Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is a major factor in the transmission of this bacterium. Material and Methods. Nasopharyngeal cultures were performed on children attending 32 day-care centers in 12 states in Mexico. Results. Streptococcus pneumoniae was isolated from the nasopharynx of 829 out of 2 777(29.9%) subjects aged two months to six years. All children lived in urban areas and 80% spent more than six hours daily in a day-care center. Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes most frequently identified were: 19F (23%), 6B (15.6%), 23F (11.2%) and 6A (14.9%). Thirtysix percent of the isolates were susceptible to penicillin. Conclusions. Serotype distribution suggests the possible benefits that could be obtained from the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.Key words: S. pneumoniae; nasopharyngeal carriage; day-care center; Mexico

Microbiomes are defined as complex microbial communities, which are mainly composed of bacteria, fungi, and viruses residing in diverse regions of the human body. The human stomach consists of a unique and heterogeneous habitat of microbial communities owing to its anatomical and functional characteristics, that allow the optimal growth of characteristic bacteria in this environment. Gastric dysbiosis, which is defined as compositional and functional alterations of the gastric microbiota, can be induced by multiple environmental factors, such as age, diet, multiple antibiotic therapies, proton pump inhibitor abuse, H. pylori status, among others. Although H. pylori colonization has been reported across the world, chronic H. pylori infection may lead to serious consequences; therefore, the infection must be treated. Multiple antibiotic therapy improvements are not always successful because of the lack of adherence to the prescribed antibiotic treatment. However, the abuse of eradication treatments can generate gastric dysbiotic states. Dysbiosis of the gastric microenvironment induces microbial resilience, due to the loss of relevant commensal bacteria and simultaneous colonization by other pathobiont bacteria, which can generate metabolic and physiological changes or even initiate and develop other gastric disorders by non-H. pylori bacteria. This systematic review opens a discussion on the effects of multiple environmental factors on gastric microbial communities.

Recent multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa has favoured the adaptation and dissemination of worldwide high-risk strains. In June 2018, 15 P. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients and a contaminated multi-dose meropenem vial were characterized to assess their association to an outbreak in a Mexican paediatric hospital. The strains were characterized by antibiotic susceptibility profiling, virulence factors’ production, and biofilm formation. The clonal relationship among isolates was determined with pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) sequencing. Repressor genes for the MexAB-OprM efflux pump were sequenced for haplotype identification. Of the strains, 60% were profiled as extensively drug-resistant (XDR), 33% as multidrug-resistant (MDR), and 6.6% were classified as sensitive (S). All strains presented intermediate resistance to colistin, and 80% were sensitive to aztreonam. Pyoverdine was the most produced virulence factor. The PFGE technique was performed for the identification of the outbreak, revealing eight strains with the same electrophoretic pattern. ST235 and ten new sequence types (STs) were identified, all closely related to ST233. ST3241 predominated in 26.66% of the strains. Twenty-five synonymous and seventeen nonsynonymous substitutions were identified in the regulatory genes of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump, and nalC was the most variable gene. Six different haplotypes were identified. Strains from the outbreak were metallo-β-lactamases and phylogenetically related to the high-risk clone ST233.

ResumenObjetivo. Analizar longitudinalmente la dinámica de colonización por Streptococcus pneumoniae, determinar la prevalencia, los factores de riesgo potencial para la colonización nasofaríngea con cepas de neumococo resistentes, determinar los serotipos y el perfil de sensibilidad a varios fár-macos antimicrobianos. Material y métodos. Estudio prospectivo de una cohorte de niños de guardería, hecho de septiembre de 1997 a septiembre de 1999 entre 53 niños asistentes a la guardería del Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, atendida por 20 empleados. Todos los participantes fueron seguidos en forma prospectiva, tomándose exudado nasofaríngeo cada cuatro meses. Los S. pneumoniae aislados se tipificaron y sometieron a pruebas de sensibilidad a diversos fármacos. Las razones de momios y la prueba exacta de Fisher o ji cuadrada se efectuaron a través de tablas de contingencia; se utilizaron intervalos de confianza a 95% para las razones de momios. Para el análisis se empleó el programa estadístico EPI INFO, versión 6.04 a. Resultados. S. pneumoniae se recuperó de 45/53 niños en una o más de las tomas. Se aisló un total de 178 cepas. El promedio de portador fue de 47%. Sólo siete adultos adquirieron un neumococo durante el estudio. Los tipos 6, 14, 19 y 23 representaron 77% del total. Se encontró elevada resistencia a la penicilina y eritromicina. Conclusiones. El estado de portador nasofaríngeo de S. pneumoniae, es un proceso dinámico. La colonización ocurre durante los primeros meses de vida y comprende solamente unos cuantos serotipos de neumococo. El estado portador disminuye conforme avanza la edad. Se encontró alta proporción de portadores con cepas resistentes de neumococo. Los niños que recibieron varios cursos de antimicrobianos, fueron Patients were enrolled in the study during a two-year period from September 1997 to September 1999. All the participants were followed prospectively, swabbing them every four months. The strains recovered were typed and screened for susceptibility to several antibiotics. The daycare records were reviewed also. Odds ratios and fisher's exact test: or chi square test of significance were computed from contingency tables as appropriate. Exact 95% confidence intervals were computed for odds ratios. Data analysis was performed using Epi statistics program version 6.04 a.Results. Pneumococci were recovered from 45/53 of the infants at one or more visits. A total of 178 isolates were carried. The carriage rate was 47%. Only 7 adults acquired pneumococci during the study. Types 6,14,19 and 23 were prevalent and represented 77% of the total. Antibioticresistant strains were higher to penicillin and erythromycin. Conclusions. Children were frequent carriers of pneumococci, the rate of carriage was high in infancy and tended to decrease with age. The types commonly carried by children were the same as those causing invasive disease. There is a high proportion of carriers with antibiotic-resistant S. pneumoniae strains. Children who have had frequent antimicrobial courses are at p...

Invasive pneumococcal disease in a third level pediatric hospital in Mexico City: epidemiology and mortality risk factors.