Introduction: While there is a significant amount of information about invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), carriage, and vaccines in children adolescents, data older adults are limited. Studies carriage transmission modeling can be utilized to predict the spread IMD guide prevention treatment strategies. Our study’s main objective was assess prevalece Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) serogroup dis...

BACKGROUND Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) have decreased nasopharyngeal carriage of vaccine types but little data exist from rural areas. We investigated bacterial density, serotype distribution and antibiotic resistance of pneumococcal strains within the nasopharynx of young children in the Peruvian Andes, 2 years after PCV7 was introduced. METHODS Pneumococcal strains were isolated f...

INTRODUCTION Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) is included in the World Health Organization's routine immunization schedule and is recommended by WHO for vaccination in high-risk children up to 60 months. However, many countries do not recommend vaccination in older age groups, nor have donors committed to supporting extended age group vaccination. To better inform decision-making, this syst...

BACKGROUND Children cared for by a child minder (CM) should be less exposed to upper respiratory tract infections than those in group day care (GDC) and therefore to antibiotic treatment. Thus fewer CM children should carry resistant bacteria. To test this hypothesis nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) and Haemophilus influenzae (HI) and exposure to recent antibiotic treatm...

BACKGROUND Colonization of nasopharynx by Streptococcus pneumoniae can lead to pneumococcal diseases. This study was performed to determine the carriage rate of nasopharyngeal S. pneumoniae in adolescents, antibiotic susceptibility and serotype prevalence in Zahedan, Iran. METHODS Nasopharyngeal specimens from 865 adolescents (age range: 10-19 years old) attending eight schools in Zahedan, Ir...

PURPOSE To determine MRSA carriage rates and genetic relationships of S. aureus strains in children attending day care centres in 14 cities from three geographic regions in Mexico. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cross-Sectional Study performed in apparently healthy children aged from 6 mo to 6 yr attending day care centres (DCCs). From September 2002 To January 2003, 2345 nasopharyngeal specimens from...

Biofilm formation by the human pathogen Neisseria meningitidis was analyzed. Biofilm-forming meningococcal strains were identified and quantitated by crystal violet staining. Laser scanning confocal microscopy of the meningococcal biofilm revealed variable layers up to 90 microm in thickness. A total of 39 meningococcal isolates were studied; 23 were nasopharyngeal-carriage isolates, and 16 wer...