Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Streptococcus pneumoniae Among Large Scale Poultry Farm Workers in Nairobi Metropolis

In 2005, World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 1.6 million people die of Streptococcus pneumoniae-related infections annually the world over. Most of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries of Africa and Asia. The growing resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to commonly used antibiotics underlines the necessity for vaccine options. There is a need for sufficient evidence about the organism and its resistance patterns over time. The recurrence of the infection among poultry farm workers could be linked to reinfection at the poultry houses. A one-health approach is thus necessary to obtain a specimen from both farmers and farmhouses to establish the association between the infecting bacterial pathogens and their antibiotic resistance patterns.  

The objective of this study is to evaluate the correlation between Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from farmworkers and boot swabs from their poultry farms in Nairobi County and adjacent peri-urban counties of Kajiado, Kiambu, and Machakos. From April 2022, a target of 384 nasal swabs is currently being collected from farm workers and boot swabs from the same farms. Isolation, processing, Antibiotic susceptibility testing against commonly used antibiotics for treatment of Streptococcus pneumoniae, and molecular characterization are being carried out at CMR-KEMRI Laboratory. The antibiotic panel will include; Penicillin, Ceftriaxone, Cefuroxime, Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, Chloramphenicol, Amoxicillin-clavulanate, Imipenem, Linezolid, and Rifampin. 

Currently, limited data is associating the Streptococcus pneumoniae in the poultry farms and the pneumoniae cases amongst farmers. The findings of this study will provide information on Streptococcus pneumoniae etiology and treatment options for both flocks and farmers in Nairobi County and its peri-urban environs.