Viability and growth of clinical isolates of Haemophilus influenzae.

Studies were done on clinical isolates of Haemophilus influenzae to investigate viability and determine the effects of disc-agar diffusion (DAD) medium modification on antimicrobial susceptibility results. Most isolates were viable for two days in distilled water, up to a week on chocolate agar and months when frozen in skim milk at -70 degrees C. Differences in viability were not related to biotype, serotype, beta-lactamase production or site of isolation of isolates. Several medium modifications resulted in better growth of isolates for antimicrobial susceptibility testing by DAD, but the zone sizes of inhibition differed from those of the recommended medium.