Haemophilus influenzae biovars in patients with acute and chronic inflammatory lung diseases

In the study of the biological properties of 175 H. influenzae strains isolated from patients with acute and chronic inflammatory lung diseases (ILD) and from donors, a wide spread of biovars I, II and III (according to Kilian) was revealed; these biovars constituted 80% of the cultures under study. In donors, H. influenzae strains were characterized by a wide spectrum of biovars, but biovars I, II and VI constituted more than a half (64.2%) of the strains obtained in the course of these investigations. In acute ILD, only H. influenzae biovars I, II and III were isolated with the prevalence of biovar II (56.4%). In chronic ILD, all H. influenzae biovars were represented, but biovars II and III prevailed (58.7%). The four-fold difference in the occurrence of H. influenzae strains belonging to undetermined biovars was established in donors in comparison with ILD patients (46.7 +/- 9.8% and 12.0 +/- 2.5%; p less than 0.001).