title: Carriage of multiresistant Streptococcus pneumoniae among children attending day-care centres in the Stockholm area.
abstract: To determine the prevalence of the asymptomatic carriage of drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (DRSP) by children attending day-care centres in the Stockholm area, nasopharyngeal swabs were cultured from 1129 children and 308 day-care personnel in 36 day-care centres during a 3-week period, from March to April 1995. Approximately 36% of the children were asymptomatic carriers of S. pneumoniae sensitive to penicillin and other antibiotics. The highest prevalence of nasopharyngeal carriage was found in the 2-year-old group (50%), whereas among the 4-year-old children colonization was observed in 42%, and among the 7-year-old children 21% were asymptomatic carriers of penicillin-sensitive S. pneumoniae. In 2 day-care centres, 4 and 5 children, respectively, were found to have DRSP strains in the nasopharynx. The same serotype of DRSP strain was found among the children attending the same day-care centre. During the same period, none of the staff were found to harbour DRSP in the nasopharynx, but 3% were asymptomatic carriers of penicillin-sensitive S. pneumoniae. The patterns of nasopharyngeal colonization by Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Group A streptococci were also studied in 635 children during the same period. 42% of the nasal cultures yielded Moraxella, 32% H. influenzae and 2% Streptococcus pyogenes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Christenson
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Sylvan
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Noreen
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D005260:Female; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D001936:Moraxella catarrhalis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology