Over 5500 individuals were swabbed in this study (n=5652) and these data, stratified by age and serogroup form the basis of the carriage dataset for the following analyses.
This represents 121 families out of the 129 that started the study, with eight families leaving the study during the first month and thus, never being swabbed.
After each mouse had been tested, faecal pellets were removed and the whole apparatus swabbed with dilute alcohol solution before the next mouse was exposed to the apparatus.
At least one episode of pneumococcal carriage was noted amongst 112 of the 121 families swabbed (93 %) over the study period.
By turning the plastic bag inside out while holding the swab through the bag, the sampling area was swabbed.
Following the disinfectant wash, boots were allowed to dry before being swabbed.
From both the carcass splitter and the polisher, a surface area of approximately 0.1 m2 was swabbed at each sampling.
The data comprised the results of swabs from 283 recruits swabbed repeatedly over a year on up to 14 occasions.
