December 15, 2003
Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) is a bacterium that causes serious disease in young children throughout the world.
by Deborah Burnard, RN, Immunization Program Case Manager Answer True or False:
- Hib causes one-third to one-half of all cases of bacterial meningitis in infants and children less than five years old.
Answer: True.
It also is responsible for up to one out of four cases of severe pneumonia in young children. Hib can also cause infections of the blood, joints, bones throat, soft tissues and the covering of the heart.
- Hib bacteria live in the nose and throat area.
Answer: True
Like measles, Hib bacteria are passed from child to child in droplets of saliva when an infected child coughs or sneezes. Hib is also spread when children share toys and other objects that they have put in their mouths.
- Children often carry the Hib bacteria without showing any signs or symptoms.
Answer: True
A child can have Hib bacteria in their bodies and not be sick, but they can still infect other children.
- Haemophilus influenzae type B does not cause the flu.
Answer: </ b>True
Although it sounds almost the same as "influenza," Hib does not cause influenza (the "flu") or the common cold.
- Hib is not the same as HIV. Answer: True
Hib is not the same as HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. A child cannot get HIV or AIDS from having the Hib vaccine.
- There are many types of Haemophilus influenzae.
Answer: True
There are actually six types of Haemophilus influenzae (A, B, C, D, E, and F), but Haemophilus influenzae type B bacteria account for over 90 percent of serious Haemophilus influenzae infections in children. The only vaccine currently available against Haemophilus influenzae is for type B, or Hib.
- Hib disease is most common in children under five years old.
Answer: True
Children between the ages of four months and 12 months of age are most at risk. It is important to immunize children and prevent disease very early in life. Hib disease usually does not affect adults.
- At birth, antibodies from the mother sufficiently protect most infants against Hib.
Answer: True
But when the child reaches two or three months of age, the level of antibodies from the mother falls, and the risk of Hib infections increase.
- By age five, children usually develop their own immunity against Hib.
Answer: True
Hib disease is rare after age five, and the vaccine is not given to older children and adults.
- Can disease caused by Hib be treated?
Answer: True and False
Treatment for Hib disease if not always effective because some strains of Hib may be resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem and is increasing every day. Hib immunization is more effective and less costly than treatment for the disease.
- The Hib vaccine is highly effective.
Answer: True !
The World Health Organization estimates that 450,000 unvaccinated children die each year of Hib disease. Before we started vaccinating in the Y-K Delta, there were 80 cases of Hib meningitis a year, some resulting in death. Since we started vaccinating children with the Hib vaccine, we have had only one case of Hib meningitis in 2 years. Full Hib immunization (three doses of vaccine) reduces the risk of Hib disease in young children by more then 90 percent.
Please call your village health clinic and make an appointment to get any immunizations your child needs... In Bethel, you can make an appointment by calling 543-6442.
For questions and/or concerns, or if you have a hard time making an appointment at the clinic, please call the Immunization Program at (907) 543-6437 or (800) 478- 4471. Back to Messenger 12-03 Contents