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Microbial interactions during upper respiratory tract infections.

Melinda M Pettigrew¹, Janneane F Gent, Krystal Revai

¹Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8034, USA. melinda.pettigrew@yale.edu

Emerging Infectious Diseases

|October 2, 2008

Summary

Bacterial colonization in children

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Pediatrics
Infectious Diseases

Background:

Nasopharyngeal colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Staphylococcus aureus is common.
Children are vulnerable to bacterial infections, especially following upper respiratory tract infections (URIs).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the colonization patterns of four key nasopharyngeal bacteria in healthy children during URIs.
To analyze the interactions between these bacterial species during colonization.

Main Methods:

Prospective cohort study of 212 healthy children aged 6-36 months.
Year-long follow-up with analysis of 968 nasopharyngeal swabs.

Main Results:

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Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization showed a negative association with Haemophilus influenzae colonization.

When Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis co-colonized, the likelihood of all three species (including S. pneumoniae) increased.

Negative associations were observed between S. pneumoniae and S. aureus, and between H. influenzae and S. aureus.

Conclusions:

Polymicrobial nasopharyngeal colonization dynamics are complex and depend on the specific bacterial species and their combinations.
Interventions like antimicrobial therapy or vaccination may have unintended consequences on the nasopharyngeal microbiome.