Nasopharyngeal Pneumococcal Density during Asymptomatic Respiratory Virus Infection and Risk for Subsequent Acute Respiratory Illness

Increased nasopharyngeal pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae) colonization density has been associated with invasive pneumococcal disease, but factors that increase pneumococcal density are poorly understood. We evaluated pneumococcal densities in nasopharyngeal samples from asymptomatic young children from Peru and their association with subsequent acute respiratory illness (ARI). Total pneumococcal densities (encompassing all present serotypes) during asymptomatic periods were significantly higher when a respiratory virus was detected versus when no virus was detected (p