), Haemophilus influennzae (9.0%), Staphylococcus aureus (7%), Klebsiella pneumonia (4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4%), Escherichia coli (4%), Nocardia asteroides in association with others (6.5%), Neisseria catarrhalis (1%), and Peptostreptococcus sp. (1%). 52% of the infections were caused by single aetiologic agents while 32% were polymicrobial.