Rohani MY1, Raudzah A1, Norazah A1, Zaidatul AAR2, Ng AJ3 Ng PP4, Murtaza M5, Asma I6, M. Yasim MY7, Cheong YM1
1. lnstitute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur
2. Kuala Lumpur Hospital Kuala Lumpur
3. Pulau Pinang Hospital, Pulau Pinang
4. Kota Baru Hospital, Kelantan
5. Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
6. Sultanah Aminah Hospital Johor Baru, Johor
7. University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur
CITATION: Rohani MY, Raudzah A, Norazah A, Zaidatul AAR, Ng AJ, Ng PP, et al. Epidemiology of Haemophilus influenzae infections in Malaysian hospitals. International Medical Research Journal. 1997 Dec;1(2):111–5.
Haemophilus influenza is a leading cause of meningitis in children and frequently associated with otitis media, sinusitis, pneumonia and septicaemia. This study in 7 centres in Malaysia showed that H. influenzae infections was seen in all age groups with the peak incidence occurring in children less than 10 years of age. Invasive diseases occurred in 92.9% of this age group of which 54.3% were infants. All H. influenzae recovered from meningitis occurred in infants between 4-11 months old. Out of 354 H. influenzae strains, 78(22.0%) belonged to serotype b of which 12(15.4%) were strains isolated from invasive infections. Resistance to ampicillin and chloramphenicol was noted in 13.5% and 2.6% of the isolates respectively. In view of high morbidity and mortality related to the disease, together with emergence of resistance strains, the available capsular polysaccharide protein-conjugate vaccine may have a useful role in our population.
KEYWORDS: Haemophilus influenza b, meningitis, childhood infection
