Haemophilus influenzae
Haemophilus infection refers to the group of infectious diseases caused by bacteria and occurring only in humans. This infection is widespread throughout the world, it is found in the nasal secretions of more than 90% of healthy people from the general population of the population.
What are the causes?
The infectious agent of Haemophilus infection is the specific Haemophilus bacterium, which has the ability to spread from the upper respiratory tract, where it normally resides, to the chest, throat or middle ear.
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A characteristic sign of this infection is acute inflammation with exudate /inflammatory effusion/. In this case, it is possible to affect any of the organs of the human body, but the respiratory tract is most often involved in the infection. Microorganisms can be transmitted from person to person or through contact with their nasal secretions and other body fluids.
Most often cases of hemophilus infection are registered at the end of winter or in early spring.
The main factor influencing the probability of infection is age – children aged 6 months to 4 years are most vulnerable. Haemophilus infection is the leading cause of meningitis in children and the second most common cause of pneumonia. In developing countries, 500 thousand deaths from this disease among children up to 5 years of age are registered annually.
What are the symptoms?
Haemophilus bacteria can cause specific meningitis, infectious arthritis, conjunctivitis, cellulitis / skin inflammatory disease unrelated to the so-called. “orange skin”/, epiglottitis.
Bacterial sepsis caused by the Haemophilus bacterium is a potentially fatal disease in newborns.
The child can become infected when passing through the birth canal of its mother or when the infectious microorganism falls from the environment. This infection is often the cause of the development of an inflammatory process in the eyes /conjunctivitis/ in newborns.
Symptoms of progressive sepsis may include febrile reaction, restlessness, feeding problems, impaired breathing, pale or hyperemic skin, drowsiness. Premature birth is the most significant risk factor for the development of hemophilus infection in newborns. A potentially lethal manifestation of Haemophilus infection is epiglottitis.
Although children are most prone to developing inflammation of the epiglottis, it can also occur in adults. When the epiglottis, the flap that closes the trachea when swallowing, becomes infected and inflamed, it can swell to the point of blocking the airway.
Symptoms of epiglottitis consist of a sudden rise in body temperature, copious salivation, a feeling of a lump in the throat and stridor – loud and very noisy breathing. If the doctor examines the patient’s throat with a laryngoscope, significant swelling and redness of the epiglottis is noted.
For children aged 9 months to 4 years, the greatest danger is the hemophilic bacteria affecting the meninges /hemophilic meningitis/.
Along with the involvement of the upper respiratory tract, the body temperature rises, the appetite decreases, vomiting, headache are also added, the patient feels pain in the neck or spine. If treatment is not started in a timely manner, children develop convulsions, it is possible to fall into shock or coma.
Treatment of Haemophilus influenzae
Because Haemophilus infection is potentially fatal, treatment should be started immediately without waiting for laboratory test results.
The disease is treated with antibiotics. In severe cases, ampicillin or a 3rd generation cephalosporin such as cefotaxime or ceftriaxone are administered as intravenous infusions.
