[Haemophilus influenzae b: a review on the determinants of pathogenicity and immune response to the infection].

Haemophilus influenzae is still one of the main causes of diverse invasive diseases in children in México. Epidemiologic data indicate that these processes affect primarily the central nervous system and the respiratory tract. Several factors are involved in the expression of infectious disease by this organism, among them the pathogenic determinants of the parasite and those related with resistance in the host. Occurrence of disease is usually the result of the interaction between these determinants. Knowledge of these pathogenic determinants of the parasite and of factors involved in the immune response of the host have allowed an understanding of the infectious process and have directed research in a least three areas: 1) identification of bacterial membrane fractions related with diagnosis of the disease, 2) screening for immunogenic components in the bacterias as vaccine candidates to be used in the prevention of the disease and, 3) the planning of appropriate alternatives for specific antimicrobial therapy.