Impressive results after nearly 4 decades of highly effective HIB vaccines and More

Impressive results after nearly 4 decades of highly effective HIB vaccines and More

40 years ago, haemophilus influenza type b, Hib disease was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children under 5 years of age. The introduction of the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine in 1987, followed by its widespread adoption in the early 1990s, led to a nearly complete elimination of invasive Hib disease in the United States. This trend is one of the most successful outcomes of routine childhood immunization. Source Note: This data is compiled based on historical surveillance reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Hib vaccines currently available in the United States for prevention are:  ActHIB, Hiberix, PedvaxHIB, and included in the combination vaccines Vaxelis & Pentacel.

Other meningitis inducing pathogens like s.pneumoniae may also be prevented with vaccines.  Due to the myriad of serotypes and varying degrees of prevalence of these serotypes one expert researcher termed the endeavor to develop these vaccines is a bit like playing a game of Whac A Mole!  Fortunately, there are vaccines available in the United States which are:  Vaxneuvance PCV15, Prevnar20 PCV 20, Capvaxive ( PCV21 ), and Pneumovax which is a polysaccharide vaccine.

Another adversarial infection to the human brain is Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, W & Y….and B, meningococcal disease.  The currently available vaccines in the United States for n. meningitidis infection prevention are: MenQuadfi & Menveo that cover A, C, W, Y serotypes, Trumenba & Bexsero  for serotype B, Penbraya & Penmenby cover all 5 serotypes in a combined dose.  Recommendations for the use of these vaccines may be found in the AAP resources.

Physicians may access vaccine discounts through a fee free membership in PracticeWell.org

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