Hib Disease

Hib diseases are severe conditions caused by a bacterium which can infect the covering of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), the lungs (pneumonia), the joints and skin (septic arthritis and cellulits) and throat (epiglottitis). In South Africa, 1 in 250 children are infected with Hib before their fifth birthday - the majority of cases in babies under 1 year of age.
Hib infections are often serious and most require treatment in hospital (usually in an intensive care unit) and i.v. antibiotics. Hib may have lasting effects (such as mental retardation or paralysis) and is fatal in 1 in 11 cases. Hib meningitis is even more deadly, with 40% of sufferers dying (i.e. between 1 in 2 and 1 in 3 cases!). Act-Hib® is a vaccine which will protect against Hib disease.

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