The Importance of Haemophilus Influenzae Type B Vaccine

The continued occurance of preventable childhood diseases emphasizes the necessity of vaccination for all children. Regular medical care includes vaccinations, which are an important part of your child's total health care.

Without protection provided by the Hib conjugate vaccines (Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines), your child could suffer from serious illnesses that could have been prevented.

These vaccines provide protection during the first years of life, when it is easiest for your child to get H influenzae type b infection. When children are fully immunized with the H influenzae type b vaccine, they are protected against the illnesses caused by the H influenzae type b germ.

Haemophilus influenzae type b is a germ (or bacterium) that can cause several kinds of dangerous infections in children. It is very different from the "flu" (influenza virus).

Without timely immunizations, your child faces the risk of becoming very sick with serious diseases such as:

• Meningitis, a serious infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord. Before the vaccine was used, H influenzae type b was the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States. It caused about 12,000 cases of meningitis each year in children younger than 5 years of age–especially in babies 6 to 12 months old. Of those children infected, 1 in 20 died from this disease, and 1 in 4 developed permanent brain damage.
• Epiglottitis, a dangerous throat infection that can cause a child to choke to death if not treated immediately.
• Pneumonia and serious infections in the blood, bones, joints, skin, and the covering of the heart.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics