SEASONAL FEATURES OF THE MICROBIAL LANDSCAPE OF PALATINE TONSILS IN HEALTHY STUDENTS

Abstract

Aim.To find out microbial landscape characteristics of the palatine tonsils in healthy students, depending on the season. Materials and methods. It were examined 40 students without any oropharyngeal pathology aged 17-30 (23 ± 3.5). There were no signs of chronic tonsillitis at pha-ryngoscopy, no signs of acute respiratory infection; they did not take antibiotics for one last month prior to the study and had no tonsilitis for the last 5 years. Examination was made three times, once in a season: autumn from October 16 till November 2; winter from January 27 till March 6 ; spring from April 2 till April 19. Results. The normal microlandscape in healthy individuals aged 17-30 years permanently had Streptococcus viridans, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Candida albicans, Neisseria, Micrococcus, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Presence of S. pyogenes andP. aeruginosa in the structure of microlandscape of the palatine tonsils did not cause any clinical symptoms in their carriers. We also revealed a seasonal dynamics expressed by the frequency of the increase of conditionally pathogenic flora on palatine tonsils in spring and the decrease in all microorganisms growth in winter.

Keywords

• chronic tonsillitis
• microflora
• palatine tonsils
• carriage
• seasonality