Key message
The results of this multicenter study demonstrate the feasibility of determining nasal and pharyngeal microbiomes in nasal and pharyngeal swabs in the general population.
Translational perspective
These methods will enable us to study the role of nasal and pharyngeal microflora in the development of chronic diseases and in the spread of multiresistant pathogens, for instance in the context of large health studies such as the NaKo Gesundheitsstudie (www.nako.de).