HINTVAC

The nasopharynx is the natural habitat for a range of commensal bacteria and a set of major human pathogens causing significant global disease burden in particular among infants and the elderly. One of the most prominent pathogens frequently residing in the nasopharynx is Haemophilus influenzae (Hi). Colonisation with this pathogenic bacterium can frequently progress to multiple different modes of infection, the most common of which is acute otitis media (AOM), representing one of the most common reasons for antibiotics being prescribed to children. This pathogen also causes both invasive and life-threatening conditions such as meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis. After licensing of the polysaccharide-protein conjugate Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine in the 1990s, the adoption of the vaccine into national vaccination programs worldwide has led to significant reduction of Hib colonization and disease manifestations (meningitis and pneumonia). However, some transient trends of an increase in serious Hib infections have been observed even in developed countries such as UK, indicating that better epidemiological knowledge is still needed. More importantly, as the vaccine has no protective effect against non-typeable (NT) Hi, it has not reduced incidence of AOM, which NT Hi is the most common cause of. To study the Hi population genomics we will sequence appr. 4,700 infant isolates of Hi collected by Prof. Paul Turner at Maela refugee camp, Thailand.