Gender Differences in Digital Literacy Among Undergraduate Students of Faculty of Education, Kogi State University: Implications for E- Resources & Library Use

Abstract

Virtually every attempt to rank bacterial causes of commu-nity-acquired pneumonia in adults has placed Streptococcus pneumoniae at the top of the list, although the actual propor-tion of cases of pneumonia proven to be caused by this organ-ism has varied from 15% to 76% in representative series. In the absence of an epidemic of meningocococcal disease, S. pneumoniae is also the most common cause of bacterial men-ingitis in adults and the second most common in young chil-dren, ranking behind Haemophilus influenzae type b. Blood cultures are positive in 15%-30% of cases of pneumococcal pneumonia, depending upon the population under study and, to a lesser extent, the serotype. Bacteremia-so-called primary bacteremia-may occur without an apparent source; when the disease is associated with an acute, nonspe-cific febrile illness in young children, harmful consequences may result if antibiotic therapy is not given. Pneumococcal empyema, endocarditis, and pericarditis occur, albeit much less commonly now than in former years. Septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and peritonitis are seen only infrequently. Other syndromes of serious infection, such as brain abscess, pyomyositis, and peritonitis, are rare. Among less serious dis-ease states, such as otitis media or acute sinusitis, S. pneu-moniae remains the most commonly isolated bacterial patho-gen when carefully aspirated material is cultured. Epidemiology More than 80 serotypes of S. pneumoniae have been iden-tified on the basis of antigenic differences in their capsular polysaccharides. Immunization stimulates the appearance of serotype-specific antibodies that cause agglutination or cap-sular swelling (the quellung reaction) and protect animals against challenge. Virulent strains that cause disease most frequently were the earliest to be identified and were the first to be assigned numbers; thus, the lower-numbered serotypes are most likely to be implicated in human infection. Whereas the American