Volume 8, Number 5—May 2002
Research
Nasopharyngeal Carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Healthy Children: Implications for the Use of Heptavalent Pnemococcal Conjugate Vaccine
, and the Hercules Project Collaborative Group
Table 1
Characteristics of the 2,799 children tested for nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae, 13 Italian cities, April 15–June15, 2000
| Characteristics |
No. of children |
|---|---|
| (% of 2,799) |
|
| Male | 1,459 (52.1) |
| Race (white) | 2,760 (98.6) |
| Age | |
| <2 yrs | 420 (15.0) |
| 2-5 yrs | 1,389 (49.6) |
| >5 yrs | 990 (35.4) |
| Breast-feeding ≥3 mo. | 1,477 (52.8) |
| Urban residence | 2,537 (90.6) |
| Full-time child-care attendancea | 2,571 (91.9) |
| No. of subjects in each child-care center | |
| <20 | 927 (33.1) |
| 20-29 | 1,600 (57.2) |
| >29 | 272 (9.7) |
| No. of siblings | |
| 0 | 752 (26.9) |
| 1 | 1,450 (51.8) |
| >2 | 597 (21.3) |
| First-born | 1,366 (48.8) |
| Passive smoking | 1,320 (47.2) |
| URTIs in the last 3 mo.b | |
| Rhinitis | 1,759 (62.8) |
| Tonsillitis | 636 (22.7) |
| Laryngitis | 501 (17.9) |
| Acute otitis media | 558 (19.9) |
| Acute sinusitis | 174 (6.2) |
| LRTIs in the last 3 mo.b | |
| Acute bronchitis | 579 (20.7) |
| Pneumonia | 167 (5.9) |
| Antibiotic therapy in the last 3 mo.c | |
| Aminopenicillins | 244 (8.7) |
| Amoxicillin-clavulanate | 214 (7.6) |
| Macrolides | 247 (8.8) |
| Cephalosporins | 507 (18.1) |
| At least one antibiotic | 1,032 (36.9) |
a5-6 days/week, 6-8 hrs/day.
bOne or more episodes; URTIs = upper respiratory tract infections; LRTIs = lower respiratory tract infections.
c One or more courses.
1The Hercules Project Collaborative Group includes: F. Schettini, D. De Mattia (Bari, Italy); G. P. Salvioli, G. Faldella (Bologna, Italy); G. Caramia, E. Ruffini (Ancona, Italy); E. Reali (Cinisello Balsamo, Italy); R. Longhi (Como, Italy); G. Bona (Novara, Italy); A. Guarino, F. Albano (Napoli, Italy); R. Malvicini (Fidenza, Italy); L. Ziino (Palermo, Italy); I. Barberi, T. Corona (Messina, Italy); P. Pusceddu (Cagliari, Italy); T. Meloni (Sassari, Italy); G. Saggese, and M. Migliaccio (Pisa, Italy).