Asymptomatic colonization of upper respiratory tract by potential bacterial pathogens.

ABSTRACT

Objective. To screen for asymptomatic respiratory carriage of S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and Group A Streptococcus (GAS) in children attending JIPMER, correlate carriage rate with different socio-demographic factors and to detect antimicrobial resistance among the isolates. Methods. Throat swabs were collected from both in patients and out patients (≤12 yr of age) and processed. Bacteria were identified by standard techniques. Susceptibility to commonly used antimicrobial agents was determined by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion technique. Results. Overall carriage rate of respiratory pathogens was 30% with S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and GAS accounting for 22%, 5% and 4.5% respectively. Three patients had >1 organism. Antibiotic resistance was highest in S. pneumoniae with 66.7% of strains resistant to penicillin. MDR strains were also encountered. Erythromycin resistance was observed in both H. influenzae (28.4%) and GAS (22%).No statistically significant association was found between the carriage rate of these organisms and different socio-demographic factors. Conclusions. S. pneumoniae carriage rate was comparatively higher in the community and its antimicrobial resistance is an issue to address.