Exploring the interplay of respiratory viruses and pneumococcal carriage
Duration: Master’s thesis
Detalhes
BACKGROUND
Streptococcus pneumoniae (or pneumococcus) is a colonizer of the human nasopharynx and a leading cause of infectious diseases worldwide. Young children are often asymptomatically colonized with pneumococci, acting as reservoirs, and contributing significantly to its transmission in the community.
The main virulence factor of pneumococcus is the polysaccharide capsule. To date, more than 100 capsular types (or serotypes) have been described. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine – PCV13, introduced in the Portuguese National Immunization Plan in 2015, targets 13 serotypes only. To monitor the serotypes that are in circulation is of interest to study the impact in PCV13.
Pneumococcal disease has been linked to respiratory viral infections, especially respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which in Portugal, represents a substantial burden, leading to a significant number of hospitalizations, particularly among otherwise healthy children.
OBJECTIVES
This project aims to use saliva samples from children in order to: (i) estimate prevalence of respiratory viruses, such as RSV; (ii) study pneumococcal carriage prevalence and serotype distribution; and (iii) explore associations between pneumococcal colonization and RSV presence.