TY - JOUR
T1 - Decreased Pneumococcal Carriage Among Older Adults in Denmark During the COVID-19 Lockdown
AU - Tinggaard, Michaela
AU - Slotved, Hans-Christian
AU - Petersen, Randi Føns
AU - Hovmand, Nichlas
AU - Benfield, Thomas
N1 - © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - BACKGROUND: COVID-19 containment measures reduced the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease. Data on pneumococcal carriage rates among adults during the pandemic are scarce.METHODS: Naso- and oropharyngeal swabs and questionnaires were collected during January 2019 to December 2021 from adults ≥64 years of age. Carriage was determined by lytA/piaB PCR.RESULTS: A total of 1556 participants provided paired naso- and oropharyngeal swabs. Their median age was 74 years (IQR, 70-79). Streptococcus pneumoniae DNA was detected in 146 (9.4%) oropharyngeal swabs and 34 (2.2%) nasopharyngeal. The carriage rate decreased from 12.9% (95% CI, 10.1%-16.1%, n = 66/511) prelockdown (January 2019-February 2020) to 4.2% (95% CI, 2.0%-7.5%, n = 10/240) during lockdown (March 2020-February 2021) and increased to 12.1% (95% CI, 9.8%-14.7%, n = 87/719) with the reopening of society (March 2021-December 2021; P = .0009).CONCLUSIONS: Pneumococcal carriage prevalence declined significantly during pandemic mitigation measures and rebounded to prepandemic levels as measures were lifted.
AB - BACKGROUND: COVID-19 containment measures reduced the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease. Data on pneumococcal carriage rates among adults during the pandemic are scarce.METHODS: Naso- and oropharyngeal swabs and questionnaires were collected during January 2019 to December 2021 from adults ≥64 years of age. Carriage was determined by lytA/piaB PCR.RESULTS: A total of 1556 participants provided paired naso- and oropharyngeal swabs. Their median age was 74 years (IQR, 70-79). Streptococcus pneumoniae DNA was detected in 146 (9.4%) oropharyngeal swabs and 34 (2.2%) nasopharyngeal. The carriage rate decreased from 12.9% (95% CI, 10.1%-16.1%, n = 66/511) prelockdown (January 2019-February 2020) to 4.2% (95% CI, 2.0%-7.5%, n = 10/240) during lockdown (March 2020-February 2021) and increased to 12.1% (95% CI, 9.8%-14.7%, n = 87/719) with the reopening of society (March 2021-December 2021; P = .0009).CONCLUSIONS: Pneumococcal carriage prevalence declined significantly during pandemic mitigation measures and rebounded to prepandemic levels as measures were lifted.
KW - adults
KW - carriage
KW - COVID-19 pandemic
KW - pneumococcus
KW - surveillance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85168625127&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/ofid/ofad365
DO - 10.1093/ofid/ofad365
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 37559754
SN - 2328-8957
VL - 10
SP - ofad365
JO - Open Forum Infectious Diseases
JF - Open Forum Infectious Diseases
IS - 8
M1 - ofad365
ER -