Antibiotic resistance inHaemophilus influenzae: mechanisms, clinical importance and consequences for therapy

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Abstract
Invasive and non-invasive infections caused byHaemophilus influenzae are frequently diagnosed in children below the age of 5 years. The treatment of choice for these infections was ampicillin. However, since the early 1970s the increasing prevalence of resistance to ampicillin and other antibiotics has necessitated major changes in antibiotic therapy. This article summarizes some of the important clinical features of diseases caused byH. influenzae. The epidemiology, the problems with in vitro susceptibility testing and the mechanisms of resistance to major antibiotics are reviewed. The consequences of antibiotic resistance for the treatment of diseases caused byH. influenzae are discussed.