Streptococcus pneumoniae nasopharyngeal colonization in young healthy children: rate of carriage, serotype distribution, and antibiotic resistance.
The nasopharyngeal colonization rate of Streptococcus pneumoniae and its antibiotic susceptibility was determined in a given population of 317 young children (ages 1-7 years) in the area of Bari, Italy. 18.29% of the cultures were positive for S. pneumoniae. 8.62% of the strains were intermediately resistant to penicillin. Erythromycin-(65.51%) and cotrimoxazole-(17.24%) resistance was also observed whereas all the strains resulted uniformely susceptible to cefotaxime and ceftriaxone. The high rate of nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae along with the resistance to antibiotics widely used in the community suggests the importance of epidemiological surveillance as well as the application of new vaccine strategies.
Department of Clinical Medicine, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Bari, Italy.
A
A
Mosca
A
A
Carucci
L
L
Santacroce
F
F
Schettini
D
D
De Mattia
G
G
Miragliotta
D002353:Carrier State; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018942:Macrolides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D012703:Serotyping; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / Q000494:pharmacology
D018942:Macrolides; D004917:Erythromycin; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination