In this study, 150 eye swabs were collected from patients suffering from conjunctivitis of both sexes admitted to Ophthalmic Unit of Hilla Teaching Hospital during the period from July to December 2020 in Hilla Province, Iraq. These eye swabs were subjected to bacterial culturing, biochemical tests, and Satellitism test using Hemin (factor X) and NAD (factor V) for isolation and identification of Haemophilus influenzae. The results showed that 38 (25.3%) out of 150 eye swabs were approved as H. influenzae strains and only 26 isolates (68.4%) were positive by using the Satellitism test. These isolates were subjected to PCR technique using omp6 gene primer for confirming isolation of H. influenzae. The results revealed that only 24 (92.3%) out of 26 isolates were positive. Additionally, the PCR technique succeeded in separating these (24) isolates of H. influenzae into typeable and nontypeable based on the presence or absence of a capsule by using bexA and bexB genes primers. The results found that all 24 (100%) isolates did not contain bexA and bexB genes and are nonencapsulated (nontypeable) isolates.
Key words: Conjunctivitis, Haemophilus influenzae, PCR techniques, omp6 gene
|
