Carriage rate of Haemophilus influenzae among preschool children in Turkey

This study was designed to determine the prevalence of healthy Haemophilus influenzae carriers in a random sample of the preschool population in Kayseri, Turkey. The lack of H. influenzae type b (Hib) disease surveillance and epidemiological data on the throat carriage of Turkish children has caused a delay in the introduction of conjugated Hib vaccination into proposed national vaccination programs. Oropharyngeal cultures were collected and cultured on chocolate agar supplemented with 260 microg/ml bacitracin from 683 children between May and June, 2006. One hundred seven (15,6%) of the 683 children studied were found to be as H. influenzae carriers, and 29 (4,2%) isolates were serotype b. Beta-lactamase production was detected in four isolates (3.7%). According to multivariate analysis, the sex of the child and the number of people sharing the same room with the child significantly influenced the odds of carrying H. influenzae. Age, having older siblings, passive smoking, respiratory infection during the last 30 days, number of people in the household, attending kindergarten or a day-care center, and household income were not significant variables. Our results suggest that there is a strong relationship between exposure to large numbers of children and H. influenzae carriage.