Background and objective Bacterial infectioins in particular meningitis, pneumonia and septicemia are still some of the most causes of mortalities in children. The aim of present study was to identify the most common bacterial agents causing infectionis in children under 14 and detection of antibiotic resistance paterns.

Material and methods During two years,1897 samples were obtained from the patients suspected bacterial infectioins. They were investigated for bacterial cultures, age, sex and antibiogram patterns. The species were identified by biochemical and serological methods.

Results Of 1897 samples, 563 (29.6%) had positve bacterial culture. Of these 74.7% were gram negative and 25.3% gram positive. The most common species were Escherichia coli (34.1%), Staphylococcus aureus (17.1%), Psuedomonas aeroginosa (12.4%), Kelebsiella (11%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (5.7%). The most effective antibiotics against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria were ceftriaoxne, nitrofurantoin, nalidixic acid, amikacin and gentamycin.

Conclusion The gram negative bacteria in particular Escherichia coli, Psuedomonas aeroginosa and Kelebsiella are the predominant causes of bacterial infections in children under 14 in these regions. Most species showed a high relative resisitance to routine antibiotics such as ampicillin, trimethoprim and chloramphenicol.