Epidemiology
Research aim
Young children are an important reservoir and major source of transmission of pathogens to the whole community and thus the preferred population to study nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococci as well as other pathogens.
In the nasopharyngeal carriage study, samples from about 1000 children are collected yearly to monitor the carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae as well as the carriage of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Moraxella catarrhalis and Haemophilus influenzae. With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the carriage of SARS-CoV-2 has also been monitored in this child population.
In an additional project, in the same study population, the dynamics of pneumococcal carriage, (vaccine) serotypes and interactions with other respiratory tract organisms are assessed.
