NOTING THE EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS OF HIB VACCINATION

BY DR. ALLEN CHERER

THE IMPORTANCE OF VACCINES

Vaccination serves as one of the best ways to protect infants, children, and adolescents from sixteen potentially harmful, and even deadly, diseases.

Although it is common to think of the vaccines against measles, pertussis, and polio, an astonishingly important vaccine since the end of the 20th century has targeted the bacteria, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).

WHAT IS HIB?

Haemophilus influenzae is a small, pleomorphic, gram negative coccobacillus.   H. influenzae type b most commonly causes pneumonia, bacteremia, meningitis, epiglottitis, and cellulitis.

Non-type b encapsulated forms present in a similar manner to type b infections, while non typable strains more commonly cause infections of the respiratory tract, such as pneumonia, otitis media, sinusitis, and conjunctivitis.

EFFECTS OF HIB

Before effective Hib conjugate vaccines for infants older than 2 months were availablein 1990, Haemophilus influenzae type b was the leading cause of invasive bacterial disease among children in the United States.

One in 200 children developed invasive Hib disease by 5 years of age; approximately 60% of these children had meningitis and 3-6% died from the disease. 

DEVELOPMENTS IN HIB PREVENTION

Since the introduction of Hib conjugate vaccines in the United States, the incidence of invasive Hib disease has decreased a stunning 99% to fewer than 1 case/100,000 children younger than 5 years of age, and in 2012, only 30 cases of invasive type b disease were reported in children under 5 years old.

The risk for invasive Hib disease persists among unimmunized children, highlighting the importance of full vaccination with the 2 or 3 injection series and a single booster dose.

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