Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae, its associated factors, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among school children in Babile district, eastern Ethiopia

A considerable proportion of asymptomatic nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in school children was associated with having a history of respiratory tract infection, being passive smokers, having greater than or equal to two siblings under 5 years old in the house, and living in a single-room house. A higher resistance of isolated Streptococcus pneumoniae was observed to tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Thus, it is necessary to regularly assess the trend of antibiotic resistance andthe prevalence of pneumonia among asymptomatic children, and it is impretive to focus on modifiable associated factors in controlling the diseases.