Yonsei Med J.  2000 Feb;41(1):56-60. 10.3349/ymj.2000.41.1.56.

Bacteriologic characteristics and serotypings of Streptococcus pyogenes isolated from throats of school children

• Kim SJ

• KMID: 1060272
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2000.41.1.56

Abstract

To determine the carrier rate of beta-hemolytic streptococci (BHS), throat cultures were taken from healthy elementary school children in four separate areas of Korea from 1992 to 1995, including Inje, Nonsan, Seoul and Chinju. The strains of Streptococcus pyogenes had been serotyped with anti-T, -OF and -M sera. The isolation rates of BHS and S. pyogenes ranged from 14.1-32.4% and 10.9-18.5% respectively. More than half of the carriers showed heavy growth of BHS. M78 (48.6%) and M28 (22.2%) were most common in Inje, M12 (23.6%) and M5 (20.3%) in Nonsan, M12 (48.8%) and M5 (14.6%) in Seoul, and M12 (26.3%) and M22 (14.5%) in Chinju, respectively. About 15% of school children were positive for S. pyogenes in throat cultures, and the distribution of serotypes varied according to geographical regions.

Keyword

Throat culture; beta-hemolytic streptococci; Streptococcus pyogenes; serotype

MeSH Terms

Carrier State
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Human
Male
Pharynx/microbiology*
Schools
Serotyping*
Streptococcus pyogenes/isolation & purification*
Streptococcus pyogenes/classification*