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. 2012 Mar;140(3):561-5.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268811000884. Epub 2011 May 19.

Transmission of Streptococcus pneumoniae in adults may occur through saliva

H Levine  1 , S Zarka, R Dagan, T Sela, V Rozhavski, D I Cohen, R D Balicer
Affiliations

Transmission of Streptococcus pneumoniae in adults may occur through saliva

H Levine et al. Epidemiol Infect. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

Of 742 army recruits tested for pneumococcal nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal carriage, 6·6% were positive. Frequent sharing of a drinking glass/bottle was a common, strong and independent risk factor for pneumococcal carriage. Our findings strongly suggest, for the first time, that in young adults, transmission of pneumococci may occur via saliva and this should be considered when conducting an outbreak investigation and carriage studies.

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