Infectious Diseases
- Mark Y. Stoeckle, MD;
- R. Gordon Douglas, Jr, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
The incidence of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease in the United States has declined dramatically since the introduction of the Hib vaccination in 1985. In Dallas, Tex, the annual incidence of Hib disease in children younger than 5 years decreased 92%, from 106 cases per 100 000 population in 1983 to nine cases per 100 000 population in 1991.1 Similar decreases have been documented in multiple geographic areas and in populations at high risk for Hib disease, including Native American children.2 The profound decrease in disease incidence reflects successful application of Hib conjugate vaccines in young infants and children.
The current Hib vaccines contain Hib polysaccharide (polyribosylribitol phosphate [PRP]) conjugated to an immunogenie protein carrier and are administered in three or four doses beginning at 2 months of age. These vaccines include HibTITER (Lederle-Praxis Laboratories, Fairfax, Va), which consists of PRP and diphtheria protein CRM197; PedivaxHIB
