Among the five cases, three were children who had not received vaccinations, including a seven-month-old child who died. The other two cases involved a child who had been partially vaccinated while the other got all the vaccination doses but his immune system did not respond well.

 

Haemophilus Influenzae type b is an invasive bacterium that can affect bones and the bloodstream, leading to meningitis, pneumonia and death. Also, children who survive the infection can become deaf of have permanent brain damage.

 

That’s why health official have urged parents to take all the necessary measures in order to get their kids protected against the infection. There are two companies making vaccines against Hib: Merck & Co Inc. and Sanofi Pasteur. For now, only the vaccine of Sanofi is available on the US market, but this should be enough for all children. The CDC has asked doctors to postpone the routine Hib vaccine booster doses typically given at age 12- to 15 months and give children the doses needed at ages 2, 4 and 6 months, until Merck’s vaccines will hit the market again, which is expected to happen later this year.

 

Also, health officials have advised people to report any case of Hib they might encounter. Hopefully, children will get their vaccine doses in the future and there will be no more cases of the infection.