Prevalence of Haemophilus influenzae carriers in the Catalan preschool population

This study was designed to determine the prevalence of healthy Haemophilus influenzae carriers in a random sample of the preschool population in Catal onia, Oropharyngeal swabs were collected and cultured on chocolate agar sup plemented with 260 mu g/ml of bacitracin, Four hundred two of the 734 (54.8 %) children studied were detected as Haemophilus influenzae carriers: 7 (0. 9%) carried serotype b, 14 (1.9%) serotype e, 6 (0.8%) serotype f, and 375 (51%) carried nontypable strains. The results show that, although the preva lence of Haemophilus influenzae carriers is similar to figures reported fro m other countries, the prevalence of Haemophilus influenzae serotype b carr iers is lower and corresponds with the low incidence of invasive disease ob served in the Catalan community.