Nasopharyngeal carriage of Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, SARS-CoV-2 and other common pathogens in infants attending daycare centers in context of the changes in the pediatric vaccination program in Belgium

Abstract:The overall objective of this thesis is to acquire more insight on the impact of different pneumococcal vaccines as well as the effect of the switches made in the pediatric pneumococcal vaccination program on pneumococcal carriage in the target group. The carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae was therefore monitored in Belgian children between six and thirty months of age to determine the carriage prevalence, serotype distribution, antimicrobial susceptibility, and risk factors for carriage over the monitoring period. Also, the presence of common co-colonizers potentially causing respiratory infections was studied. To get more insight into the overall objective, different topics are investigated. Firstly, data on children suffering from acute otitis media (AOM), followed by the carriage of Haemophilus influenzae and SARS-CoV-2 are investigated in young children in Belgium.

Publication year:2024

Keywords:Human medicine

Accessibility:Open