Seasonal variations in nasopharyngeal carriage of respiratory pathogens in healthy Italian children attending day-care centres or schools

Marchisio, Paola; Gironi, S.; Esposito, Susanna; Schito, Gian Carlo; Mannelli, Stefania; Principi, Nicola

doi:10.1099/0022-1317-50-12-1095

Cited by 39 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Respiratory pathogens are recovered from the nasopharynx of healthy children throughout the year (33); however, some authors (37,39) have reported seasonal differences in the rates of colonization, with a peak in the winter. In other studies (21,34), the seasonal effect for colonization by S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, and M. catarrhalis has been shown to be insignificant or absent. In this study, we made a similar observation between two seasons, winter and spring, and only in the cases of H. influenzae in the crèche and M. catarrhalis in the orphanage we did observe an increase in colonization during the spring (the P value for the crèche in the winter versus the crèche in the spring was Ͻ0.05).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of Streptococcus pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenzae , and Moraxella catarrhalis Isolated from the Nasopharynges of Asymptomatic Children and Molecular Analysis of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae Strain Replacement in the Nasopharynx

et al. 2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis in 226 children in different settings (in a crèche [day care center], in an orphanage, and at home) during two seasons (winter and spring) was studied. The rates of carriage of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae were markedly higher in the crèche and in the orphanage than in the home setting (e.g., 56.5, 63.3, and 25.9%, respectively, for S. pneumoniae in winter). Approximately 80% of the S. pneumoniae isolates identified in the crèche and in the orphanage belonged to the serotypes represented in the seven-valent pneumococcal vaccine, and 4.4% of the children were colonized by H. influenzae type b. Almost all H. influenzae isolates were fully susceptible to the antimicrobial agents tested, and only five (3.6%) produced ␤-lactamase; in contrast, 100% of the M. catarrhalis isolates were ␤-lactamase positive. Among S. pneumoniae isolates, 36.2% were nonsusceptible to penicillin (PNSP) and 11.8% were fully resistant to penicillin (PRP). All PNSP isolates were obtained from children at the crèche and at the orphanage but not among children brought up at home, and all PRP isolates showed a multiresistant phenotype. Colonization by PRP isolates correlated well with prior treatment with ␤-lactams. For the majority of children colonized at both sampling times, strain replacement of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae was observed; long-term colonization by a single strain was rare.The nasopharynx of children is colonized by a broad variety of microorganisms, including such potential pathogens as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. Well-known risk factors that promote bacterial carriage include overcrowding, e.g., due to attending day care centers (DCCs) (crèches) or residing in orphanages; frequent viral infections; and an excessive use of antibiotics (12). DCCs and orphanages have also been identified as places that promote the clonal spread of multiresistant strains; thus, healthy children represent an important reservoir of bacterial strains, in particular, S. pneumoniae, that are resistant to many antimicrobial agents. These strains are subsequently disseminated in the community by other contacts of colonized children, e.g., their siblings and parents. It is possible to limit the spread of H. influenzae type b and some serotypes of S. pneumoniae by vaccination, but studies of the impact of immunization on colonization have yielded discrepant results (5,11,14,22).Colonization of mucosal surfaces in the human respiratory tract represents a dynamic process in which bacteria are acquired, eliminated, and reacquired many times in a lifetime. Extensive and often excessive use of antibiotics can promote the replacement of strains susceptible to antimicrobial agents by resistant ones (12, 28). Moreover, the human nasopharynx is also often viewed as a place where frequent genetic exchange takes place due to such processes as transformation with foreign DNA, bacterial intra-and interspecies c...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of Streptococcus pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenzae , and Moraxella catarrhalis Isolated from the Nasopharynges of Asymptomatic Children and Molecular Analysis of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae Strain Replacement in the Nasopharynx

et al. 2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The rates of H. influenzae carriage in Europe and North America range from 11.7% to 95.0% among children attending DCCs, living in orphanages, or attending schools in various situations (3,5,8,17,18,27,28,31,32,36). Such a wide dispersion may be explained by the fact that the carriage rate is dependent on multiple factors, such as age, season, the size of the facility, antibiotic treatment, morbidity from acute URIs, the sampling technique, and the type of infant feeding (9).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The day-care-center (DCC) attendance of children has been reported to be one of the risk factors for URIs, including acute otitis media (1,4,39), and for the nasopharyngeal carriage of bacteria such as H. influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae (7,27,32). However, the molecular epidemiology of H. influenzae in the nasopharynx in connection with DCC attendance is not fully understood (5,8,17,27,29,31,32,36,40,42). The aim of this study was to investigate antibiotic resistance-related genetic characteristics and the turnover of nasopharyngeal H. influenzae carriage in children attending DCCs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nasopharyngeal Haemophilus influenzae Carriage in Japanese Children Attending Day-Care Centers

Hashida¹,

Shiomori²,

Hohchi³

et al. 2008

J Clin Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We conducted a prospective bacteriological survey to investigate antibiotic resistance-related genetic characteristics and the turnover of nasopharyngeal Haemophilus influenzae carriage in healthy children in day-care centers (DCCs). A total of 363 nasopharyngeal mucus samples were collected from children aged 0 to 6 years attending two DCCs in the summer of 2004 (n ‫؍‬ 184) and the following winter (n ‫؍‬ 179). We obtained 172 H. influenzae isolates and analyzed them by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, PCR for bla TEM-1 and the penicillin-binding protein (PBP) gene, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The overall carriage rate was 47.4% (172/363), and 37.2% of the isolates (64/172) were ampicillin (AMP) resistant. All the resistant isolates had a PBP mutation(s), while only three isolates had TEM-1. The carriage rate was significantly higher in the winter than in the summer (56.4% and 38.6%, respectively), owing to the increase in the numbers of AMP-susceptible H. influenzae isolates in the winter. Children aged <3 years showed a higher rate of carriage of H. influenzae isolates with an AMP resistance gene(s) than those aged >4 years (21.9% and 12.6%, respectively). Forty-two strains with different PFGE patterns were obtained from among the 172 isolates. Only five strains were observed in both seasons. None of the strains isolated in the summer was isolated from the same carrier in the winter. Twenty-seven strains (64.3%) were isolated from two or more children, and 25 of these were each isolated from children belonging to the same DCC. These results indicate the spread of H. influenzae, particularly those with a PBP mutation(s), and the highly vigorous genetic turnover and substantial horizontal transmission of this pathogen in healthy children attending DCCs in Japan.

show abstract

“…nose and throat). The result can be various respiratory infections, as well as invasive diseases (Marchisio et al, 2001;Jacobs et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the human URT, bacterial colonization is a dynamic process in which bacteria are acquired, eliminated and reacquired many times during a human life and can be influenced by various factors such as host age, immune status, exposure to antibiotics, smoking and overcrowded living conditions (Marchisio et al, 2001;García-Rodríguez & Fresnadillo Martínez, 2002;Chen et al, 2007;Mukundan et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nasal colonization by four potential respiratory bacteria in healthy children attending kindergarten or elementary school in Seoul, Korea

Bae

Lee

et al. 2012

Journal of Medical Microbiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A longitudinal analysis was carried out of the colonization by four potential respiratory pathogens -Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Staphylococcus aureus -in 165 healthy children (aged 3-7 years) attending three kindergartens and 417 healthy children (aged 7-10 years) attending an elementary school in Seoul, Korea, by four consecutive examinations over 1 year. The prevalence of nasal carriers of one or more of four bacteria was found to be higher in younger children (¡7 years) (mean 68.6 %) than that in older children (mean 46.8 %). The mean rates of nasal carriage of Strep. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis and Staph. aureus were 16.8, 18.9, 20.2 and 18.2 %, respectively. Colonization by Strep. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis was higher in pre-school children (28.6, 32.4 and 35.0 %, respectively) than in school children (12.2, 13.6 and 14.3 %, respectively). Carriage trends differed with age, with Strep. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis colonization decreasing with age but Staph. aureus colonization increasing. Positive associations of co-occurrence between Strep. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis were evident, with a significant negative association evident between Staph. aureus and the other three bacteria. A better understanding of the colonization and interaction of potential respiratory pathogens may be important for predicting changes in bacterial ecology and for designing control strategies that target bacterial colonization in upper respiratory tract infections.

show abstract

Seasonal variations in nasopharyngeal carriage of respiratory pathogens in healthy Italian children attending day-care centres or schools

Cited by 39 publications

References 14 publications

Characteristics of Streptococcus pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenzae , and Moraxella catarrhalis Isolated from the Nasopharynges of Asymptomatic Children and Molecular Analysis of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae Strain Replacement in the Nasopharynx

Characteristics of Streptococcus pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenzae , and Moraxella catarrhalis Isolated from the Nasopharynges of Asymptomatic Children and Molecular Analysis of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae Strain Replacement in the Nasopharynx

Nasopharyngeal Haemophilus influenzae Carriage in Japanese Children Attending Day-Care Centers

Nasal colonization by four potential respiratory bacteria in healthy children attending kindergarten or elementary school in Seoul, Korea

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About