Incidence of Haemophilus influenzae in the throats of healthy infants withdifferent feeding methods

Background: Haemophilus influenzae is the major cause of otitis media and l ower respiratory tract infection in childhood. In the presence of human mil k, which contains numerous host defense factors, Haemophilus influenzae may be inhibited in attaching to and colonizing pharyngeal cells. We investiga ted the incidence of H. influenzae in the throats of 162 healthy infants wi th different feeding methods: 70 breast-fed, 49 mixed-fed and 43 formula-fe d infants. Methods and Results: Haemophilus influenzae was identified using standard m icrobiological procedures and the API NH system. The incidence of H. influe nzae in breast-fed infants, mixed-fed infants and formula-fed infants was 0 , 0 and 7.0% respectively. Conclusion: The results suggest that the colonization of H. influenzae in t he throat was inhibited by the presence of breast milk.