Nasopharyngeal microbiota evaluation in three cohorts of children in the Romanian pediatric population

Methods We performed a screening study for nasopharyngeal carriage of Staphylococcus spp. in immunocompetent children aged 7-10 years old, attending a community school in central Bucharest (group 1), and in two groups of immunosuppressed children: children with hemato-oncologic diseases (lymphoma/leukemia) admitted to the Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest (ages 2-10 years, group 2), and institutionalized children with vertically transmitted HIV infection, from the National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Prof. Dr. Matei Bals”, Bucharest (ages 1-10 years, group 3).