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Parental Staphylococcus aureus carriage is associated with staphylococcal carriage in young children

Gili Regev-Yochay1, Meir Raz, Yehuda Carmeli

  • 1Infectious Diseases Unit, Sheba Medical Center and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel. gregev@hsph.harvard.edu

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
|September 10, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Parental Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) colonization is a key risk factor for carriage in young children. This finding highlights the importance of parental screening for understanding pediatric S. aureus transmission.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Microbiology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Staphylococcus aureus colonization often precedes infection, but pediatric risk factors remain unclear.
  • Previous research suggests a link between parental and child S. aureus carriage.
  • This study aimed to identify specific factors contributing to a child's risk of S. aureus colonization from a carrying parent.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the independent predictors of Staphylococcus aureus colonization in young children.
  • To investigate the association between parental S. aureus carriage and child colonization.
  • To evaluate the role of peer contact (daycare, siblings) in pediatric S. aureus carriage.

Main Methods:

  • Screened 4648 children (0-40 months) and their parents for S. aureus carriage across six surveys (2002-2005).
  • Collected data from parents and medical files, performing multivariate analysis of associated factors.
  • Utilized pulse-field gel electrophoresis to assess strain relatedness between parent-child pairs.

Main Results:

  • S. aureus was found in 7.6% of children and 22% of parents.
  • Parental carriage was the strongest predictor (OR: 3.35), with parent-child carrier pairs occurring more than twice as often as expected by chance.
  • Daycare attendance or young siblings did not significantly increase carriage risk in children; carriage rates varied by age (highest in <3 months, lowest in 6-12 months).

Conclusions:

  • Parental S. aureus colonization is an independent predictor of carriage in young children.
  • Daycare attendance and having young siblings were not significant risk factors for pediatric S. aureus carriage.
  • Genetic analysis confirmed frequent relatedness between parent and child S. aureus strains.
Abstract

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