Incidence of H. influenzae in a day-care center.

In this study nasopharyngeal haemophilus influenzae flora of healthy children in a day-care center in istanbul were analyzed. Nasopharyngeal cultures of 168 children between two and five years of age were obtained between December 1, 1992 and April 1, 1993 and investigated. H. influenzae was isolated in 104 cultures. H. influenzae type b (Hib), type f and H. parainfluenzae were found 87 children (51.8%), 15 children (8.9%) and one child (0.6%), respectively, while non-typable H. influenzae was discovered in one child (0.6%). Hib, which is the cause of invasive H. influenzae infection in childhood, was evaluated with respect to age; its incidence was found to be highest in two and three-year-old children, and reduced in children older than four years of age. Although Hib was seen in 518 percent of normal children in the day-care center, invasive Hib disease was not seen in any of those children. Therefore, these children have considered carrier of Hib without clinical manifestations.