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Noncapsulated Variants Typable by Immunofluorescence

B. Wesley Catlin, PhD

Am J Dis Child. 1970;120(3):203-210.

Abstract
Cerebrospinal fluid from a child with meningitis was found by immunofluorescence microscopy and by culture to contain a heterogeneous population of Haemophilus influenzae. Most of the bacteria possessed type b capsules and formed iridescent colonies. However, a few lacked typical capsules, and produced noniridescent rough colonies; although nontypable by the capsular swelling reaction, these bacteria synthesized type b antigen which appeared as discrete embossments. Embossed variants arose spontaneously in 23 of 25 other freshly isolated strains of H influenzae type b also. Transformation tests showed that a transmissible change of the bacterial DNA had occurred. The frequency of this genetic variation suggests that some "nontypable" H Influenzae found by other investigators in pediatric specimens may prove to be typable by immunofluorescence.

Author Affiliations
Milwaukee

From the Department of Microbiology, Marquette School of Medicine, Milwaukee.

Footnotes
Received for publication Dec 31, 1969.

Reprint requests to Department of Microbiology, Marquette School of Medicine, 561 N 15th St, Milwaukee 53233 (Dr. Catlin).

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