Age-specific cluster of cases of serotype 1 XXXX carriage in remote indigenous communities in Australia.

@entity1 @entity328 @entity3
Seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccination commenced in 2001 for Australian indigenous @entity1 . Pneumococcal carriage surveillance detected substantial replacement with nonvaccine serotypes and a cluster of serotype 1 carriage. Our aim was to review @entity328 serotype 1 carriage and @entity3 ( @entity3 ) data for this population and to analyze serotype 1 isolates. Carriage data were collected between 1992 and 2004 in the Darwin region, one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. Carriage data were also collected in 2003 and 2005 from four regions in the Northern Territory. Twenty-six cases of serotype 1 @entity3 were reported from 1994 to 2007 in the Northern Territory. Forty-four isolates were analyzed by BOX typing and 11 by multilocus sequence typing. In the Darwin region, 26 @entity1 were reported carrying serotype 1 (ST227) in 2002 but not during later surveillance. Scattered cases of serotype 1 carriage were noted in two other regions. Cocolonization of serotype 1 with other pneumococcal serotypes was common (34% serotype 1-positive swabs). In conclusion, pneumococcal carriage studies detected intermittent serotype 1 carriage and an ST227 cluster in @entity1 in indigenous communities in the Northern Territory of Australia. There was no apparent increase in serotype 1 @entity3 during this time. The rate of serotype 1 cocolonization with other pneumococcal serotypes suggests that carriage of this serotype may be underestimated.
