PREDOMINANCE OF Streptococcus pyogenes STRAIN DURING SCARLET FEVER EPIDEMIC IN ADO-EKITI, SOUTHWESTERN, NIGERIA

The predominance of scarlet fever infection in Ado-Ekiti was investigated. The surveillance process involved the collection of samples of sputum and throat swabs from patients in ten (10) hospitals situated in Ado-Ekiti metropolis. Out of the 200 samples analyzed 160(80%) were positive for Streptococcus pyogenes. Sex distribution showed that 92(58%) of the positive samples were male while 68(42%) were female and the infection was prevalent in children between ages of 3 – 10 years. Chi-square test was used to determine non-dependence of two factors. The incidence of S. pyogenes in Ado-Ekiti hospitals varies significantly (P<0.05) where the highest percentage of occurrence was 97% obtained from Damola hospital out of 28 samples. The incidence is however high in Ado-Ekiti and this calls for adequate control measures by medical and environmental personnel.