Nasopharyngeal colonisation dynamics of bacterial pathogens in patients with fever in rural Burkina Faso: an observational study

Abstract Background Nasopharyngeal colonisation with clinically relevant bacterial pathogens is a risk factor for severe infections, such as pneumonia and bacteraemia. In this study, we investigated the determinants of nasopharyngeal carriage in febrile patients in rural Burkina Faso. Methods From March 2016 to June 2017, we recruited 924 paediatric and adult patients presenting with fever, hypothermia or suspicion of severe infection to the Centre Medical avec Antenne Chirurgicale Saint Camille de Nanoro, Burkina Faso. We recorded a broad range of clinical data, collected nasopharyngeal swabs and tested them for the presence of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Using logistic regression, we investigated the determinants of carriage and aimed to find correlations with clinical outcome. Results Nasopharyngeal colonisation with S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis was highly prevalent and strongly dependent on age and season. Females were less likely to be colonised with S. pneumoniae (OR 0.71, p = 0.022, 95% CI 0.53–0.95) and M. catarrhalis (OR 0.73, p = 0.044, 95% CI 0.54–0.99) than males. Colonisation rates were highest in the age groups