Carriers of betahemolytic streptococci of groups A, B and C, in school children in Las Palmas, Spain

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Betahemolytic streptococci, particularly group A, are the most frecuently isolated pathogen in the cases of acute pharyngotonsilitis in school-aged children. A study was carry out in school children of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with the aim of knowing of the state of pharyngeal carriers of betahemolytic streptococci in Lancefield groups A, B and C. METHODS: A total of 1,002 healthy school children (520 boys and 482 girls) with ages ranging from 4 to 15 of aged were included in the study in which a pharyngeal exudate was obtained to deterct the presence of betahemolytic streptococci. RESULTS: 69.5% of the healthy children were not pharyngeal carriers of betahemolytic streptococci. The prevalence of streptococci group A in all the age groups studied was of 6%. The prevalence of beta streptococci groups B and C were of 11 and 13.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The result of this study are in agreement with the literature reviewed in which the rate of pharyngeal carriers of beta-hemolytic streptococci in school schildren of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are more similar that studies reported from tropical and subtropical zones showed a high prevalence of groups B and C and a lower prevalence of a group A than others communities of our country and zones with temperature climate where showed a high prevalence of group A and lower prevalence of group B and C.