Understanding the Biology of Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Through the Lens of Genomics

The genus Haemophilus contains a number of species of medical importance. In particular, Haemophilus influenzae causes a range of invasive diseases including meningitis, septicaemia, epiglottis, cellulitis and arthritis, as well as non-invasive infections that can present as sinusitis, otitis media, chronic bronchitis and pneumonia. Conventional laboratory biotyping and genotyping lack the resolution required to distinguish between isolates of across these different clinical phenotypes. However, advancements in whole-genome sequencing have made it possible to detect subtle differences in the bacterium’s genome content. In this chapter, we explore the potential that genomics and bioinformatics offer to the management of H. influenzae infection. In particular, we discuss specific examples of their application in the study of COPD-related infections caused by non-typeable strains of H. influenzae.