Invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease in India: a preliminary report of prospective multihospital surveillance

Abstract
Objective. To determine the frequency, clinical characteristics and outcome of acute invasive infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae. Design. Prospective hospital-based surveillance. Setting. Six large academic referral hospitals in India. Participants. Three thousand four hundred fortyone patients from infancy to adulthood with pneumonia, meningitis or suspected bacterial sepsis. Results. Preliminary data from 24 months of surveillance are presented. There were 58 H. influenzae isolates, of which 96% were serotype b. Nearly all isolates were from infants and children H. influenzae infections in India. The distribution of clinical syndromes and the ages of our Hib patients are fairly similar to data from North America and Europe.