Biochemical characteristics of Haemophilus influenzae in relationship to source of isolation and antibiotic resistance

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Abstract
Based on a limited number of biochemical properties, a system for biotyping H. influenzae was used to analyze the relationship of biotype to source of infection and antibiotic resistance for 600 clinical strains. The distribution of biotypes from bacteremic patients was significantly different (P < 0.001) from the distribution of biotypes from nonbacteremic patients. Although there appeared to be a correlation between biotype and source of isolation, no single biotype correlated with a specific clinical syndrome in bacteremic patients. The frequency of resistance to antibiotics (ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and kanamycin), which was known to be at least in part plasmid mediated, was determined. Of the 600 isolates, 43 were resistant to at least 1 antibiotic (30 were ampicillin resistant, 11 were tetracycline resistant, 1 was ampicillin-tetracycline resistant and 1 was tetracycline-chloramphenicol resistant). Of these 43 resistant isolates, 42 were biotype I or II. This distribution of biotypes among antibiotic-resistant isolates was significantly different from the overall distribution of biotypes (P < 0.001).

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