Nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Alloiococcus otitidis in young children in the era of pneumococcal immunization, Taiwan

Abstract

We applied a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and culture to detect Streptococcus pneumoniae and detected 3 other respiratory pathogens – Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Alloiococcus otitidis – simultaneously by PCR, in the nasopharynx of 386 children aged under 5 y. S. pneumoniae was the most common pathogen carried by children in all age groups, with the rate ranging from 15.8% in children aged 3–4 y to 28.6% in children aged 2–3 y. H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis showed similar carriage rates across all the age groups. Only 2 young children (0.5%) carried A. otitidis. Higher carriage of S. pneumoniae was found in children who had not received the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). Cefotaxime non-susceptibility was high (51.4%) in S. pneumoniae nasopharyngeal isolates. Serotype 6B was the most common in fully immunized carriers and also in those who received catch-up immunization. Due to low PCV7 coverage in Taiwan, the carriage of vaccine and non-vaccine serotypes of S. pneumoniae in children remains common.

Keywords::

• Nasopharyngeal carriage
• children
• pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital grant (CMRPG371602) to Dr Cheng-Hsun Chiu.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.