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Steurer LM, Hetzmannseder M, Willinger B, Starzengruber P, Mikula-Pratschke C, Kormann-Klement A, Weber M, Berger A, Grill A. Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization in health care professionals at a tertiary university pediatric hospital. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2022; 41:971-976. [PMID: 35469365 PMCID: PMC9135860 DOI: 10.1007/s10096-022-04446-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a commensal of the human upper respiratory tract. In certain cases, it can lead to serious invasive infections peaking in very young children and the elderly. Especially young children are frequent carriers and are thus regarded as the reservoir for horizontal transmission of pneumococci. This is the first study evaluating pneumococcal colonization patterns in healthcare professionals working in a tertiary care pediatric hospital, including carriage prevalence, serotype distribution, and risk factors for carriage. One oropharyngeal and one nasal swab per individual were directly plated onto appropriate agar plates and conventional culture was used for bacterial identification. Pneumococcal isolates underwent serotyping using Neufeld's Quellung reaction with type-specific antisera. Additional nasal and oropharyngeal swabs were taken for qPCR analysis targeting lytA. In total, 437 individuals were enrolled. S. pneumoniae was isolated in 4.8% (21/437) of the study cohort using conventional culture and in 20.1% (88/437) of subjects using qPCR. Independent risk factors for pneumococcal carriage were living in the same household with children under 8 years of age and being aged 36-45 years with a carriage prevalence reaching 11.6% (vs. 2.9%, p = 0.002) and 6.7% (vs. 4.3%, p = 0.029), respectively. The most common serotypes were 6C and 3. A total of 71.4% (15/21) of the detected serotypes are not included in any currently available pneumococcal vaccine; 28.6% (6/21) of the carried serotypes are included in the PCV13 vaccine. We found a relevant amount of pneumococcal carriage bearing the potential risk of horizontal in-hospital transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa-Maria Steurer
- Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währingergürtel 18-20, Vienna, 1090, Austria.
| | - Mathias Hetzmannseder
- Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währingergürtel 18-20, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Birgit Willinger
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Peter Starzengruber
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claudia Mikula-Pratschke
- Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Graz, Austria
| | - Andrea Kormann-Klement
- Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Graz, Austria
| | - Michael Weber
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Angelika Berger
- Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währingergürtel 18-20, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Agnes Grill
- Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Währingergürtel 18-20, Vienna, 1090, Austria
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Fahimzad A, Khatmi M, Shiva F, Mortazavi SE, Shirvani F, Gorji FA. Evaluation of pharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in tehran, Iran. New Microbes New Infect 2022; 45:100953. [PMID: 35145699 PMCID: PMC8819400 DOI: 10.1016/j.nmni.2022.100953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Meningitis and meningococcal septicemia are potentially life-threatening illnesses; young people in educational institutions have been repeatedly exposed to outbreaks of meningococcal infections. Since invasive meningococcal disease is preceded by pharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis, ascertaining the prevalence of meningococcal carriage in this population is of utmost importance. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of meningococcal carriage in students of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. This cross-sectional study was conducted on pharyngeal swab specimens of 251 healthy asymptomatic students from November 2019 for one year. A questionnaire was used to find correlation between isolation of Neisseria spp. and the place of residence, number of roommates, antibiotic use in the last month, and smoking. One sample from each student was used for culture on general and selective culture media for Neisseria spp. Polymerase chain reaction was used for the final diagnosis of Neisseria meningitidis. Participants in the study included 222 medical students (88.4%), 23 nursing students (9.2%) and 6 radiology students (2.4%). Mean (IQR1) age of students was 23 years, 134 students were female, (53.4%); 234 students were single, (93.2%). 92 students (36.7%) lived in dormitories. Neisseria were isolated from 18 specimens (7.2%), of which 11 (4.4%) were pigmented bacteria. PCR assay did not detect Neisseria meningitidis in any of the samples. This study showed that meningococcal bacteria were not detected in any of the oropharyngeal specimens from students participating in the study during the one-year study period.
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