Meningitis and septicaemia in a child caused by non-typable Haemophilus influenzae biotype III.

Since vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) became widespread, other strains of H. influenzae have become more common than Hib as causes of disease in vaccinated children. A four-month-old, appropriately vaccinated infant presented with meningitis and septicaemia caused by H.

Rickettsia serosurvey in Kimberley, Western Australia.

To determine if antibodies to rickettsiae (scrub typhus, spotted fever, and typhus group rickettsiae) occur among persons living in the Kimberley (northern tropical) region of Western Australia, 920 sera collected in a non-random manner in 1996 from patients in Kununurra, Broome, Fitzroy Crossing, Wyndham, Derby, and Halls Creek were tested by micro-immunofluorescence for antibodies to a panel of rickettsial antigens. Of 920 sera examined, 52 (5.6%) were positive for antibodies to one or more of the three groups of rickettsial microorganisms.

New Orientia tsutsugamushi strain from scrub typhus in Australia.

In a recent case of scrub typhus in Australia, Orientia tsutsugamushi isolated from the patient's blood was tested by sequence analysis of the 16S rDNA gene. The sequence showed a strain of O. tsutsugamushi that was quite different from the classic Karp, Kato, and Gilliam strains.