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Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus carriage in healthy school-age children and adolescents

Susanna Esposito1, Leonardo Terranova1, Luca Ruggiero1

  • 1Pediatric Highly Intensive Care Unit, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.

Journal of Medical Microbiology
|January 24, 2015
PubMed

Insights

This study found that Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage does not impact Staphylococcus aureus carriage in children and adolescents. These common respiratory bacteria do not interfere with each other in this age group.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Epidemiology
  • Pediatric Health

Background:

  • Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus are common upper respiratory tract commensals in children.
  • Understanding their interaction is crucial for disease epidemiology, carriage acquisition, and prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential interference between Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus carriage in healthy children and adolescents.
  • To determine if S. pneumoniae carriage influences S. aureus carriage, considering age, PCV7 vaccination, and pneumococcal serotype.

Main Methods:

  • Oropharyngeal and nasal swabs were collected from 497 healthy subjects aged 6-17 years.
  • Real-time PCR was used for S. pneumoniae detection and serotyping.
  • RIDAGENE MRSA system was employed for S. aureus detection.

Main Results:

  • S. aureus carriage rates were similar in children carrying S. pneumoniae (52.9%) versus those not carrying it (53.3%).
  • S. aureus carriage was independent of age, 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) vaccination, and pneumococcal serotype.
  • S. pneumoniae carriage was not significantly affected by PCV7 vaccination status.

Conclusions:

  • The carriage of S. pneumoniae does not appear to affect the carriage of S. aureus in older children and adolescents.
  • This lack of interference suggests independent colonization dynamics for these two common pathogens in this population.

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