Understanding the Risk Factors, Involved in the Colonization and Transmission of Streptococcus Pneumoniae in Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ramsha Tariq; Abdul Malik Tareen; Zunera Tanveer; Nargis Haider Kakar; Irfan Shahzad Sheikh

doi:10.31580/pjmls.v6i2.2734

PDF

Published: Jul 2, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31580/pjmls.v6i2.2734

Keywords:

Colonization, Nasopharyngeal, Pneumococcal disease, Questionnaire, Risk factors, Streptococcus pneumoniae,

Ramsha Tariq

Department of Microbiology, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan

Abdul Malik Tareen

Department of Microbiology, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan

Zunera Tanveer

Department of Physiology , Bolan Medical College, Quetta, Pakistan

Nargis Haider Kakar

Department of Physiology , Bolan Medical College, Quetta, Pakistan

Irfan Shahzad Sheikh

Center for Advanced Studies in Vaccinology and Biotechnology, (CASVAB), UoB, Quetta

Abstract

During the past decades Streptococcus pneumoniae has developed a global burden by causing pneumococcal disease such as pneumonia, bacteremia & meningitis. This study was planned to find out the potential risk factors of colonization of the Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. For the purpose, nasopharyngeal samples were collected from children under 5years from immunization center of Quetta district. A pre-developed questionnaire were given to the parents, which include demographic (age, gender, parent’s occupation) risk factors ( schooling , siblings , exposure to tobacco) & awareness based questions (knowledge about pneumococcal disease etc) From the outcomes of this study it was revealed that housing and smoking were key risk factors in the transmission and carriage of pneumococcal disease. 38% participants were exposed to smoking/tobacco & the frequency was higher in those participants where 5-8 person were living in the same room (56.92%), most of the participants were from ethnic group “Pashtoon”, 79.87% participants were already vaccinated however, most of the participants were unaware of pneumococcal disease. So we have concluded that nasopharynx is an ecological niche for pneumococci, the above mentioned risk factors facilitates pneumococci to colonize & cause disease.

How to Cite

Ramsha Tariq, Abdul Malik Tareen, Zunera Tanveer, Nargis Haider Kakar, & Irfan Shahzad Sheikh. (2023). Understanding the Risk Factors, Involved in the Colonization and Transmission of Streptococcus Pneumoniae in Children: A Cross-Sectional Study. Pak-Euro Journal of Medical and Life Sciences, 6(2), 71–76. https://doi.org/10.31580/pjmls.v6i2.2734

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2023): April-June

Section

Articles

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Ramsha Tariq, Department of Microbiology, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan

During the past decades Streptococcus pneumoniae has developed a global burden by causing pneumococcal disease such as pneumonia, bacteremia & meningitis. This study was planned to find out the potential risk factors of colonization of the Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. For the purpose, nasopharyngeal samples were collected from children under 5years from immunization center of Quetta district. A pre-developed questionnaire were given to the parents, which include demographic (age, gender, parent’s occupation) risk factors ( schooling , siblings , exposure to tobacco) & awareness based questions (knowledge about pneumococcal disease etc) From the outcomes of this study it was revealed that housing and smoking were key risk factors in the transmission and carriage of pneumococcal disease. 38% participants were exposed to smoking/tobacco & the frequency was higher in those participants where 5-8 person were living in the same room (56.92%), most of the participants were from ethnic group “Pashtoon”, 79.87% participants were already vaccinated however, most of the participants were unaware of pneumococcal disease. So we have concluded that nasopharynx is an ecological niche for pneumococci, the above mentioned risk factors facilitates pneumococci to colonize & cause disease.

Abdul Malik Tareen, Department of Microbiology, University of Balochistan, Quetta, Pakistan

During the past decades Streptococcus pneumoniae has developed a global burden by causing pneumococcal disease such as pneumonia, bacteremia & meningitis. This study was planned to find out the potential risk factors of colonization of the Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. For the purpose, nasopharyngeal samples were collected from children under 5years from immunization center of Quetta district. A pre-developed questionnaire were given to the parents, which include demographic (age, gender, parent’s occupation) risk factors ( schooling , siblings , exposure to tobacco) & awareness based questions (knowledge about pneumococcal disease etc) From the outcomes of this study it was revealed that housing and smoking were key risk factors in the transmission and carriage of pneumococcal disease. 38% participants were exposed to smoking/tobacco & the frequency was higher in those participants where 5-8 person were living in the same room (56.92%), most of the participants were from ethnic group “Pashtoon”, 79.87% participants were already vaccinated however, most of the participants were unaware of pneumococcal disease. So we have concluded that nasopharynx is an ecological niche for pneumococci, the above mentioned risk factors facilitates pneumococci to colonize & cause disease.

Zunera Tanveer, Department of Physiology , Bolan Medical College, Quetta, Pakistan

During the past decades Streptococcus pneumoniae has developed a global burden by causing pneumococcal disease such as pneumonia, bacteremia & meningitis. This study was planned to find out the potential risk factors of colonization of the Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. For the purpose, nasopharyngeal samples were collected from children under 5years from immunization center of Quetta district. A pre-developed questionnaire were given to the parents, which include demographic (age, gender, parent’s occupation) risk factors ( schooling , siblings , exposure to tobacco) & awareness based questions (knowledge about pneumococcal disease etc) From the outcomes of this study it was revealed that housing and smoking were key risk factors in the transmission and carriage of pneumococcal disease. 38% participants were exposed to smoking/tobacco & the frequency was higher in those participants where 5-8 person were living in the same room (56.92%), most of the participants were from ethnic group “Pashtoon”, 79.87% participants were already vaccinated however, most of the participants were unaware of pneumococcal disease. So we have concluded that nasopharynx is an ecological niche for pneumococci, the above mentioned risk factors facilitates pneumococci to colonize & cause disease.

Nargis Haider Kakar, Department of Physiology , Bolan Medical College, Quetta, Pakistan

During the past decades Streptococcus pneumoniae has developed a global burden by causing pneumococcal disease such as pneumonia, bacteremia & meningitis. This study was planned to find out the potential risk factors of colonization of the Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. For the purpose, nasopharyngeal samples were collected from children under 5years from immunization center of Quetta district. A pre-developed questionnaire were given to the parents, which include demographic (age, gender, parent’s occupation) risk factors ( schooling , siblings , exposure to tobacco) & awareness based questions (knowledge about pneumococcal disease etc) From the outcomes of this study it was revealed that housing and smoking were key risk factors in the transmission and carriage of pneumococcal disease. 38% participants were exposed to smoking/tobacco & the frequency was higher in those participants where 5-8 person were living in the same room (56.92%), most of the participants were from ethnic group “Pashtoon”, 79.87% participants were already vaccinated however, most of the participants were unaware of pneumococcal disease. So we have concluded that nasopharynx is an ecological niche for pneumococci, the above mentioned risk factors facilitates pneumococci to colonize & cause disease.

Irfan Shahzad Sheikh, Center for Advanced Studies in Vaccinology and Biotechnology, (CASVAB), UoB, Quetta

During the past decades Streptococcus pneumoniae has developed a global burden by causing pneumococcal disease such as pneumonia, bacteremia & meningitis. This study was planned to find out the potential risk factors of colonization of the Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. For the purpose, nasopharyngeal samples were collected from children under 5years from immunization center of Quetta district. A pre-developed questionnaire were given to the parents, which include demographic (age, gender, parent’s occupation) risk factors ( schooling , siblings , exposure to tobacco) & awareness based questions (knowledge about pneumococcal disease etc) From the outcomes of this study it was revealed that housing and smoking were key risk factors in the transmission and carriage of pneumococcal disease. 38% participants were exposed to smoking/tobacco & the frequency was higher in those participants where 5-8 person were living in the same room (56.92%), most of the participants were from ethnic group “Pashtoon”, 79.87% participants were already vaccinated however, most of the participants were unaware of pneumococcal disease. So we have concluded that nasopharynx is an ecological niche for pneumococci, the above mentioned risk factors facilitates pneumococci to colonize & cause disease.

References

Owais A, Tikmani SS, Sultana S, Zaman U, Ahmed I, Allana S, Zaidi AK. Incidence of pneumonia, bacteremia, and invasive pneumococcal disease in Pakistani children. Tropical Medicine & International Health. 2010;15(9):1029-36.

Mebrahtom S, Worku A, Gage DJ. The risk of water, sanitation and hygiene on diarrhea-related infant mortality in eastern Ethiopia: a population-based nested case-control. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):1-4.

Ganaie F, Saad JS, McGee L, van Tonder AJ, Bentley SD, Lo SW, Gladstone RA, Turner P, Keenan JD, Breiman RF, Nahm MH. A new pneumococcal capsule type, 10D, is the 100th serotype and has a large cps fragment from an oral streptococcus. MBio. 2020;11(3):e00937-20.

Lynch JP, Zhanel GG. Streptococcus pneumoniae: epidemiology, risk factors, and strategies for prevention. InSeminars in respiratory and critical care medicine. ©Thieme Medical Publishers.2009;30(2):189-209.

WHO. Pakistan: WHO and UNICEF estimates of immunization coverage: 2015 revision; 2015

Abayneh M, Muleta D, Simieneh A, Duguma T, Asnake M, Teressa M, Endalkachew B, Toru M. Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and factors associated with their poor clinical outcome among children under-five years attending pediatric wards of public hospital in Southwest district of Ethiopia: A prospective observational cohort study. European Journal of Inflammation. 2022;20:1721727X221139266.

Aliberti S, Cook GS, Babu BL, Reyes LF, Rodriguez AH, Sanz F, Soni NJ, Anzueto A, Faverio P, Sadud RF, Muhammad I. International prevalence and risk factors evaluation for drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia. Journal of Infection. 2019;79(4):300-11.

Oordt-Speets AM, Bolijn R, van Hoorn RC, Bhavsar A, Kyaw MH. Global etiology of bacterial meningitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one. 2018;13(6):e0198772.

Miller E, Andrews NJ, Waight PA, Slack MP, George RC. Herd immunity and serotype replacement 4 years after seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in England and Wales: an observational cohort study. The Lancet infectious diseases. 2011;11(10):760-

Levine OS, Farley M, Harrison LH, Lefkowitz L, McGeer A, Schwartz B, Active Bacterial Core Surveillance Team. Risk factors for invasive pneumococcal disease in children: a population-based case–control study in North America. Pediatrics. 1999;103(3):e28-.

Schranz J. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines: what do we know and what do we need?. Procedia in Vaccinology. 2009;1(1):189-205.

Weiser JN, Ferreira DM, Paton JC. Streptococcus pneumoniae: transmission, colonization and invasion. Nature Reviews Microbiology. 2018;16(6):355-67.

Koliou MG, Andreou K, Lamnisos D, Lavranos G, Iakovides P, Economou C, Soteriades ES. Risk factors for carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. BMC pediatrics. 2018;18(1):1-8.

Jourdain S, Smeesters PR, Denis O, Dramaix M, Sputael V, Malaviolle X, Van Melderen L, Vergison A. Differences in nasopharyngeal bacterial carriage in preschool children from different socio-economic origins. Clinical microbiology and infection. 2011;17(6):907.

Ghaffar F, Friedland IR, George H, Mccracken JR. Dynamics of nasopharyngeal colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae. The Pediatric infectious disease journal. 1999;18(7):638-46.

Veenhoven RH, Bogaert D, Schilder AG, Rijkers GT, Uiterwaal CS, Kiezebrink HH, van Kempen MJ, Dhooge IJ, Bruin J, IJzerman EP, de Groot R. Nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage after combined pneumococcal conjugate and polysaccharide vaccination in children with a history of recurrent acute otitis media. Clinical infectious diseases. 2004;39(7):911.

Neal EF, Flasche S, Nguyen CD, Ratu FT, Dunne EM, Koyamaibole L, Reyburn R, Rafai E, Kama M, Ortika BD, Boelsen LK. Associations between ethnicity, social contact, and pneumococcal carriage three years post-PCV10 in Fiji. Vaccine. 2020;38(2):202-

Nisar MI, Ahmed S, Jehan F, Shahid S, Shakoor S, Kabir F, Hotwani A, Munir S, Muhammad S, Khalid F, Althouse B. Direct and indirect effect of 10 valent pneumococcal vaccine on nasopharyngeal carriage in children under 2 years of age in Matiari, Pakistan. Vaccine. 2021;39(8):1319-27.

Nuorti JP, Butler JC, Farley MM, Harrison LH, McGeer A, Kolczak MS, Breiman RF, Active Bacterial Core Surveillance Team. Cigarette smoking and invasive pneumococcal disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 2000;342(10):681-9.

Stuart JM, Cartwright KA, Dawson JA, Rickard J, Noah ND. Risk factors for meningococcal disease: a case control study in south west England. Journal of Public Health. 1988;10(2):139-46.

Tappero JW, Reporter R, Wenger JD, Ward BA, Reeves MW, Missbach TS, Plikaytis BD, Mascola L, Schuchat A. Meningococcal disease in Los Angeles County, California, and among men in the county jails. New England Journal of Medicine. 1996;335(12):833-41.

Article Sidebar

Main Article Content