The pneumococcal pilus predicts the absence of Staphylococcus aureus co-colonization in pneumococcal carriers.
The determinants of the negative association between Streptococcus pneumoniae and Stapylococcus aureus colonization are unknown. In this matched case-control study, the odds of co-colonization with S. aureus were significantly lower for individuals carrying a piliated versus a nonpiliated S. pneumoniae strain, suggesting the pilus may be a determinant of the negative association.
Regev-Yochay
Gili
G
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. gregev@hsph.harvard.edu
Lipsitch
Marc
M
Basset
Alan
A
Rubinstein
Ethan
E
Dagan
Ron
R
Raz
Meir
M
Malley
Richard
R
D000328:Adult; D000898:Antibiosis; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult