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Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in African children. Infection has been found to be a major cause of hospitalisation, a major precipitant of crises and one of the greatest causes of death among SCD patients at all ages. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of bacterial infection, pattern of the isolates and the antibiotic sensitivity of isolated bacteria among children with sickle cell anaemia (SCA). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out in the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. A total of 242 hospitalised children with SCA with symptoms and signs of infection were recruited for the study using consecutive sampling technique. Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained. Blood, urine, aspirates, swabs and cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected based on their clinical presentation and subjected to microbiological analysis. Results: A total of 242 patients were studied. The age range was 9 months–15 years, with a mean age of 6.36 years ± 3.75 years. Male-to-female ratio was 1:1.14, with 41.7% of them belonging to low social class. Seventy seven of the 242 had confirmed bacterial infection giving an incidence of bacterial infection in SCA patients of 31.8%. Gram-negative organisms accounted for 64.5% of the isolates and they include Salmonella, Klebsiella, Escherichia coli and Coliforms. However, Staphylococcus aureus (32.9%) was the most frequent microorganism isolated, followed by Salmonella, (20.3%), Klebsiella (12.6%) and Coliforms (12.6%). Amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefixime and gentamicin showed more than 50% activity against the isolated bacterial pathogens while chloramphenicol was found to have low activity against Salmonella. Conclusion: High index of suspicion of bacterial infection should be borne in mind of the attending physician when children with SCA present with features of infection. Detailed clinical evaluation and appropriate sample collection for microbiological analysis are recommended. Empirical treatment should be started on SCA patients who have clinical evidence of infection and should be broad enough to cover for common bacterial pathogens.

Background: Cholera has continued to be a global threat to public health largely due to lack of social development. In endemic areas, outbreaks usually occur when war or civil unrest disrupts public sanitation services contaminating food and water supplies. Extensive and injudicious use of antimicrobials has led to the emergence of Vibrio cholerae strains that are resistant to several antibiotics. Aim: This study aims to highlight the recent cholera outbreak in the northeastern Nigeria and its characteristics, regarding the circulating serotypes and the antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates. This information is important for the effective control of future outbreaks using vaccination and antibiotics. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 102 consecutive fresh diarrheic stool samples at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria, from July to December 2018. All samples were analyzed by culture and serology according to standard procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed with the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar. Results: Stool samples from 102 suspected cholera cases were received in the medical microbiology laboratory department for evaluation. Males made up 54% of the study population, aged 3 months to 70 years. Most of the cases were from camps harboring large numbers of internally displaced persons. Serotyping revealed that the sero group Ogawa was responsible. The strains were 100% sensitive to amikacin, ciprofloxacin, and cefotaxime, with varying resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline. Conclusion: Our study highlights the continuing social problems associated with cholera epidemics and the significance of regular serologic and antimicrobial resistance surveillance of V. cholerae strains in our environment for proper management of cases.