Haemophilus influenzae type b, a major cause of serious infections in infants and young children, may colonize the nasopharynges of healthy, asymptomatic carriers as well as patients with invasive H influenzae type b disease. Person to person spread of this organism is suspected to be by infected respiratory tract secretions. Recently, clusters of epidemiologically related cases have been recognized among young household and day-care contacts of children with H influenzae type b disease,1 demonstrating the contagious potential of H influenzae type b infections.
Serious nosocomial infections with H influenzae type b have been described in pediatric patients in acute and chronic care hospitals.2-4