Rate of Carriage, Serotype Distribution and Penicilin Resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Healty Children

Authors: BURÇİN ŞENER, SEVTAP ARIKAN, M. ALPER ERGİN, AYFER GÜNALP

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to define carriage rates for Streptococcus pneumoniae in a given population in Ankara and also to determine the sertypes and penicilin resistance of these strains. Oropharyngeal swabs were taken from a total of 661 children between 1 and 11 years of age living in a province of Ankara between January 1995 and January 1997. Serotyping was performed by detection of the Quellung reaction. Penicilin susceptibilities of the isolates were screened by agar dilution method according to the guidlines of the National Committe for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS). The total rate of pneumococcal carriage in the study population was 23.90% and the isolation rate was found to be statistically associated with age, being higher in small children. Of the 158 S. pneumoniae isolates, the most prevalent serotypes in order of frequency were 6, 19, 9, 23, 3 and 14. Penicilin susceptibility tests were performed in 120 of the isolates. Fifty-five (45.83%) susceptible, 53 (44.17%) were intermediate and 12 (10.0%) were highly resistant to penicilin. Evaluation of the results showed that serotypes 6, 14 and 23 are those most associated with penicilin resistance. The significant rate of isolation penicilin resistance pneumococci in healty carriers indicated the importance of active immunization in risk groups and also the importance of the rational use of antibiotics to limit the spread of resistant strains. Keywords: Streptococcus pneumoniae, carriage, serotype, Penicilin susceptibility.

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