We assessed the impact of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) on the nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy children aged 2 to 24 months, four years after its implementation in New Caledonia. The data were compared with those obtained, before the introduction of the vaccine, in the same target population From February to October 2008, 592 children were ...

Serotype 6D of Streptococcus pneumoniae has been reported in Asia and the Fijian islands among nasopharyngeal carriage isolates. We now report a 6D isolate from a Finnish adult with invasive pneumococcal disease. Interestingly, the Finnish isolate and Asian isolate capsule gene loci are almost identical.

BACKGROUND Pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage precedes invasive infection and is the source for dissemination of the disease. Differences in sampling methodology, isolation or identification techniques, as well as the period (pre -or post-vaccination) when the study was performed, can influence the reported rates of colonization and the distribution of serotypes carried. OBJECTIVES To evalu...

OBJECTIVE HIV-infected adults have high rates of pneumococcal carriage and invasive disease. We investigated the effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on pneumococcal carriage in HIV-infected adults prior to infant pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) rollout. DESIGN Observational cohort study. METHODS We recruited HIV-infected adults newly attending a rural HIV clinic in northern Malawi b...

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) generate herd protection by reducing nasopharyngeal (NP) carriage. Two PCVs, PCV10 and PCV13, have been in use for over a decade, yet there are few data comparing their impact on Here we report effect carriage 2+1 schedule, compared with each other unvaccinated controls. Data from four groups within parallel, open-label randomised controlled trial Ho Chi M...

Aboriginal children in Northern Australia have a high burden of otitis media, driven by early and persistent nasopharyngeal carriage otopathogens, including non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn). In this context, does combined mixed primary series Synflorix Prevenar13 provide better protection against NTHi Spn serotypes 3, 6A 19A than either vaccine alone? in...

We have evaluated the prevalence of antibody to immunogenicity of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in a group of 4 to 5 years old healthy children, who were too old to be included in the first vaccinated cohort when Hib vaccination begun in Cuba in 1999. Serum capsular polysaccharide specific IgG antibody concentrations were measured in 974 healthy children, between February and May 2002. Th...

Conjugate vaccines protect vaccinated individuals against both disease from and nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. Protection is specific to the capsular serotype(s) included in the vaccine. This specificity has raised concern that vaccination against particular ("targeted") serotypes may cause an increase in carriage of (and diseases attributable to...

The standard method for detecting meningococcal carriage is culture of throat swabs on selective media, but the levels of carriage determined depend heavily on the skills of the individuals taking the swab and interpreting the cultures. This study aimed to determine the most sensitive detection method for meningococcal carriage. Throat swabs and saline mouth gargles, obtained from 89 university...