The Prevalence of β-haemolytic Streptococcal infection among School children in Tripura, North East India

The genus Streptococcus is comprised of a wide variety of both commensal and pathogenic gram-positive bacteria which are found to exhibit a wide range of hosts, including humans, horses, pigs and cows. Streptococcal infections can cause a wide range of diseases from mild infections to sever. Repeated infection results in the non-suppurative sequelae, acute rheumatic fever, and acute glomerulonephritis. Streptococcus remains sensitive to the antibiotic penicillin which can be administered as a means to treat infection or as prophylaxis. Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease continue to ravage millions of people around the world. Children and adolescents of the developing countries are especially susceptible to this disease. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of invasive Streptococcal infection with an objective to determine the prevalence of streptococcal infection in school children of 5–15 years of age in Tripura, North Eastern part of India. From September 2012 - February 2013, a study was conducted on prospective populationbased laboratory surveillance of Tripura school children with isolation of Streptococci from throat swab examination of both pharyngitis and non – pharyngitis cases. Throat swabs were collected from 1165 school children, randomly selected from 3 districts of Tripura. These swabs were cultured on blood agar and Mac Conkey plates. Out of 1165 swabs, 43 were alpha haemolytic, 4 were Grp. G (Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis) and 1063 were of different types than streptococcus. The study present the results of the first prospective surveillance study of Streptococcal infections in north eastern part of India.