RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Nasopharyngeal colonization of Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae) in young children may be important in developing countries. METHOD: In this study, we screened school going children for carriage of H. influenzae. A total of 44 H. influenzae isolates out of a collection of 162 were characterized for biotypes, capsular serotypes and antibiotic resistance. RESULTS: A significant proportion of H. influenzae (25/44) isolates were serotype b. High antibiotic resistance was observed against commonly administered antibiotics like ampicillin (79%), chloramphenicol (20%), trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (84%) and erythromycin (95%). Comparison of antibiotic resistance profile of nasopharyngeal isolates was observed to be correlated with those of H. influenzae from disease. CONCLUSION: Multidrug resistant nasopharyngeal H. influenzae in young healthy children may act as reservoir. Monitoring of antibiotic resistance among nasopharyngeal H. influenzae as a surrogate for invasive H. influenzae seems an attractive option.