Comparison of Conjunctival Flora of Turkish and Syrian Individuals

Abstract

Aim: The refugee problem is a problem that has been going on all over the world for many years and has reached increasingly larger dimensions. Turkey is one of the leading countries hosting Syrian refugees. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the conjunctival flora of Syrian refugees and Turkish individuals admitted to our clinic and to compare the results. Materials and Methods: A total of 96 patients, 55 Turkish and 41 Syrian, were included in the study. A swab was taken from the conjunctiva of the lower eyelid of the patients with a sterile swab. The samples were cultured on Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar, chocolate agar and 5% sheep blood agar media in the microbiology laboratory. Results: Conjunctival culture positivity was 53.7% in Syrian refugees and 52.7% in Turkish individuals (p=0.92). Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (CNS) was the most frequently isolated microorganism in Turks (32.7%) and Syrian refugees (46.3%) (p=0.19). CNS was isolated in 18 (32.7%) Turks, Streptococcus spp. was isolated in 10 (18.2%), Staphylococcus aureus in 7 (12.7), Corynebacterium spp. in 6 (10.9%), Bacillus spp. in 7 (12.7%), Micrococcus spp. in 1 (1.8%), Neisseria spp. in 1 (1.8%). In conjunctival cultures of Syrian refugees, CNS was isolated in 19 (46.3%), Corynebacterium spp. in 7 (17.1%), Streptococcus spp. in 3 (7.3%), Staphylococcus aureus in 2 (4.9%), Bacillus spp. in 5 (12.2%), Micrococcus spp. in 1 (1%). Conclusion: Conjunctival growth was similar in Turks and Syrian refugees and CNS was the most frequently isolated bacterium. The bacterial species isolated were similar in the two groups and there was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of these bacteria.

Keywords

• Conjunctival flora
• Syrian refugee
• Turkey

TÜRK VE SURİYELİ BİREYLERİN KONJONKTİVAL FLORALARININ KARŞILAŞTIRILMASI

Öz

Amaç: Mülteci sorunu uzun yıllardır tüm dünyada devam eden ve giderek daha da büyük boyutlara ulaşan bir sorundur. Türkiye’ye gelen Suriyeli mültecileri misafir eden ülkelerin başında gelmektedir. Bu çalışmamızda kliniğimize başvuran Türk bireyler ile Suriyeli mültecilerin konjonktival floralarının değerlendirilmesi ve sonuçların karşılaştırması amaçlandı. Materyal ve Metod: Çalışmaya 55 ‘i Türk, 41’i Suriyeli toplam 96 hasta dahil edildi. Hastaların alt göz kapağı konjonktivasından steril eküvyon ile sürüntü örneği alındı. Alınan örneklerin mikrobiyoloji laboratuvarında Eosin Metilen Blue (EMB) agar, Sabouraud dekstroz agar, çukulatamsı agar ve %5 koyun kanlı agar besiyerlerine ekimleri yapıldı. Bulgular: Suriyeli mültecilerde konjonktival kültür pozitifliği %53.7 iken Türk bireylerde %.52.7 oranında pozitif kültür saptandı (p=0.92). Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (CNS) Türklerde (%32.7) ve Suriyeli mültecilerde (%46.3) en sık izole edilen mikroorganizma olarak bulundu (p=0.19). Türklerde CNS 18’inde (%32.7), ikinci en sık izole edilen Streptococcus spp. 10’unda (%18.2) , Staphylococcus aureus 7’sinde (%12.7), Corynebacterium spp. 6’sında (%10.9), Bacillus spp. 7’sinde (%12.7), Micrococcus spp 1’inde.( %1.8), Neisseria spp. 1’inde (%1.8) izole edilmiştir. Suriyeli mültecilerin konjonktival kültürlerinde ise CNS 19’unda (%46.3), Corynebacterium spp. 7’sinde (%17.1), Streptococcus spp. 3’ünde( %7.3), Staphylococcus aureus 2’sinde (%4.9), Bacillus spp. 5’inde (%12.2), Micrococcus spp 1’inde (%1) izole edilmiştir. Sonuç: Türklerde ve Suriyeli mültecilerde konjonktival üreme benzer ve en sık izole edilen bakteri CNS bulunmuştur. İzole edilen bakteri türleri iki grupta benzerdir ve bu bakterilerin görülme sıklıkları açısından da istatiksel olarak anlamlı fark görülmemiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Konjonktival flora
• Suriyeli mülteci
• Türkiye

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