Possible route(s) by which encapsulated bacteria invade the blood from the nasopharynx include (i) the direct invasion of submucosal blood vessels and (ii) clearance via lymphatics to regional nodes followed by bloodstream invasion. These possibilities were investigated in rats after intranasal inoculation with 10(5) Haemophilus influenzae type b. Within 24 h of inoculation, 10 of 42 rats with ...

Glucocorticosteroids are used as a main treatment to reduce airway inflammation in people with asthma who suffer from neutrophilic airway inflammation, a condition frequently associated with Haemophilus influenzae colonization. Here we show that glucocorticosteroids have a direct influence on the behavior of H. influenzae that may account for associated difficulties with therapy. Using a mouse ...

Recently, there has been an increase in The Netherlands in the number of cases of invasive disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae serotype b (Hib). To study a possible change in the Hib population that could explain the rise in incidence, a multiple-locus variable number tandem repeats analysis (MLVA) was developed to genotype H. influenzae isolates. The MLVA enabled the differentiation of H....

Rhinovirus (RV) is an important trigger of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. In addition, respiratory viruses are more likely to be isolated in patients with a history of frequent exacerbations, suggesting that these patients are more susceptible to viral infection. To examine potential mechanisms for cooperative effects between bacterial and viral infection in COPD, w...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this prospective study was to investigate the status of acute respiratory tract infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae in tsunami disaster evacuation camps. METHODS Nasopharyngeal swabs (NP) of 324 internally displaced persons (IDP) in 3 different tsunami disaster evacuation camps of Sri Lanka were collected between March 18th and 2...

OBJECTIVE Antimicrobial susceptibility testing for fastidious bacteria, such as Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) has been performed manually. We evaluated the performance of a newly developed fully automated system for rapid bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing "RAISUS ANY" (Nissui Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.). METHO...

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae is an important respiratory pathogen, causing otitis media in children and lower respiratory tract infection in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) protease is a well-described protein and potential virulence factor in this organism as well as other respiratory pathogens. IgA1 proteases cleave human IgA1, are invo...

Indole spot tests using isolated, nonhemolytic colonies of Haemophilus species were positive for 90 of 151 (60%) respiratory isolates of Haemophilus influenzae, whereas 67 to 72 (93%) isolates of H. influenzae from cerebrospinal fluid and blood specimens were indole positive. Only 4 of 117 (3%) Haemophilus parainfluenzae isolates were positive for indole spot tests. Thus, indole-positive, nonhe...