Resumen

TEJEDA HERNANDEZ, Olga. Children from 0 to 4 Years Old Carrying Streptococcus Pneumoniae. A Community Study. Medisur [online]. 2011, vol.9, n.4, pp. 292-295. ISSN 1727-897X.

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia. The infection is preceded by nasopharyngeal colonization. Therefore, it becomes very important to determine the carrier’s health condition as well as patterns of susceptibility and resistance. Objective: To determine the prevalence of the Streptococcus pneumoniae carrier state among a population of children under four years old. Methods: A cross-sectional study including 179 children from urban and rural areas in San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa was conducted. The municipality was stratified by the number of births in each year, the percentage they represented in the sample was determined and a number of children (proportional to the size of the stratified group) was placed in each group. Children were randomly selected in different clinics. Samples from nasal and pharyngeal swabs were collected. Strains identification was performed by morphological and cultural characteristics, the optochin test and the bile solubility. Swab cultures confirmation was performed by latex agglutination. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the Kirby-Bauer method. Results: 20, 6% of children were nasal carriers and 33, 6% were pharyngeal carriers, the last ones being more frequent in urban areas. There were no differences by sex; 60% of the strains were susceptible to penicillin. A 52% of resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and a 25% to erythromycin was found. The total number of isolated strains was susceptible to ofloxacin, cefotaxime, azithromycin, and vancomycin. Conclusions: The carrier state was high.

Palabras clave : streptococcus pneumonia; community-adquired infections; child; prevalence.