Nasopharyngeal Carriage of Streptococcus Pneumoniae and Related Risk Factors in Children Attending Day Care Centers

Özet

Introduction: Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a leading cause of severe illness among pneumoniae (pneu- mococcus children worldwide. In this study, we aimed to evaluate nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus) in healthy children, related risk factors and pneumococcus serotypes isolate in nasopharyngeal swabs. Methods: This study was performed in 310 healthy children aged six months to six years who were attending day care centers. Family size, number of siblings, vaccination status and duration of attendance at day care centers were evaluated. Nasopharyngeal specimens were collected, and serotypes of the isolates were identified. Results: Family size, number of siblings, and vaccination status were not risk factors affecting the nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococcus. However, we found significantly higher rates of nasopharyngeal pneumococcus carriage in children attend- ing day care centers for less than six months compared to children attending for longer than six months. Discussion and Conclusion: We demonstrated that the duration of attendance at day care centers played a significant role in the development of nasopharyngeal pneumococcus carriage.