Medical Laboratory Journal

fa Evaluation of Prevalence of S. pneumoniae pharyngeal carriers under 5 years of age by lytA gene detection تحقيقي Original Paper <div> ABSTRACT          Background and Objective: Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide. Nasopharyngeal colonization in children can spread pneumococcal infections in the community. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of S. pneumoniae strains isolated from healthy pharyngeal carriers less than 5 years of age.           Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 150 children under 5 years old in the city of Shiraz. After nasopharyngeal swab sampling, the samples were cultured on blood agar containing 5% sheep blood. The cultures were incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. Primary identification was carried out using optochin sensitivity testing, bile solubility testing and gram staining. Molecular identification of S. pneumoniae strains was done using lytA gene-specific primers.         Results: Of the 150 samples collected from healthy children, 24.67% were pharyngeal carriers of S. pneumoniae. The highest frequency of pneumococcal strains was related to male carriers (n= 22, 59.46%) and the children aged 1-2 years (n=11, 29.73%). The results showed no significant association between the prevalence of pharyngeal carriage and gender or age.           Conclusion: Given the increasing rate of pharyngeal carriage of S. pneumoniae in children as a risk factor for respiratory tract infections, there is a need for further monitoring of the circulating serotypes and investigation of antibiotic-resistance mechanisms. </div>          Keywords: Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Pharyngeal Carriers, lytA. <div> ABSTRACT          Background and Objective: Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide. Nasopharyngeal colonization in children can spread pneumococcal infections in the community. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of S. pneumoniae strains isolated from healthy pharyngeal carriers less than 5 years of age.           Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 150 children under 5 years old in the city of Shiraz. After nasopharyngeal swab sampling, the samples were cultured on blood agar containing 5% sheep blood. The cultures were incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. Primary identification was carried out using optochin sensitivity testing, bile solubility testing and gram staining. Molecular identification of S. pneumoniae strains was done using lytA gene-specific primers.         Results: Of the 150 samples collected from healthy children, 24.67% were pharyngeal carriers of S. pneumoniae. The highest frequency of pneumococcal strains was related to male carriers (n= 22, 59.46%) and the children aged 1-2 years (n=11, 29.73%). The results showed no significant association between the prevalence of pharyngeal carriage and gender or age.           Conclusion: Given the increasing rate of pharyngeal carriage of S. pneumoniae in children as a risk factor for respiratory tract infections, there is a need for further monitoring of the circulating serotypes and investigation of antibiotic-resistance mechanisms. </div>          Keywords: Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Pharyngeal Carriers, lytA. <div> ABSTRACT          Background and Objective: Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide. Nasopharyngeal colonization in children can spread pneumococcal infections in the community. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of S. pneumoniae strains isolated from healthy pharyngeal carriers less than 5 years of age.           Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 150 children under 5 years old in the city of Shiraz. After nasopharyngeal swab sampling, the samples were cultured on blood agar containing 5% sheep blood. The cultures were incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. Primary identification was carried out using optochin sensitivity testing, bile solubility testing and gram staining. Molecular identification of S. pneumoniae strains was done using lytA gene-specific primers.         Results: Of the 150 samples collected from healthy children, 24.67% were pharyngeal carriers of S. pneumoniae. The highest frequency of pneumococcal strains was related to male carriers (n= 22, 59.46%) and the children aged 1-2 years (n=11, 29.73%). The results showed no significant association between the prevalence of pharyngeal carriage and gender or age.           Conclusion: Given the increasing rate of pharyngeal carriage of S. pneumoniae in children as a risk factor for respiratory tract infections, there is a need for further monitoring of the circulating serotypes and investigation of antibiotic-resistance mechanisms. </div>          Keywords: Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Pharyngeal Carriers, lytA. Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Pharyngeal Carriers, lytA. 1 6 http://mlj.goums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-428&slc_lang=fa&sid=1 Fatane Moein Jahromi fatanemoein@yahoo.com 100319475328460012619 100319475328460012619 Yes Department of Microbiology Jahrom Branch Mohammad Kargar 100319475328460012620 100319475328460012620 No Department of Microbiology Abbas Doosti 100319475328460012621 100319475328460012621 No Department of Marine Microbiology, Persian Gulf Marine Biotechnology Medicine Research Center, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran Zahra Mohammadalipour 100319475328460012622 100319475328460012622 No Department of Microbiology, Jahrom Branch