Premium
Incidence of Haemophilus influenzae in the throats of healthy infants with different feeding methods
Author(s) -
Hokama TOMIKO,
Sakamoto RYOKO,
Yara ASAO,
Asato YOSHIHIDE,
Takamine FUSAE,
Itokazu KEN
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1046/j.1442-200x.1999.01068.x
Subject(s) - haemophilus influenzae , medicine , incidence (geometry) , breast milk , otitis , throat , microbiology and biotechnology , pasteurellaceae , respiratory tract , breast feeding , pediatrics , respiratory system , surgery , biology , antibiotics , biochemistry , physics , optics
Background : Haemophilus influenzae is the major cause of otitis media and lower respiratory tract infection in childhood. In the presence of human milk, which contains numerous host defense factors, Haemophilus influenzae may be inhibited in attaching to and colonizing pharyngeal cells. We investigated the incidence of H. influenzae in the throats of 162 healthy infants with different feeding methods: 70 breast‐fed, 49 mixed‐fed and 43 formula‐fed infants. Methods and Results : Haemophilus influenzae was identified using standard microbiological procedures and the API NH system. The incidence of H. influenzae 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 the throat was inhibited by the presence of breast milk.