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Nasopharyngeal co-colonization with Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae in children is bacterial

Damian C Melles1, Debby Bogaert2, Raymond F J Gorkink3

  • 1Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Dr Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Microbiology (Reading, England)
|February 27, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Bacterial interference between Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae in children is not strongly linked to specific bacterial genotypes. This finding suggests that different strains of S. aureus compete similarly with S. pneumoniae subtypes.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Epidemiology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Bacterial interference between Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae in the nasopharynx is clinically relevant, especially with widespread pneumococcal conjugate vaccine use in children.
  • Understanding genotype-specific competition is crucial for predicting colonization dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if Staphylococcus aureus's competitive capacity against Streptococcus pneumoniae depends on bacterial genotype.
  • To identify demographic and microbiological factors associated with specific Staphylococcus aureus genotypes in children.

Main Methods:

  • Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from 3198 children to detect carriage of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Neisseria meningitidis.
  • Whole-genome typing was used to determine Staphylococcus aureus genotypes and pneumococcal serotypes/genotypes.
  • Statistical analyses were performed to assess associations between carriage, genotypes, and demographic/microbiological factors.

Main Results:

  • No significant association was found between age, gender, zip code, active smoking, or co-colonization with Neisseria meningitidis or Streptococcus pneumoniae and specific Staphylococcus aureus genotypes.
  • Whole-genome typing revealed no clear correlation between staphylococcal and pneumococcal genotypes during co-colonization.
  • Passive smoking was significantly associated with the carriage of a specific Staphylococcus aureus cluster (P=0.003).

Conclusions:

  • The study suggests that major differences in the competitive capacity against Streptococcus pneumoniae subtypes are not evident among various Staphylococcus aureus clones.
  • Further research is needed to explore whether more subtle genetic variations influence bacterial interference between these species.

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