Relationship between parental occupation and children's oropharyngeal colonization with Neisseria meningitidis

We explored, during an outbreak of meningococcal disease, whether children of parents with workplace exposure to children were at increased risk of oropharyngeal colonization with Neisseria meningitidis. In comparison with children of parents without workplace exposure to children, the risk of colonization was not increased (odds ratio = 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 0.56 to 4.72). Therefore a parent's occupation does not appear to increase the risk of their children's colonization with N. meningitidis.