Gabrichevsky Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Moscow; State Medical Academy, Astrakhan, Russia
Staphylococcus aureus and S.epidermidis strains, isolated from sick and healthy children and forming resident and transitory carrier state, were differentiated with the use of quantitative determination of antilysozyme activity. The total resident carrier state for staphylococci of both species was shown to be formed in 50% of children having frequent and prolonged cases of respiratory diseases, i.e. 11.9 times more often than in clinically healthy children attending pre-school children institutions (4.2%). On the contrary, transitory carrier state was registered 2.3 times more often in healthy children (66.7%) than in sick children (29.3%). Resident S.aureus carrier state in sick children occurred 7.8 times more often than in healthy children (32.8% and 4.2% respectively), while transitory carrier state for this species occurred, on the contrary, 3.6 times more often in healthy children than in sick ones (62.5% and 17.2% respectively). S.epidermidis carrier state was registered in healthy children only in one case (4.2%), while in sick children it occurred in 12.1%. In children with frequent respiratory diseases resident S.epidermidis carrier state was registered in 17.2% of cases, and in healthy children it was absent.
Zh. Mikrobiol. (Moscow), 2003, No. 6, P. 3—6