A Study on Bacterial Agents of Patients with Meningitis Referred to Afzalipour Hospital in Kerman, South East Iran

Background and Aims: Identifying meningitis-causing bacteria play an important role in selecting the appropriate antibiotic vaccine and reducing the complications of meningitis. The present study aimed to identify the most common bacteria causing meningitis in patients referred to Afzalipour Hospital in Kerman. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 patients have participated. A 3-5 ml of cerebrospinal fluid specimens were obtained from each patient. Traditional and molecular methods identified bacterial agents. Results and Conclusions: Twenty-eight females and thirty-two males participated in the study. Bacterial agents were recovered from 33.3% of the samples. Streptococcus pneumonia (65%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (10%), Klebsiella (10%), Enterococcus (5%), Escherichia coli (5%) and cocci gram-positive (5%) were the microbial agents identified in this study. In the present study, the detection rate of bacteria was low. Streptococcus pneumonia, especially the 18CFBA serotype, was the most common bacteria.