Apr. 4, 2005 Any parent knows how quickly a cold or a cough can
spread between children who play together. However, child care
may also affect an entire community's carriage of potentially
dangerous bacteria known as Streptococcus pneumoniae, according
to an article in the April 1 issue of Clinical Infectious
Diseases, now available online. S. pneumoniae often exists in
the nose and throat without causing problems, but if the
bacteria grow out of control, they may result in illness ranging
from minor conditions such as ear infections to more serious
diseases like sinusitis, pneumonia, and meningitis. A childhood
vaccine released in 2000 has decreased rates of illness due to
S. pneumoniae, also known as pneumococcus. Children are more
likely to carry pneumococci than adults, and in a large group
child care center, kids can easily spread the bacteria to their
playmates through close contact. The level of pneumococcal
carriage varies widely between communities, and Harvard Medical
School researchers hypothesized