The routine use of haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines has virtually eliminated Hib meningitis and other invasive Hib diseases in industrial countries [1]. The cost of the vaccine is considerable. In the United States of America the cost is approximately $5.60 per dose (1998 price: source, National Immunisation Program CDC) [1]. It has been suggested in Nature Medicine [2] that if deve...

OBJECTIVE The DTPw-HB/Hib pentavalent combination vaccine has been developed following recommendations of the World Health Organization for the introduction of hepatitis B (HB) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines into routine childhood vaccination programs. The objectives of this study were to: 1) analyze the immunogenicity and the reactogenicity of the DTPw-HB/Hib pentavalent comb...

A hierarchical Bayesian regression model is tted to longitudinal data on Haemophilus innuenzae type b (Hib) serum antibodies. To estimate the decline rate of the antibody concentration, the model accommodates the possibility of unobserved subclinical infections with Hib bacteria that cause uprising concentrations during the study period. The computations rely on Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) ...

Estimates of the burden of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in children in Pakistan are limited. A prospective surveillance was set up in 8 sentinel sites in Karachi and Hyderabad in January 2004. A total of 1481 children aged < 5 years underwent lumbar puncture for suspected acute bacterial meningitis. Specimens from 237 (16.0%) children met the criteria for probable bacterial meningitis, a...

Background: A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with primers from “hpd” gene was compared with culture for the detection of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in CSF samples from children suspected of meningitis. Methods: 300 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from suspected meningitis cases were studied by culture (Leventhal & Chocolate Agar) and PCR. Results: The latter method could detec...

In the past 30 years, great strides have been made in immunizing infants and children routinely in developing countries under the Expanded Programme on Immunization. Despite this, the introduction of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines has progressed rather slowly compared to previously-introduced vaccines for infant immunizations. This slower uptake has been attributed partly to the n...

BACKGROUND Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Meningococcal group C (MenC) conjugate vaccines, which protect against otitis media, bacteremia and invasive diseases, including pneumonia and meningitis, are attractive candidates for combination, since they are both administered to infants and children. A Hib-MenC combination booster at 12 mo has recently been introduced in the U.K. OBJECTI...

Thirty-eight clinical isolates of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae were tested for the presence of hemagglutinating pili similar to those of H. influenzae type b (Hib) that mediate buccal epithelial cell adherence. Four endogenously hemagglutinating (HA+) strains were identified, and eight additional HA+ variants were obtained from HA- strains by erythrocyte enrichment. All 12 HA+ nontypeable...

To investigate Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infection in Vietnamese children under the age of 5 years, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with meningitis were screened for Hib, and isolates were subjected to evaluation of susceptibility to 12 antibiotics, biotyping, and genotyping with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The major biotype was type II (68.3%), followed b...

The objective of the study was to evaluate the economic consequences of a general childhood vaccination programme against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in Sweden. A retrospective pre-vaccination annual cohort of 0-4-y-old children was compared with an annual cohort of the same age group after a complete implemented vaccination program against Hib. The cost analysis shows that vaccination ...