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Potential significance of colonization with beta-lactamase-producingHaemophilus parainfluenzae in children

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Abstract

Recent surveys in Vancouver showed most healthy children were colonized withβ-lactamaseproducingHaemophilus parainfluenzae. Such organisms might alter the effects of penicillins on throat bacteria by local inactivation. To test this hypothesis in vitro, three isolates ofβ-lactamaseproducingHaemophilus parainfluenzae were each mixed on a membrane with ampicillin-sensitive strains ofHaemophilus influenzae type b or group AStreptococcus pyogenes and exposed to ampicillin. When tested alone, susceptible strains were rapidly killed but when tested together with aβ-lactamase producer, they were protected, indicating efficient ampicillin degradation byHaemophilus parainfluenzae strains. If similar interactions occur in vivo, the effects ofβ-lactams on throat bacteria could be significantly altered in the presence ofβ-lactamase-producingHaemophilus parainfluenzae.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases and Department of Pediatrics, B.C.'s Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, 4480 Oak St., V6H 3V4, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    D. W. Scheifele & S. J. Fussell

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  1. D. W. Scheifele
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  2. S. J. Fussell
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Scheifele, D.W., Fussell, S.J. Potential significance of colonization with beta-lactamase-producingHaemophilus parainfluenzae in children. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. 2, 196–199 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02029515

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