Haemophilus influenzae

Invasive Haemophilus influenzae b infection is one of the most serious bacterial infections in the first five years of life. The pathogen is found only in humans and is found mainly on the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract.

Pathogen is Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib ), a bacterium that is spread from person to person via droplet infection. The incubation period is two to five days. Thereafter, febrile infection of the nasopharynx occur with middle ear, sinus and lung inflammation. Dreaded complications are meningitis or inflammation of the epiglottis associated with choking. Permanent damage and fatalities are possible.

As long as germs can be isolated from the nasopharynx, there is risk of infection. Very rarely re-infection in children is done under two years. An increased infection and risk of complications in patients with impaired function or distant spleen.

Disease

The disease begins as a febrile infection of the nasopharynx and then middle ear and sinus infection, acute bronchitis and pneumonia cause. The most feared complication is a purulent meningitis ( meningitis). Untreated die 60 to 90 percent of patients who develop meningitis. Even with timely treatment with antibiotics, the death rate is still more than five percent. After surviving meningitis, there are often partial recovery with permanent damage to the nervous system such as hearing impairment, visual impairment or mental disorders. About five percent of the children are physically and mentally severely disabled after a Hib meningitis. Other complications of infection may be incipient inflammation epiglottis ( epiglottitis ) with suffocation, pleural or joint inflammation, blood poisoning and periostitis very suddenly.

Vaccination

From the consummate second month of life take place in Germany so far mostly three injections with an interval of four weeks with combination vaccines, in 11 to 14 months then a fourth vaccination. In case of late first vaccination from the first year of life, only a vaccine is administered. In Austria, however, a new vaccination schedule for the six-fold vaccination has been introduced so that children are there usually only three times vaccinated ( in the third, fifth and twelfth month of life ) against Haemophilus influenzae type b.

After the introduction of universal vaccination of children in the early 1990s, a dramatic decline in the number of cases of infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b has been observed worldwide. As a result, re-increases were recorded among vaccinated children and adolescents in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. 2011, there were 271 cases of invasive infections, according SurvStat by Haemophilus influenzae in Germany, of which only 30 in children aged up to 14 years, of which only six could be unambiguously assigned to the capsule type b.

It is important to vaccinate children as early as possible according to official recommendations, because infants are the most vulnerable group. From the age of five years, the vaccine is only indicated in exceptional cases.

Most combination vaccines are used, which include as a share of the Hib component. About vaccine reactions such as mild temperature increase or redness and swelling at the injection site is occasionally reported. In general, these reactions occur after the second and third vaccination on more frequently.

Should be vaccinated also necessarily all patients without a spleen or with certain diseases that affect the function of the spleen.