Naso-pharyngeal Carriage of Organisms in Children Aged 3-59 months Diagnosed with Severe Community-acquired Pneumonia.

Objective: To study the naso-pharyngeal carriage of organisms in children diagnosed with severe pneumonia. Methods: Nasopharyngeal aspirate and swabs for microbiological analyses were collected from 377 children aged 3-59 months with severe pneumonia. Results: 28.6% of the samples were positive for S. pneumoniae, 9.6% were positive for H. influenzae, and 8.5% were positive for both the organisms. Respiratory syncytial virus was detected in 27% of samples. The rate of isolation of S. pneumonia and H. influenzae was significantly more in the age group of 12-59 months. Conclusions: In children with severe pneumonia, most common organisms isolated/detected from naso-pharyngeal aspirates were S.pneumoniae and Respiratory Syncytial Virus.