A longitudinal study of Lancefield group A streptococcus acquisitions by a group of young Dunedin schoolchildren.
Paired saliva and pharyngeal cultures obtained on nine occasions over a 27-month period from a group of 103 young Dunedin schoolchildren were tested for beta haemolytic Lancefield group A streptococci. Approximately 20% of the 858 pharyngeal cultures and 5% of the saliva cultures were positive. Although group A streptococci were isolated at least once from 59 (57.3%) of the subjects, only seven cases of clinically apparent group A streptococcus pharyngitis were detected at the time of specimen taking. The study has shown that pharyngeal acquisitions of group A streptococci occur frequently in some young schoolchildren. Carriage of small numbers of group A streptococci in the absence of clinical symptoms of infection was common and in ten children the same type of group A streptococcus was consistently recovered from pharyngeal cultures over periods of more than 12 months. It remains unclear why some children do not seem to so readily acquire group A streptococci, while others develop serious delayed sequelae to these infections.
Department of Microbiology, University of Otago, Dunedin.
J R
JR
Tagg
N L
NL
Ragland
N P
NP
Dickson
D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification*