Characteristics of Streptococcus and Staphylococcus strains isolated from acute cellulitis of dental origin in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Patients afflicted by acute cellulitis of dental origin are usually in need of urgent treatment. The most frequently isolated bacterial strains associated with this condition are Streptococcal and Staphylococcal species, which are also most commonly implicated with cellulitis in general. The aim of this study was to determine the antibiotic resistance profiles of Streptococcus and Staphylococcus isolated from patients with acute cellulitis of dental origin in a developing country such as Burkina Faso. Samples (exudates) taken from 52 patients (25 male [48.1%], 27 female [51.9%]) suffering from acute cellulitis were analyzed using conventional microbiology methods. Patients who were 19-40 years of age were the most commonly afflicted by acute cellulitis (representing 59.6% of the subjects in this study). Of the 52 samples taken, 25 (48.1%) were positive and 27 (51.9%) negative for Staphylococcus and/or Streptococcus. Seventeen Staphylococcus (32.7% of the samples) and 8 Streptococcus (15.4% of the samples) strains were isolated and characterized using antibiotic susceptibility profiling methods. All the Streptococcus strains were found to be resistant to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol, oxacillin, cefixim, cefuroxim, cefotaxim and ceftriaxon. The Staphylococcus strains were mostly resistant to cefixim (88.2%), piperacillin (70.6%), penicillin G (94.1%) and amoxicillin (76.5%). All strains were resistant to metronidazole. Given the high resistance of isolates to antibiotics, it may be necessary to assay bacterial antibiotic susceptibility patterns prior to prescribing these medications.