Haemophilus influenzae carriers among child care personnel: its prevalence and the efficacy of enoxacin in its elimination Portadores de Haemophilus influenzae en personal de atención infantil: prevalencia y eficacia de enoxacina en la erradicación.

Abstract

In a previous study we observed that 6% of adult and 18% of children contacts of H. influenzae infected patients became carriers of the bacillus. We studied 1296 adults involved in children care, 398 from day care centers and 898 from hospitals in Santiago. A pharyngeal sample was cultured in chocolate agar plus bacitracin (300 mg/ml) and incubated at 37 degrees C in a 5-10% CO2 atmosphere for 18-24 h. Isolates of H influenzae were biotypified and serogrouped according to international recommendations. We observed that 2.4% of subjects were H influenzae carriers. Thirty carriers were treated with 2 doses of enoxacin, 440 mg. All became free of H influenzae at a 30-day follow-up.