What does the word Haemophilus influenzae mean?
Haemophilus influenzae disease is a name for any illness caused by bacteria called H. influenzae. Some of these illnesses, like ear infections, are mild while others, like bloodstream infections, are very serious. In spite of the name, H. influenzae does not cause influenza (the flu).
What is another name for Haemophilus influenzae?
Hib is short for Haemophilus influenzae type b, a type of bacteria. It can cause serious illnesses, some of which can be life-threatening. Hib infections in the U.S. are rare thanks to the Hib vaccine.
What is the difference between Haemophilus influenzae and influenza?
What's the difference between Haemophilus influenzae type b and influenza? Haemophilus influenzae type b is a polysaccharide-encapsulated bacteria that causes a variety of invasive diseases, such as meningitis, epiglottitis, and pneumonia. Influenza is a virus that causes the disease influenza.
Where does Haemophilus influenzae come from?
What causes Haemophilus influenzae? The H. influenzae bacteria live in the upper respiratory tract and are usually transmitted by close contact with an infected individual. Droplets in the air from a sneeze, cough, or close conversation can be inhaled and may also cause infection.
Who discovered Haemophilus influenzae?
It was first described by Richard Pfeiffer in 1892. During an outbreak of influenza, he found H. influenzae in patients' sputum and proposed a causal association between this bacterium and the clinical syndrome known as influenza.
What type of pathogen is Haemophilus influenzae?
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is an obligate human pathogen and an important cause of invasive bacterial infections in both children and adults, with the highest incidence among young children.
What antibiotic kills Haemophilus influenzae?
An antibiotic, such as ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, or cefuroxime, is given. Other infections due to Haemophilus influenzae are treated with various antibiotics given by mouth. They include amoxicillin/clavulanate, azithromycin, cephalosporins.
Is Haemophilus influenzae a parasite?
CHARACTERISTICS: Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is a gram negative coccobaccilus 5. This respiratory tract membrane obligate parasite requires hemin (X-factor) and NAD (V- factor) for in vitro growth. Hib is non motile and non acid-fast.
What body system does Haemophilus influenzae affect?
Hib is a bacterial illness that can lead to a potentially deadly brain infection in young children. Hib may cause diseases such as meningitis (inflammation of the coverings of the brain and spinal column), bloodstream infections, pneumonia, arthritis and infections of other parts of the body.
What is the shape of Haemophilus influenzae?
H. influenzae appear as large, round, smooth, convex, colorless-to-grey, opaque colonies on a CAP (Figure 1). Encapsulated strains appear more mucoidal than non-encapsulated strains, which appear as smaller, compact grey colonies. No hemolysis or discoloration of the CAP is apparent.
Is Haemophilus influenzae normal flora?
Haemophilus influenzae is a Gram-negative, opportunistic pathogen that remains a significant human pathogen. It is commonly found as a member of the normal flora of the nasopharynx.
What is the main cause of influenza?
The flu is caused by an influenza virus. Most people get the flu when they breathe in tiny airborne droplets from the coughs or sneezes of someone who has the flu. You can also catch the flu if you touch something with the virus on it, and then touch your mouth, nose, or eyes. People often confuse colds and flu.
Is Hib the same as hepatitis B?
The hepatitis B virus is present in the blood and some other body fluids of infected persons. Hib is an infection caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b bacteria.
Is Haemophilus influenzae type b the flu shot?
Despite its name, this disease is not the same as influenza (the flu). The Hib vaccine is usually combined with other vaccines so that you or your child can get protection against several diseases with fewer needles.
What kind of bacteria is Haemophilus?
Haemophilus species are Gram-negative coccobacilli similar in ultrastructural features to other pathogenic bacilli. Haemophilus influenzae requires hemin (factor X) and NAD+ (factor V) for growth. Other Haemophilus species require only NAD+ and therefore grow on blood agar.
What is Haemophilus influenzae type b infection?
Hib is a bacterial illness that can lead to a potentially deadly brain infection in young children. Hib may cause diseases such as meningitis (inflammation of the coverings of the brain and spinal column), bloodstream infections, pneumonia, arthritis and infections of other parts of the body.
Overview
Haemophilus influenzae (formerly called Pfeiffer's bacillus or Bacillus influenzae) is a Gram-negative, coccobacillary, facultatively anaerobic capnophilic pathogenic bacterium of the family Pasteurellaceae.
The bacterium was argued by some to be the cause of influenza. H. influenzae was first described in 1892 by Richard Pfeiffer during an influenza pandemic wh…
Serotypes
In 1930, two major categories of H. influenzae were defined: the unencapsulated strains and the encapsulated strains. Encapsulated strains were classified on the basis of their distinct capsular antigens. The six generally recognized types of encapsulated H. influenzae are: a, b, c, d, e, and f. Genetic diversity among unencapsulated strains is greater than within the encapsulated group. Unencapsulated strains are termed nontypable (NTHi) because they lack capsular serotypes; ho…
Diagnosis
Clinical features may include initial symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection mimicking a viral infection, usually associated with low-grade fevers. This may progress to the lower respiratory tract within a few days, with features often resembling those of wheezy bronchitis. Sputum may be difficult too expectorate and is often grey or creamy in color. The cough may persist for we…
Disease
Haemophilus influenzae can cause respiratory tract infections including pneumonia, otitis media, epiglottitis (swelling in the throat), eye infections and bloodstream infection, meningitis. It can also cause cellulitis (skin infection) and infectious arthritis (inflammation of the joint).
Treatment
Haemophilus influenzae produces beta-lactamases, and it is also able to modify its penicillin-binding proteins, so it has gained resistance to the penicillin family of antibiotics. In severe cases, cefotaxime and ceftriaxone delivered directly into the bloodstream are the elected antibiotics, and, for the less severe cases, an association of ampicillin and sulbactam, cephalosporins of the second and third generation, or fluoroquinolones are preferred. (Fluoroquinolone-resistant Haemophilus i…
Serious and chronic complications
The serious complications of HiB are brain damage, hearing loss, and even death. This is commonly associated with HiB but however the Hi non-typable doesn't often cause serious conditions but it has more risks to a chronic infection because it has the ability to change its surface antigens. Chronic infections are usually not as serious than acute infections.
Prevention
Effective vaccines for Haemophilus influenzae Type B have been available since the early 1990s, and are recommended for children under age 5 and asplenic patients. The World Health Organization recommends a pentavalent vaccine, combining vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and Hib. There is not yet sufficient evidence on how effective this pentavalent vaccine i…
Genome
H. influenzae was the first free-living organism to have its entire genome sequenced. Completed by Craig Venter and his team at The Institute for Genomic Research, now part of the J. Craig Venter Institute. Haemophilus was chosen because one of the project leaders, Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, had been working on it for decades and was able to provide high-quality DNA libraries. The sequencing method used was whole-genome shotgun, which was completed and published in Sc…