title: Why we need a vaccine for non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae.
abstract: Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is increasingly recognized as emerging pathogen. The routine immunization of infants with conjugated vaccines against H. influenzae type b (Hib) has greatly reduced the incidence of invasive Hib disease; however a marked change in the predominant invasive serotype from Hib to NTHi has occurred. Localized infections where the role of H. influenzae is important, such as otitis media in children and acute exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adults, are almost exclusively associated with NTHi isolates. The implementation of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines has resulted in changes in frequency of nasopharynx colonizing pathogens with an increase of NTHi, although this data is yet under debate. An effective vaccine against NTHi is not currently available. The major challenge in developing a successful vaccine is the intrinsic heterogeneity of NTHi. H. influenzae protein D is used as carrier protein in the licensed 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Synflorix, GlaxoSmithKline), but no robust evidences for protective efficacy against NTHi otitis have been until now obtained. Several other vaccine candidates are under investigations and we hope that significant advancements in vaccine development will be achieved in the next future. Genome-based vaccine strategy might provide an additional useful tool for discovering further vaccine antigens.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious , Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases , Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerquetti
authors.affiliation: a Department of Infectious , Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases , Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giufrè
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018073:Haemophilus Vaccines / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D018073:Haemophilus Vaccines
keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; invasive disease; nasopharyngeal carriage; nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae; oropharyngeal carriage; otitis media; respiratory tract infections; vaccine against nontypeable H. influenzae