Limited added value of oropharyngeal swabs for detecting pneumococcal carriage in adults

Jennifer L. Farrar, Herine Odiembo, Arthur Odoyo, Godfrey Bigogo, Lindsay Kim, Fernanda C. Lessa, Daniel R. Feikin, Robert F. Breiman, Cynthia G. Whitney, Maria G. Carvalho, Fabiana C. Pimenta

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

We compared pneumococcal isolation rates and evaluated the benefit of using oropharyngeal (OP) specimens in addition to nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens collected from adults in rural Kenya. Of 846 adults, 52.1% were colonized; pneumococci were detected from both NP and OP specimens in 23.5%, NP only in 22.9%, and OP only in 5.7%. Ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine strains were detected from both NP and OP in 3.4%, NP only in 4.1%, and OP only in 0.7%. Inclusion of OP swabs increased carriage detection by 5.7%; however, the added cost of collecting and processing OP specimens may justify exclusion from future carriage studies among adults.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberofaa368
JournalOpen Forum Infectious Diseases
Volume7
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2020

Keywords

  • Adults
  • Carriage
  • Colonization
  • Nasopharyngeal
  • Oropharyngeal
  • Streptococcus pneumoniae

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Clinical Neurology

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