Characteristics of Nasopharyngeal Carriage of Bacterial Pathogens in Children and Adults Suffering from Recurrent Respiratory Infections in Khabarovsk City in 2015–2018

Abstract

Objective. To designate the nasopharyngeal carriage of bacterial pathogens among children and adults diagnosed with recurrent respiratory diseases residing in the Khabarovsk city during a four-year period.Materials and methods. Nasopharyngeal and oral swabs obtained from 7,043 children and adults were tested using classical bacteriological methods. In order to grow “difficult-to-culture” microorganisms a columbian agar with addition of 5% defibrinated sheep blood, incubation in the atmosphere rich with CO2 (5%), bacteriological analyzer Vitek 2 Compact were used. Real-time PCR was used to confirm the identification of S. pyogenes.Results. A high level of nasopharyngeal pathogens carriage (47%) was detected. The most prevalent microorganisms were as follows: S. pneumoniae (47%), M. catarrhalis (30.4%), H. influenzaе (17.5%), S. pyogenes (5.2%). The age groups at risk were children aged 0–6 years for S. pneumoniae and children aged 7–12 years for S. pyogenes. An emerging trend it the level of nasopharyngeal carriage of S. pneumoniae observed in 2018 was followed by the increase of registered incidence of pneumococcal pneumonia.Conclusion. Nasopharyngeal carriage of S. pneumoniae imposes a high risk of community-acquired pneumonia and other pneumococci-associated diseases, predominantly in children.