flora of humans. Most colonised individuals are asymptomatic, and carriers are the principal reservoirs for transmission of S. pneumoniae in the community. In a small proportion of carriers, which nevertheless translates into globally significant total case numbers, S. pneumoniae invades from its nasopharyngeal beachhead to cause disease. This may occur, for example, by aspiration into the lungs to cause pneumonia, by direct invasion of the blood, or by ascension of the Eustachian tube to access the middle…
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