title: Person-to-person transmission of Kingella kingae among day care center attendees.
abstract: Fifty Kingella kingae organisms, isolated from tonsillar cultures of day care center attendees during an 11-month period, and 60 isolates derived from epidemiologically unrelated individuals, including 19 isolates from respiratory carriers and 41 isolates from patients with invasive infections, were typed by immunoblotting, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and ribotyping. One strain, defined by unique immunoblotting, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and ribotyping patterns, represented 14 day care isolates (28%) and was frequently isolated during the first half of the follow-up period; a second strain represented 23 (46%) isolates and prevailed during the last 5 months. Children frequently carried the same strain continuously or intermittently for weeks or months, when it was replaced by a new strain. Epidemiologically unrelated organisms showed greater variability, and no strain represented >5% of isolates. The present results support person-to-person transmission of K. kingae among young children in the day care setting.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Microbiology Laboratory and Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit, Soroka Medical Center, Ben-Gyruion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Slonim
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mishori
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Porat
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dagan
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yagupsky
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D017882:Kingella kingae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016870:Neisseriaceae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000382:microbiology*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S