Dissemination of Kingella kingae in the Community and Long-Term Persistence of Invasive Clones

Abstract

The present study demonstrates that children may be asymptomatically colonized in the respiratory tract by virulent K. kingae clones. The organism is transmitted from child-to-child through intimate contact. Some strains exhibit increased fitness and are maintained in the population for prolonged periods.

30 Years of Study of Kingella Kingae : Post Tenebras , Lux

“…The results of many studies strongly support child-to-child transmission of K. kingae among young children [21,24,35], and that 50% of children carry this microrganism for long periods (at least twice during a 12-month follow-up period) [36]. Because, on average, young children put their hands or objects in their mouth once every 3 min, commensal respiratory organisms such as K. kingae that are disseminated by large droplets are likely to spread to young children who share toys coated with saliva [23,37].…”

“…For these reasons, echocardiographic evaluation of patients from whom the organism is isolated from a normally sterile site, especially blood, has been recommended by a few authors [70]. Bacterial endocarditis is strongly associated with future science group clone P organisms, which are seldom carried asymptomatically and are rare in other infected sites [20,24].…”

“…More than 450 strains of K. kingae have been isolated from healthy carriers; these differents strains were gathered in different studies on the carriage of K. kingae conducted among children living in southern and central Israel during the last 25 years [19][20][21][22][23][24]. Among them, 181 invasive K. kingae strains have been isolated between 1992 and 2012 from Israeli patients with bacteremia, skeletal system infections and endocarditis [20].…”

Respiratory Colonization by Kingella kingae, Person-to-Person Transmission, and Pathogenesis of Invasive Infection

“…Organisms recovered from oropharyngeal cultures, obtained from healthy young Jewish and Bedouin children during a 12-month period, were typed by PFGE and compared. Isolates from Bedouin children usually differed from those derived from Jews, confirming the relative social isolation of the two populations [39]. Typing of isolates also show significant spatial clustering of clones in the Bedouin towns' neighborhoods and households, indicating person-to-person transmission between family members and playmates, and confirming the importance of close mingling in the spread of K. kingae.…”

“…The dissemination of K. kingae in the open community was studied in two ethnic groups living side-by-side in southern Israel [39]. Organisms recovered from oropharyngeal cultures, obtained from healthy young Jewish and Bedouin children during a 12-month period, were typed by PFGE and compared.…”