CHARACTERIZATION OF INVASIVE HAEMOPHILUS-INFLUENZAE ISOLATED IN NAGPUR CENTRAL INDIA

A total of 14 invasive H. influenzae were isolated from 12 patients by culturing 621 samples of body fluids over a span of one year. Twelve non-replicate isolates were analyzed for their drug susceptibility and serotype distribution. Eight (66.7%) isolates were multiply drug resi stant with resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol and cotrimoxazole in different combinations. All Isolates were susceptible to cefotaxim e and erythromycin. Serotype b accounted for 10 (83.3%) isolates while one each were type a and non-typeable respectively. A continuous surv eillance of drug susceptibility and serotype distribution is important to determine changes in the behaviour of the organism over time.