TY  - JOUR
A1  - Drayß, Maria
A1  - Claus, Heike
A1  - Hubert, Kerstin
A1  - Thiel, Katrin
A1  - Berger, Anja
A1  - Sing, Andreas
A1  - van der Linden, Mark
A1  - Vogel, Ulrich
A1  - Lâm, Thiên-Trí
T1  - Asymptomatic carriage of Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Group A Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus among adults aged 65 years and older
JF  - PLoS ONE
N2  - Objective
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, group A Streptococcus (GAS), and Staphylococcus aureus in asymptomatic elderly people and to unravel risk factors leading to colonization.

Methods
A multi-centre cross-sectional study was conducted including 677 asymptomatic adults aged 65 years or more, living at home or in nursing homes. Study areas were Greater Aachen (North-Rhine-Westphalia) and Wuerzburg (Bavaria), both regions with medium to high population density. Nasal and oropharyngeal swabs as well as questionnaires were collected from October 2012 to May 2013. Statistical analysis included multiple logistic regression models.

Results
The carriage rate was 1.9% ([95%CI: 1.0–3.3%]; 13/677) for H. influenzae, 0.3% ([95%CI: 0–1.1%]; 2/677) for N. meningitidis and 0% ([95% CI: 0–0.5%]; 0/677) for S. pneumoniae and GAS. Staphylococcus aureus was harboured by 28.5% of the individuals ([95% CI: 25.1–32.1%]; 193/677) and 0.7% ([95% CI: 0.2–1.7%]; 5/677) were positive for methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Among elderly community-dwellers colonization with S. aureus was significantly associated with higher educational level (adjusted OR: 1.905 [95% CI: 1.248–2.908]; p = 0.003). Among nursing home residents colonization was associated with being married (adjusted OR: 3.367 [1.502–7.546]; p = 0.003).

Conclusion
The prevalence of N. meningitidis, H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae and GAS was low among older people in Germany. The S. aureus rate was expectedly high, while MRSA was found in less than 1% of the individuals.
KW  - Geriatric care
KW  - Geriatrics
KW  - Elderly
KW  - Staphylococcus aureus
KW  - Nursing homes
KW  - Haemophilus influenzae
KW  - Neisseria meningitidis
KW  - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201042
VL  - 14
IS  - 2
ER  -