Rapid identification of nontypeable and serotype b Haemophilus influenzae from nasopharyngeal secretions by the multiplex PCR

SummaryObjectiveHeamophilus influenzae (H. influenzae) is an important pathogen responsible for both invasive and non-invasive infectious diseases. While encapsulated type b strain recognized as a major cause of severe invasive diseases, nontypeable strains are the major causes of non-invasive infectious diseases. Detection of this pathogen from nasopharyngeal secretions (NPS) is important.MethodsWe developed a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for rapid identification of nontypeable and serotype b H. influenzae from nasopharyngeal secretions.ResultsA total 25 nasopharyngeal secretions were evaluated in this study. The multiplex PCR provided rapid and unequivocal results for determining either nontypeable or encapsulated typeable especially type b strains including a determination of β-lactamase productions.ConclusionThe multiplex PCR based serotyping provided more reliable results than slide agglutination test (SAT) and is a valuable and expeditious method for identification of H. influenzae with determining capsular serotypes.