Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Secondary School Students in Benin City (Pp. 145-151)

A total of 180 secondary school students (62 males and 118 females) selected randomly from the three local government areas in Benin City were screened from March to May 2007 for the presence of bacteria in their urine. Standard bacteriological methods were used in the screening of mid-stream urine samples collected to determine significant asymptomatic bacteriuria. Results obtained from the study showed that the prevalence rate was 15% distributed into 12.78% females and 2.22 males and urine culture yielded 27 samples with isolates. The isolates were Candida sp. (48.28%), Escherichia coli (17.24%), Streptococcus faecalis (13.79%), Staphylococcus aureus (10.34%) and coagulase negative Staphylococcus (10.34%). High occurrence of Candida sp. in the female could be as a result of intake of broad spectrum antibiotics which reduces competition in the normal flora in the female genitourinary tract thereby favoring its proliferation part of which may ascend the urethra. Good personal hygiene and de-emphasizing self prescription of drugs which could lead to antibiotics resistance are recommended measures to curtail the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in secondary school students.