Impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine immunization on nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in vaccinated children under five years old in El Salvador.
Miriam de Lourdes Dueñas·J.M. Sanchez Torres·Rafael O Santamaría·Patricia Evelyn Henríquez·Elizabeth Montano·Moreno José·Élmer Mendoza·Ángel E Alvarado·Erick Salguero·Guillermo E Barahona·Ronald A Pérez
Abstract Background Following PCV introduction in El Salvador, data on pneumococcal nasopharyngeal (NP) carriage in children are limited. This study assessed NP carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy Salvadoran children aged 1–4 years to evaluate the impact of different vaccine schedules (PCV10, PCV13, or PCV10 plus PCV13). Methods In this analytical cross-sectional study, 380 fully vaccinated children attending well-child visits were enrolled over one year. NP swabs were collected to d