Kazi S Anwar
AIMST University, Malaysia
Title: Comparative insights on clinico-epidemiological and bacteriological features of pneumonia among Bangladeshi and Malaysian children: Does socio-economic status matter?
Biography
Biography: Kazi S Anwar
Abstract
Childhood Pneumonia (CPnm) with its 120 million global episodes remains world’s leading cause of child-death and have an estimated 0.22 episodes/child year. While H. infl uenzae type-b causing CPnm has declined dramatically, the non-typeable and Hia, Hif have emerged. Since CPnm reportedly diff ers in population characteristics and socio-economic-status among various countries, this paper highlights cumulative fi ndings from a series of clinico-epidemiological and bacteriological studies on CPnm carried out in Bangladesh & Malaysia relating to socio-economic status, in particular. Posterior-nasopharyngeal samples taken from under-fi ve years-old pneumonnic children using specially designed cotton-tipped fl exible-plastic loops/ wires were streaked on-to supplemented chocolate-agar. Isolated haemophilus colonies were serotyped and antimicrobial susceptibility (disk-diff usion) were performed. In Bangaldesh (Dhaka Medical College Hospital), H.infl uenzae (H. inf) were isolated in 36.2% children, of which ~4.3% were type a-Hia, 1.9% Hid, 1.3% Hic and 0.6% each of Hie & Hif, while vast majority remained either non-typeable (18.2%) or Hib (9.3%). Contrarily, in Malaysia (AlorSetar-SBH Hospital) only 4.8% children (7/148) yielded H. inf all being non-typeable. While multidrug-resistance (MDR)-profi le did not diff er between Bangaldeshi & Malaysian Hin-isolates (p>0.59), child-health care practice diff ered between Malaysia and Bangladesh in terms of clolestrumintroducing (p<0.04), exclusive-breast feeding (p<0.02) and early-hosptalization (p<0.01). similar to parental education, cleanliness/personal hygiene/handwashing and less or smoke-free bedroom (p<0.03, on-average). To conclude, extrapolated data from these studies evidences that child-care practices, socio-economic norms and surronding environment remain plausible factor(s) for pneumonia among young children- a finding which needs more studies focusing causal relationships for further confirmation.