Epidemics and pandemics are very hard to keep under control or be successfully quarantined. A quick-spreading deadly disease is the worst nightmare for both state authorities and doctors. The solution to keep these events from taking place and reaching massive proportions is, obviously, an effective preventive action. In some cases, it involves simple awareness campaigns, while in other cases vaccinations are the answer to keep the populations safe.

Recently, it has been feared that the insidious Haemophilus influenzae type B, which affects children, might reach the proportions of a full-fledged epidemic if measures aren’t taken immediately. So far, there has been a serious shortage of vaccines that fight against the Haemophilus influenzae type B, also known as Hib. The Hib is a bacterium, which is different from the more common influenza virus. The Hib is much more dangerous and can spread faster than influenza. On some rare occasion, the Hib has been known to lead to death, which basically makes it a life-threatening epidemic if not kept under close scrutiny. The way it can cause death is by plaguing the brain’s lining, the bloodstream and even the lungs. Infections of this sort with Hib can lead to such afflictions as meningitis, sepsis or pneumonia. These can in turn lead to brain damage or ultimately, death.

The bacterium has a few serotypes, but the most common and also the one that can cause bacterial meningitis in children is type B. Consequently, children are vaccinated for type B. Unfortunately, 40% of the cases reported so far did not mention the serotype, which is worrying because then doctors do not know whether you have a less dangerous serotype or type B. The shortage was caused by Merck, who called back a million doses after it transpired that they may be contaminated. The vaccines were said to be available at the middle of 2009.