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Assessing Respiratory Immune Responses to Haemophilus Influenzae
06:32

Assessing Respiratory Immune Responses to Haemophilus Influenzae

Published on: June 29, 2021

Outbreak of invasive Haemophilus influenzae serotype a disease

Laura L Hammitt1, Susanna Block, Thomas W Hennessy

  • 1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Arctic Investigations Program, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA.

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
|May 7, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Five infants in Alaska developed invasive disease from Haemophilus influenzae serotype a, a rare bacterium. Genetic analysis showed the outbreak strains were closely related, highlighting the need for ongoing surveillance of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type a disease.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Haemophilus influenzae serotype a (Hia) is an uncommon cause of invasive bacterial infections.
  • Invasive bacterial diseases in infants pose significant public health concerns, particularly in remote populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To report and characterize a cluster of invasive Hia cases in infants.
  • To investigate the genetic relatedness of Hia isolates during the outbreak.

Main Methods:

  • Case reporting of invasive Hia infections in infants.
  • Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for molecular typing of Hia isolates.

Main Results:

  • Five cases of invasive Hia disease were identified in three infants in a remote Alaskan region within a six-month period in 2003.
  • PFGE analysis indicated that the Hia isolates from this outbreak were genetically similar.

Conclusions:

  • This outbreak highlights the potential for Hia to cause invasive disease clusters, even in rare instances.
  • Continued epidemiological and molecular surveillance is crucial for monitoring trends and understanding the epidemiology of invasive Hia disease.

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