Prevalence and serotype distribution of nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae among healthy children under 5 years of age in Hainan Province, China.

We established the baseline of pneumococcal carriage, serotype distribution and PCV13 immunization rates among healthy children under 5 years of age in Hainan Province, prior to the introduction of PCV13 into the national immunization program. The high proportion of PCV13 serotypes suggests that PCV13 introduction will likely have a substantial impact on pneumococcal carriage in Hainan Province.