ArticleScientific reports2020
Re-evaluation of Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage in Portuguese elderly by qPCR increases carriage estimates and unveils an expanded pool of serotypes.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Determinants of pneumococcal carriage by age in Africa (2000-2021): a systematic analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence, Serotype Distribution, and Risk Factors Associated WithOpen forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Research progress on the current status of respiratory pathogen infections and their detection methods.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Storage stability of non-encapsulated pneumococci in saliva is dependent on null-capsule clade, with strains carryingMicrobiology (Reading, England) · 2025Article
- Observational
- An abundance ofMicrobiology (Reading, England) · 2025Article
- SARS-CoV-2 andFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Observational
- Longitudinal prevalence and co-carriage of pathogens associated with nursing home acquired pneumonia in three long-term care facilities.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Decreased Pneumococcal Carriage Among Older Adults in Denmark During the COVID-19 Lockdown.Open forum infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Pneumococcal Serotype Evolution and Burden in European Adults in the Last Decade: A Systematic Review.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- [The new 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention ofJournal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- Article
- A spitting image: molecular diagnostics applied to saliva enhance detection ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
- Pathogenic bacteria and treatment resistance in older cardiovascular disease patients with lung infection and risk prediction model.Open life sciences · 2023Article
- Article
- Trends in Asymptomatic NasopharyngealMicroorganisms · 2022Article
- Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization in health care professionals at a tertiary university pediatric hospital.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2022Article
- Pneumococcal carriage in unvaccinated children at the time of vaccine implementation into the national immunization program in Poland.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- It Takes Two to Tango: Combining Conventional Culture With Molecular Diagnostics Enhances Accuracy ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a leading cause of infections worldwide. Disease is preceded by asymptomatic colonization of the upper respiratory tract. Classical culture-based methods (CCBM) suggest that colonization in the elderly is <5%. Recently, use of qPCR has challenged these observations. We estimated pneumococcal carriage prevalence and serotypes among Portuguese elderly using qPCR and compared results with those obtained by CCBM. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal paired samples (599 each) of individuals over 60 years living in nursing (n = 299) or family (n = 300) homes were screened for the presence of pneumococci by qPCR targeting lytA and piaB. Positive samples were molecular serotyped. Use of qPCR improved detection of pneumococci in oropharyngeal samples compared to CCBM: from 0.7% to 10.4% (p < 0.001) in the nursing home collection, and from 0.3% to 5.0% (p < 0.001) in the family home collection. No significant differences were observed between both methods in nasopharyngeal samples (5.4% vs. 5.4% in the nursing homes; and 4.3% vs. 4.7% in the family homes). Twenty-one serotypes/serogroups were detected by qPCR compared to 14 by CCBM. In conclusion, use of qPCR suggests that pneumococcal carriage in Portuguese elderly is approximately 10%, and unveiled a large pool of serotypes. These results are important to understand progression to disease and impact of pneumococcal vaccines in the elderly.
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