Item Details

abstract

Otitis media is a major public health problem in pediatrics worldwide. It is the number one reason for pediatric office visits, new antibiotic prescriptions and surgery in children. The two most commonly isolated pathogens from otitis media infection are Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Once established, these bacteria can cause persistent and/or recurrent infections and are often refractory to antibiotic therapy. One hypothesis to explain this persistence is the presence of biofilm communities, which are inherently resistent to host clearance mechanisms and antibiotics. Biofilm formation by otopathogens has been demonstrated in vitro, in a chinchilla model of experimental otitis media and on human patient samples.

subject

beta lactam

biofilm

coinfection

Haemophilus influenzae

otitis media

Streptococcus pneumoniae

contributor

Weimer, Kristin (author)

Swords, W. Edward (committee chair)

High, Kevin P (committee member)

McCall, Charles E (committee member)

Grayson, Jason M (committee member)

date

2011-02-16T21:42:43Z (accessioned)

2011-02-16T21:42:43Z (available)

2010 (issued)

degree

Microbiology & Immunology (discipline)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/30435 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

title

The Effect of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae coinfection on Otitis Media Disease Progression and Treatment Efficacy

type

Dissertation