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Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae in children with acute respiratory infection
P Jayanetra1, M Vorachit, A Rittaporn
1Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.
Insights
Children with acute respiratory infections (ARI) show higher rates of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae compared to healthy children. Non-typeable strains of H. influenzae were most common.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Microbiology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) is a common childhood illness.
- Identifying causative pathogens like Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae is crucial for effective treatment.
- Prevalence of these bacteria can vary between patient populations and healthy controls.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence of H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae in young children with ARI.
- To compare bacterial prevalence in ARI patients versus healthy children.
- To characterize the types and biotypes of isolated H. influenzae strains.
Main Methods:
- Throat swab, blood, body fluid, or tissue cultures were used for pathogen detection.
- Study included children under 5 years from community and teaching hospital settings.
- Comparison groups included normal community children and children from a well-baby clinic.
Main Results:
- H. influenzae was found in 15-20% of ARI patients versus 4-6% of controls (p<0.001).
- Only 3.6% of H. influenzae isolates were type b; non-typeable strains, particularly biotype II, were predominant.
- S. pneumoniae was significantly more prevalent in hospital ARI patients (12%) than controls (4%).
Conclusions:
- ARI in young children is associated with increased carriage of H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae.
- Non-typeable H. influenzae strains are more common than type b in this pediatric population.
- Higher S. pneumoniae incidence in hospital ARI patients suggests a role in severe infections.
Abstract:
The incidence of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae in children with acute respiratory infection (ARI) under 5 years was carried out by throat swab culture, blood culture, body fluid or tissue culture in 688 patients from a community, 744 patients from a teaching hospital in Bangkok, 766 normal children from the community and 303 children from a hospital well baby clinic. H. influenzae was found in the throats of 15-20% of patients and in the throats of 4-6% of normal children (p less than 0.001 for both hospital and community patients). Only 12/332 strains (3.6%) of H. influenzae were type b. The rest of H. influenzae were non type b. The most common biotype of H. influenzae non type b was biotype II. S. pneumoniae was found in hospital patients in highly significant numbers compared to the controls (12% vs 4%). No significant difference was observed in strains from the community patients.