Ask the Experts: Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b): Disease Issues

Results (4)

Haemophilus influenzae is a bacteria that has encapsulated (typeable) or unencapsulated (nontypeable) strains. Encapsulated strains express one of six antigenically capsular polysaccharides (types a, b, c, d, e, or f). Historically, type b (Hib) was the most common type to cause invasive disease, particularly in young children. H. influenzae colonizes the upper respiratory tract of humans and is transmitted person-to-person by inhalation of respiratory droplets or by direct contact with respiratory tract secretions.

Encapsulated H. influenzae nontype b strains, particularly type a, can cause invasive disease similar to Hib disease. Nontypeable strains also can cause invasive disease but more commonly cause mucosal infections such as otitis media, conjunctivitis, and sinusitis. Vaccines are only available for H. influenzae type b; Hib vaccines do not protect against disease caused by any other H. influenzae strains.

Last reviewed: July 31, 2022

Before 1985, Hib was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis and a common cause of other invasive diseases (such as epiglottitis, pneumonia, septic arthritis, cellulitis, purulent pericarditis, and bacteremia) among U.S. children younger than 5 years of age. An estimated 20,000 cases of invasive Hib disease occurred in this age group each year. Meningitis occurred in approximately two-thirds of children with invasive Hib disease; 15%–30% of survivors had hearing impairment or severe permanent neurologic sequelae. Approximately 4% of all cases were fatal.

Following the licensure of conjugate Hib vaccines in 1987 and 1989, the incidence of Hib disease fell dramatically. During 1989 – 2000, the annual incidence of invasive Hib disease among children younger than 5 years of age decreased by 99%, to less than one case per 100,000 children. Since 2000, the average annual incidence rate of invasive Hib disease among children younger than 5 years of age in the United States remained below the Healthy People 2020 goal of 0.27/100,000 children.

Only 18 confirmed cases of invasive Hib disease among children younger than 5 years were reported in 2019. The majority of Hib disease in the United States occurs among unimmunized and underimmunized infants and children (those who have an incomplete primary series or are lacking a booster dose) and among infants too young to have completed the primary immunization series.

Last reviewed: July 31, 2022

People with certain immunocompromising conditions are considered at increased risk for invasive Hib disease. These conditions include functional or anatomic asplenia, HIV infection, immunoglobulin deficiency including immunoglobulin G2 subclass deficiency, early component complement deficiency, receipt of a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, or receipt of chemotherapy or radiation therapy for treatment of cancer.

Last reviewed: July 31, 2022

Haemophilus influenzae type b is a polysaccharide-encapsulated bacteria that causes a variety of invasive diseases, such as meningitis, epiglottitis, and pneumonia. Influenza is a virus that causes the disease influenza.

Historical note: Haemophilus influenzae was first isolated in 1889 from the sputum of a patient who died of (viral) influenza disease, and the isolated organism (then called the Pfeiffer bacillus) was incorrectly assumed to have caused the patient’s illness. Haemophilus influenzae received its name in 1920, to acknowledge its historical association with influenza illness. The viral cause of influenza was not discovered until 1933.

Last reviewed: July 31, 2022

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