Twenty one infants out of 145 (14.5%) were colonized by Haemophilus influenzae-h (Sib) among the breast fed group and 14 infants out of 55 (25.5%) were colonized among the artificially fed group with significant relation (P< 0.05). The mean concentration of IgA antibodies to H. influenzae in the mothers breast milk revealed a high significant difference (P< 0.001) between the colonized and non-colonized infants groups (8.4 ± 6.4 mg/di vs. 19.3 ±10.1 mg/d1). Detection of IgA antibodies to ft influenzae in the mothers breast milk of the 21 H. influenzae colonized infants showed that 13 samples (61.9%) had low IgA antibodies concentration while 8 samples (38.1%) had high IgA antibodies concentration. At the same time, II out of 13 (84.6%) H. influenzae isolates, isolated from infants with low IgA antibodies concentration in their mothers milk, were positive IgA- protease production. At the same time, all the eight H. influenzae isolates, isolated from infants with high IgA antibodies concentration in their mothers milk, were positive IgA protease production. So, a significant proportion (P< 0.05) of H. influenzae isolates, 19 out of 21 (90.5%), were positive IgA-protease production. |
