title: A Pneumococcal Carriage Study in Danish Pre-school Children before the Introduction of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination.
abstract: We present data on pneumococcal carriage before the introduction of the heptavalent-pneumococcal conjugated vaccine (PCV7) in Denmark. In the pre-PCV7 period, the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) among children younger than 5 years was approximately 25 per 100.000 population, with the highest incidence rates observed in children younger than 2 years of age. The study included 437 children aged 12-72 months attending day care centres (DCC) and was conducted during 48 months. In total, 56% (n=247) of children were pneumococcal carriers with the highest prevalence in children aged 12-23 months (69%), the proportion significantly declining with increasing age. PCV7 serotypes accounted for 33%, PCV10 for 34%, and PCV13 for 57% of all carried isolates. The proportion of serotypes included in the three conjugate vaccines was higher among IPD isolates compared to carrier isolates (range 35- 90%). We found that the frequency of carriage was high among Danish pre-school children attending DCC and serotypes were not frequently covered by PCV7 in the pre-PCV7 period.
authors.affiliation: Neisseria and Streptococcus Reference Center, Department of Microbiological Surveillance and Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Zitta B
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Harboe
authors.forename: Hans-Christian
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Slotved
authors.forename: Helle B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Konradsen
authors.forename: Margit S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kaltoft