Cases of Hib disease reach record low
28.02.11
Cases of Hib disease have reached the lowest recorded level thanks to vaccination.
Hib can cause a range of serious illness, most frequently meningitis.
Until the introduction of the Hib conjugate vaccine, this was the main form of meningitis in young children in the UK and Ireland.
There was a rapid and marked reduction in Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease when the Hib
conjugate vaccine was first introduced in 1992.
A booster campaign was instigated in 2003, when an additional dose was therefore offered to all children aged six months to four years of age.
In 2010, the total number of cases in England and Wales was 145 and there have been no reported deaths from Hib disease in a child under five years since 2007.
Fewer cases in both infants under one year and young children aged one to four years were recorded in 2010 than any year since Hib vaccine was introduced.
Hib cases in those aged 15 years and over were also at their lowest levels since 1998, with 23 cases confirmed in 2010.
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