Streptococcus pneumoniae and staphylococcus aureus carriage in healthy school-age children and adolescents

Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus are common commensals of the upper respiratory tract in children and adolescents. Understanding the relationship between these two pathogens, including their potential for mutual interference, is needed to evaluate their epidemiological status as well as the impact of related preventative measures. We obtained oropharyngeal and nasal swabs from 497 healthy subjects aged 6 to 17 years. S. pneumoniae detection and serotyping were performed using a real-time polymerase chain reaction, and S. aureus detection was performed using the RIDAGENE MRSA system. We found that 136 (27.3%) of the children were carriers of both pathogens, 121 (24.3%) of the children carried S. pneumoniae alone, and 128 (25.7%) of the children carried S. aureus alone. S. aureus carriage was similar between children who did vs. did not carry S. pneumoniae and was independent of age and vaccination with 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) also did not affect S. aureus carriage. Pneumococcal serotype also did not appear to affect S. aureus carriage. These findings suggest that the carriage of S. pneumoniae does not affect that of S. aureus in older children and adolescents, regardless of age, PCV7 vaccination, and pneumococcal serotype.