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Haemophilus influenzae Prophylaxis Blog

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Study: No Significant Rise in Seizure Risk From Common Kids' Vaccine

Posted 21 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Feb. 21 – Children who receive a combination vaccine known as DTaP-IPV-Hib have no significant increased risk of febrile seizure, a convulsion triggered by a fever, during the week after vaccination, researchers in Denmark report. The vaccine protects children from five life-threatening illnesses: diptheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b, a bacterium that causes meningitis. The study also found no association between febrile seizures and developing epilepsy, a seizure disorder. "These data indicate there is no significant risk associated with the combined DTaP-IPV-Hib vaccine," said Dr. Gary Freed, director of the child health evaluation and research unit at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who was not involved with the study. "There is no increased risk of epilepsy, and the risk of febrile seizures in the seven days following ... Read more

Vaccine Against Bacterial Meningitis Shows Promise

Posted 18 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18 – A new vaccine to protect against meningococcus B, a common cause of bacterial meningitis, shows promise in clinical trials, researchers in Chile report. Vaccines that protect from four other strains of Neisseria meningitides, a bacteria that causes meningococcal disease, are already in use or in the last stages of development, according to a news release from The Lancet. The other strains include A, C, W135 and Y. The new research examined the effectiveness of the vaccine for strain B, which remains a significant source of meningococcal disease in North America, South America and Europe. Researchers tested the vaccine called 4CMenB at 12 sites in Chile. More than 1,600 teens aged 11 to 17 were given either one, two or three doses of the vaccine at one-, two- and three-month intervals, or a placebo. After two or three doses, nearly all of the teens had blood test ... Read more

Doctors in a Bind When Parents Want to Delay, Skip Vaccines

Posted 28 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Nov. 28 – Mistrust of childhood vaccines is causing some parents to request "alternative" schedules from doctors, either delaying or skipping some shots. And a new study suggests that most pediatricians are willing to go along with these requests – up to a point. "Parents seem to be regularly requesting alternative childhood immunization schedules," noted co-author Dr. Douglas John Opel, an acting assistant professor in the University of Washington's department of pediatrics. However, he added, "there needs to be more research into the effectiveness and safety of these schedules." The report is published in the Nov. 28 online edition of Pediatrics. The issue of parents ignoring standard guidelines on childhood vaccination schedules is worrying to many experts. One study, published in the November issue of Pediatrics, found that more than one in 10 parents in the United States ... Read more

Vaccine Cut Flu Strain Linked to Meningitis, Pneumonia

Posted 11 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Nov. 11 – Vaccination has greatly reduced the incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) among young children in the United States over the past 20 years, a new study finds. That strain of flu was once the most common cause of bacterial meningitis. The Hib vaccine was introduced in the mid-1980s. But the researchers also found that other strains of H. influenzae continue to threatren the youngest and oldest people in the United States, according to the study published online Nov. 11 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The analysis of national data showed that the highest rates of disease from non-b type strains occur in adults 65 and older and infants less than 1 year old. Among infants, most cases occur during the first month of life, with premature and low-birthweight babies the most vulnerable, according to a journal news release. Among adults 65 and older who ... Read more

Vaccinations Aren't Just for Kids

Posted 16 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Sept. 16 – Public health experts often focus immunization awareness efforts toward protecting children, and with good reason: Facing a potentially bewildering schedule of vaccinations for their young ones, parents usually need all the help they can get. But vaccinations aren't just kid stuff. Medical science is creating an increasing number of immunizations targeted at adults, to help them avoid life-threatening diseases in middle-age and opportunistic infections when they're older. "Immunization is a life-long issue that we need to pay a lot of attention to," said Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Some adult vaccinations are very well-known, like the annual shot that aims to prevent the spread of influenza. "You need an influenza shot every year," Benjamin said. "Part of that is because the virus changes every year, ... Read more

CDC Report Shows Bacterial Meningitis Cases on the Decline

Posted 25 May 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, May 25 – The incidence of bacterial meningitis dropped by 31 percent between 1998 and 2007, new government research shows. The drop was led by reductions in infections by two powerful germs – Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus pneumoniae – that are covered by available immunizations. With fewer infections among young children, the burden of the disease is now mainly borne by older adults, the study authors found. "The good news is that fewer people are getting bacterial meningitis. The bad news is that if you get it, it's still a very serious infection," said study co-author Dr. Cynthia Whitney, chief of the bacterial respiratory diseases branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. "There are still at least 4,000 cases a year, including about 500 that are fatal," she noted. Results of the study are published in the May 26 issue of the ... Read more

FDA Approves GSK's Hib Vaccine, Hiberix

Posted 2 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – In response to a U.S. shortage of a vaccine to protect infants from Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) has received accelerated approval from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for Hiberix [Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine (Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate)] as a booster dose in children 15 months through four years of age. Hib is an often severe and potentially deadly bacterial infection that can cause meningitis. The Hib vaccine shortage began in 2007 when another vaccine manufacturer temporarily suspended manufacturing of its Hib containing vaccines. This led the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to recommend temporary deferral of the booster dose for healthy children not at increased risk for Hib disease. Earlier this summer, the CDC reinstated the routine Hib booster dose due to an increase in ... Read more

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Supply of Key Children's Vaccine Almost Back to Normal

Posted 25 Jun 2009 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, June 25 – A children's vaccine that's been in short supply for 18 months is now being produced at levels that allow its traditional widespread use, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday. Beginning in December 2007, the agency recommended that parents forego booster shots for Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), an infection that can lead to bacterial meningitis. A booster shot of the vaccine was traditionally recommended for children at ages 12-15 months, but that was curtailed following a shortfall in supply from one of the two manufacturers of the vaccine, Merck & Co. At the time, the CDC said the shortage meant that shots should be restricted to the initial series given to infants at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. But as reported in the June 25 issue of the CDC journal Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, "the supply of ... Read more

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Health Tip: Allergies to the Flu Shot

Posted 2 Dec 2008 by Drugs.com

-- The flu vaccine is safe for most people, but some people could experience dangerous complications from the flu vaccine, including an allergic reaction. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the following people should not get a flu shot without first speaking to their doctor: Anyone with an egg allergy. Anyone who has had a previous severe reaction to a flu shot. Children younger than 6 months old. Anyone who developed a condition called Guillain-Barré Syndrome within six weeks of receiving a previous flu shot. Anyone who is ill with a fever should wait until they are healthy again to have the flu shot. Read more

Related support groups: Afluria, FluMist, Haemophilus influenzae Prophylaxis

CDC Monitors Shortage of Hib Vaccine

Posted 20 Nov 2008 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Nov. 20 – U.S. health officials said Thursday that a shortage of vaccine is leading them to monitor Hib infections, one of the most important causes of bacterial illness in young children. Though the agency has yet to see an increase in cases, the stepped-up surveillance was prompted by a disruption in the supply of vaccine that has virtually eliminated Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) infections since it was introduced in 1988. Hib infection can cause a variety of illnesses, including meningitis (inflammation of the membranes covering the spinal column and brain), blood stream infections, and pneumonia, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hib is not a cause of the seasonal flu. "The shortage is not serious but it is concerning," said Michael Jackson, an epidemiologist with the CDC. The shortfall was caused by a recall of certain lots of Hib ... Read more

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Meningitis -- Haemophilus influenzae

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