Hib Meningitis and the Hib Vaccine

Hib Meningitis and the Hib Vaccine
Meningitis is an infection of the membrane which covers the
brain and the spinal cord, and can be caused by infection
with bacteria and viruses. There are several types of
meningitis of which Hib meningitis is one, and I will
discuss each of them in successive articles, published at
approximately two weekly intervals.

Hib meningitis the form of meningitis caused by the
haemophilus influenzae type B bacterium. This form of
meningitis is particularly dangerous to children, and was
the form which caused most deaths to under fives from
meningitis, particularly those between the ages of 3 to 36
months. Due to the Hib vaccine it is now very rare in
developed countries, though has not yet been eradicated.
The vaccine is very effective and Hib meningitis is no
longer a significant risk in those countries that have
included the vaccination as part of its childhood
vaccination program.

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Hib Has No Rash

Unlike other forms of meningitis, the Hib bacterium does
not cause a rash, but it does display the other symptoms
associated with meningitis such as high temperature, sore
throat and headache, sensitivity to light and several other
symptoms, some of which are evident only to the mother.
These, and other symptoms, are discussed in more detail on
my website and blog. Due to modern medicine, 95% of cases
with Hib meningitis recover, though up to 12% of these are
left with long term problems such as deafness, brain damage
and epilepsy.

The bacteria live for a short while in the throat and the
back of the nose, and are transmitted by contact with
aerosol emissions from the throat, such as coughing or
sneezing, and other contact with throat fluids. They
cannot live outside the body and are not associated with
animals other than humans. Hib carriers do not necessarily
become ill; in fact the majority do not, so it is not
sufficient to stay away from known infections as with most
other childhood diseases. It was quite common for the
bacteria to be carried by healthy children, though this is
now rare due to the almost universal adoption of the Hib
vaccine in the developed world.

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The Hib Vaccine Was Difficult To Develop

So, how about the vaccine? The Hib vaccine is what is
known as a conjugate vaccine, which means that it is made
by combining a small part of the bacteria with a protein.
Initial attempts to produce a vaccine were foiled by the
physiology of the bacterium. The part which was required
to stimulate the human immune system to produce antibodies
is a sugar on the surface which is not easily taken up in
the body, and after much experimentation with mice a way
was found to couple this sugar with a protein which enabled
it to be easily absorbed by the human body.

The vaccine is very effective and very safe, and since its
initial testing in the mid 1990s and introduction into
national vaccination programs, the incidence of Hib
meningitis has decreased dramatically by around 90% saving
the lives of countless young children. It is now part of
the vaccination schedule of most developed countries,
though there is a significant difference between those of
the USA and the UK which is worthy of investigation.

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Why Do American Children Fece The Needle More Often?

Full details of the American and British childhood
vaccination programs are provided on my childhood diseases
website, though these differences should be discussed.
American children who are afraid of needles are at a
decided disadvantage compared to their British counterparts.

By the time an American child reaches the age of two years
old, he or she will have been subjected to up to twenty
different vaccinations. A child can receive up to five
shots during one visit to a doctor, and this is due to the
American practice of dispensing one shot per vaccine.

In the UK, however, the same child will have had only ten
shots due to the British practice of using multiple
vaccines per vaccination. There has never been any
indication that a multiple vaccination has done harm to any
child. OK, there was the MMR scare regarding autism, but
this was bit of nonsense based on financial interests which
has since been proved to be without foundation. After all,
if the measles part of the combined vaccine against
measles, mumps and rubella caused autism, the same would be
true of the individual measles vaccine.

So why does the USA administer only individual vaccines?
My only conclusion can be money. In the USA the
vaccination industry is big money to the pharmaceutical
companies and they are dealing with individual hospitals
and doctors. In the UK, on the other hand, the National
Health Service is a free service to UK nationals and most
visitors, so the government is looking for minimum cost.
The UK system requires vaccinations to be as cost effective
as possible, while this is not the case in the USA. Is the
British system less effective: statistics say not.

This is my conclusion, and I have no evidence other than
simple deduction to lead me to it. Naturally, if there are
other reasons, my email address is on my website. You can
make your own deductions, but in the final analysis, the
Hib vaccine works and has saved many lives.

The other main difference is that the manufacturer of the
vaccine is an important factor in the USA whether a child
gets the 6 monthly vaccination or not. British children
are vaccinated at 2, 3 and 4 months with a booster shortly
after the first birthday. The USA vaccinates against Hib C
meningitis at 2, 4 and 6 months. However, in America,
three conjugate vaccines are licensed for use with infants,
and if PRP-OMP (PedvaxHIB® or ComVax® [Merck]) are used the
6 monthly vaccination is not required.

Irrespective of international variations in the ages that
it is administered, The Hib vaccine has without a doubt
literally decimated the incidence of Hib meningitis in
those countries that have routinely adopted the Hib
conjugate vaccine.

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Meningococcal Meningitis ? Who Is Right?

The next article in this series on meningitis will have a
look at meningococcal meningitis, and again point out the
difference between the British and American vaccination
schedule with respect to Men C. There are significant
differences in the proportion of the relevant populations
vaccinated, and the reasons for this will be investigated
and compared to what happens in the rest of the world.

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Peter Nisbet is an industrial chemist who?s website
http://www.childhood-diseases-online.com took life after
his son contracted meningitis and encephalitis shortly
after receiving a measles vaccination which left him with
permanent side effects. He felt so helpless that he learned
as much as he could about children?s health problems so
that he would be of more use to his children in the event
of illness.