The objectives of the thesis were to answer the following questions: 1. Are genetic and environmental factors associated with carriage among Greek children and young adults similar to those found in northwest Europe? 2. Are strains with serogroups, serotypes and subtypes associated with disease in northwest Europe isolated from patients and carriers in Greece? 3. Are the antibiotic sensitivities of meningococci isolated from patients and carriers in Greece similar to those observed in northwest Europe? 4. Are the genetic clones associated with disease in northwest Europe present among meningococcal strains in Greece and other Balkan countries? Among military recruits and primary and secondary school children active smoking or exposure to cigarette smoke were significantly associated with carriage of meningococci. In both populations the rate of carriage was higher among the 15-19 year age range; similar results were reported for studies in Britain and the Faroe islands. The results obtained from the epidemiological studies (recruits and schoolchildren) showed that viral upper respiratory tract infection in general is not a predisposing factor for colonisation and that specific viral infections (<I>e.g.</I>, RSV and influenza) need to be investigated. Lower socio-economic group was not associated with carriage in Greek school children but with smoking habits of members of the house closely involved in child care. While the subtype reagents were able to differentiate strains from both patients and carriers, the serotype antibodies did not react with the majority of strains. The serogroup, serotype and subtype combinations associated with outbreaks in northwest Europe were not found among over 500 isolates examined. The studies on meningococcal strains isolated from patients in Greece and Romania were the first to identify significant phenotypic and genetic differences between meningococcal strains isolated in northwest and southeast European countries.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:663140 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Tzanakaki, Georgina |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/21580 |
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