Background: Reports of the etiology of bacteremia in children from Nigeria are sparse and have been confounded by wide spread non-prescription antibiotic use and suboptimal laboratory culture techniques. We aimed to determine causative agents and underlying predisposing conditions of bacteremia in Nigerian children using data arising during the introduction of an automated blood culture system accessed by 7 hospitals and clinics in the Abuja area.
Methods: Between September 2008 and November 2009, we enrolled children with clinically suspected bacteremia at rural and urban clinical facilities in Abuja or within the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.