Global coverage of infant Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccination has increased considerably during the past decade, partly due to GAVI Alliance donations of the vaccine to low-income countries. In settings where large numbers of children receive only one or two vaccine doses rather than the recommended three doses, dose-specific efficacy estimates are needed to predict impact. The obje...

Asplenic patients are at increased risk for life-threatening infections with polysaccharide-encapsulated organisms, and reports of responses to polysaccharide vaccines have been conflicting. Thirty-six asplenic patients and 15 healthy controls were immunized with pneumococcal, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and meningococcal vaccines. Antibody concentrations to Hib and pneumococcal seroty...

Antibodies having light (L) chains encoded by the kappaII-A2 variable region gene segment predominate in the human response to the Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide (Hib PS). To determine whether the closely related homologue of the A2 gene, the kappaII-A18 gene, has the potential to contribute to the repertoire, we examined Hib PS binding to a series of recombinant Fab fragments hav...

BACKGROUND The incidence of invasive Haemophilus influenzae infection decreased dramatically since the introduction of the H. influenzae serotype b (Hib) conjugate vaccine. H. influenzae invasive disease continues to occur and cause significant morbidity and mortality in children aged <5 years. We aimed to report the epidemiology and serotypes of invasive H. influenzae disease in children from ...

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 ...

In many countries Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is the second most common cause of septic arthritis in children. In Finland large-scale immunisation against Hib using conjugate vaccines began in 1986, four years after a multicentre prospective study of orthopaedic infections in children had started. Since 1982, including six years before and ten after starting routine Hib vaccination, the...

Anti-Haemophilus influenzae b polysaccharide (Hib PS) antibodies elicited in elderly subjects following conjugate vaccination expressed a light-chain variable-region (VL)-associated idiotype and had functional activities similar to those previously observed in children and younger adults. These findings indicate that advanced age is not accompanied by shifts in the major VL component of the Hib...

In the March 2001 issue of the Ceylon Medical Journal (Vol. 46 No.l), an advertisement titled "Preven­ tion is better than cure" inserted by New Delmon Hospital has misleading information. It says "Influenza vaccine 3,5 and 7 months'. Presumably it refers to the Haemophilus influenzae type B (or Hib) vaccine, which is totally different to the influenza vaccine, which is also available in Sri La...

An essential role for zinc in development of the fetal immune system has been documented. However, the effect of antenatal zinc supplementation on infants' postnatal immune response to vaccinations is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of zinc supplementation during pregnancy on immune response to the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine and the Haemophilus influe...

BACKGROUND The bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) are leading causes of childhood pneumonia and meningitis and are major contributors to worldwide mortality in children younger than 5 years of age. Asymptomatic nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococcus and Hib was determined for healthy children in Shanghai in 2009. METHODS Children from 5 i...