The etiology of lobar pneumonia in the Gambia.

Sixty-four patients who had been admitted to hospital in the Gambia with acute lobar pneumonia were investigated. Lung aspiration proved to be the most effective method of establishing a bacterial etiology, and Streptococcus pneumoniae was the pathogen isolated most frequently from patients irrespective of age. Among children, Haemophilus influenzae, either singly or in combination with another bacterial agent, was an important cause of pneumonia. Of 13 isolates of H. influenzae two were of serotype a, while four others were non-capsulated. All isolates of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae were sensitive to penicillin.