Pneumococcal colonization dynamics among young children with and without respiratory symptoms during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

<h4>Background</h4>Non-pharmaceutical interventions to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 were implemented across the United States in 2020. These public health measures might influence pneumococcal colonization in younger children and their subsequent risk of invasive pneumococcal diseas...

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Main Authors: Liset Olarte, Brian Lee, Dithi Banerjee, Douglas S Swanson, Christopher J Harrison, Rangaraj Selvarangan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327046
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author Liset Olarte
Brian Lee
Dithi Banerjee
Douglas S Swanson
Christopher J Harrison
Rangaraj Selvarangan
author_facet Liset Olarte
Brian Lee
Dithi Banerjee
Douglas S Swanson
Christopher J Harrison
Rangaraj Selvarangan
author_sort Liset Olarte
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Non-pharmaceutical interventions to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 were implemented across the United States in 2020. These public health measures might influence pneumococcal colonization in younger children and their subsequent risk of invasive pneumococcal disease. Our objective was to evaluate pneumococcal colonization rates in children ≤ 5 years of age with and without respiratory symptoms during the first 12 months of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (April 2020 - March 2021).<h4>Study design</h4>This is a retrospective cross-sectional study evaluating pneumococcal colonization rates, density and serotype distribution across three study periods (April-July [Period 1], August-November [Period 2] and December-March [Period 3]) after implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions in Kansas City, Missouri. Children aged ≤5 years with and without respiratory symptoms seeking care at Children's Mercy Kansas City hospital system with a residual standard of care nasal mid-turbinate sample were included. The odds of pneumococcal colonization across study periods were calculated using multivariable logistic regression.<h4>Results</h4>A total of 311 children met inclusion criteria (126 symptomatic and 185 asymptomatic). The overall pneumococcal colonization (23% vs. 13%, p = 0.03) and SARS-CoV-2 positivity (34.1% vs. 17.8%, p = 0.001) rates were higher in symptomatic children than in asymptomatic children. The odds of pneumococcal colonization of symptomatic (Period 2: OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.33-3.64, and Period 3: OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.13-1.59) and asymptomatic (Period 2: OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.18-1.7, and Period 3: OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.11-1.2) children did not statistically differ across study periods. Pneumococcal colonization density was also not different across study periods among study groups. Overall, non-PCV15, non-PCV20 serotypes were the most frequently identified serotypes (56.8%).<h4>Conclusions</h4>Pneumococcal colonization rates and density did not significantly change across study periods as adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions gradually relaxed during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
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spelling doaj-art-31ac4de87d4b4a6fb0e1f4f29f65f1f42025-06-30T05:31:41ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01206e032704610.1371/journal.pone.0327046Pneumococcal colonization dynamics among young children with and without respiratory symptoms during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.Liset OlarteBrian LeeDithi BanerjeeDouglas S SwansonChristopher J HarrisonRangaraj Selvarangan<h4>Background</h4>Non-pharmaceutical interventions to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 were implemented across the United States in 2020. These public health measures might influence pneumococcal colonization in younger children and their subsequent risk of invasive pneumococcal disease. Our objective was to evaluate pneumococcal colonization rates in children ≤ 5 years of age with and without respiratory symptoms during the first 12 months of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (April 2020 - March 2021).<h4>Study design</h4>This is a retrospective cross-sectional study evaluating pneumococcal colonization rates, density and serotype distribution across three study periods (April-July [Period 1], August-November [Period 2] and December-March [Period 3]) after implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions in Kansas City, Missouri. Children aged ≤5 years with and without respiratory symptoms seeking care at Children's Mercy Kansas City hospital system with a residual standard of care nasal mid-turbinate sample were included. The odds of pneumococcal colonization across study periods were calculated using multivariable logistic regression.<h4>Results</h4>A total of 311 children met inclusion criteria (126 symptomatic and 185 asymptomatic). The overall pneumococcal colonization (23% vs. 13%, p = 0.03) and SARS-CoV-2 positivity (34.1% vs. 17.8%, p = 0.001) rates were higher in symptomatic children than in asymptomatic children. The odds of pneumococcal colonization of symptomatic (Period 2: OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.33-3.64, and Period 3: OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.13-1.59) and asymptomatic (Period 2: OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.18-1.7, and Period 3: OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.11-1.2) children did not statistically differ across study periods. Pneumococcal colonization density was also not different across study periods among study groups. Overall, non-PCV15, non-PCV20 serotypes were the most frequently identified serotypes (56.8%).<h4>Conclusions</h4>Pneumococcal colonization rates and density did not significantly change across study periods as adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions gradually relaxed during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327046
spellingShingle Liset Olarte
Brian Lee
Dithi Banerjee
Douglas S Swanson
Christopher J Harrison
Rangaraj Selvarangan
Pneumococcal colonization dynamics among young children with and without respiratory symptoms during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
PLoS ONE
title Pneumococcal colonization dynamics among young children with and without respiratory symptoms during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
title_full Pneumococcal colonization dynamics among young children with and without respiratory symptoms during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
title_fullStr Pneumococcal colonization dynamics among young children with and without respiratory symptoms during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
title_full_unstemmed Pneumococcal colonization dynamics among young children with and without respiratory symptoms during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
title_short Pneumococcal colonization dynamics among young children with and without respiratory symptoms during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
title_sort pneumococcal colonization dynamics among young children with and without respiratory symptoms during the first year of the sars cov 2 pandemic
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327046
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