Deadly Bacterial Disease Returns as Vaccine Rates Drop

Medical professionals are warning that Haemophilus influenzae type b, commonly known as Hib, is making a comeback as vaccination rates among children decline. This deadly bacterial infection can lead to severe conditions such as meningitis and is particularly dangerous for infants, and toddlers.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of babies who received all of their Hib vaccinations decreased between 2019 and 2021, falling from 78.8% to 77.6%.

Understanding the Hib Infection

Hib is caused by the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae type b. Despite its name, the infection is not related to the influenza virus. It is transmitted through respiratory droplets, which are released when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Children under the age of five are identified as the group most at risk for the infection. When the bacteria attack, they can cause fast-moving and highly contagious illnesses that may result in permanent brain damage or death.

Historical Impact and Vaccine Success

Before the introduction of the Hib vaccine, the disease had a devastating impact on pediatric health in the United States. CDC data indicates that approximately 20,000 children, primarily babies and toddlers, developed severe forms of Hib every year.

During that pre-vaccine era, about 1,000 children died annually from the infection, and many survivors were left with lifelong brain damage.

The landscape changed significantly after the Hib vaccine became available. Following the start of vaccination programs, the number of Hib infections in the U.S. Plummeted to fewer than 50 cases per year. This drastic reduction meant that many physicians trained over the last four decades have never encountered a case of Hib in their clinical practice.

The Clinical Reality of Hib

The severity of the disease is illustrated by the experience of Dr. Lara Johnson, who contracted Hib in 1980 when she was four years old. The bacteria attacked her epiglottis—the cartilage that prevents food from entering the lungs—which caused her airway to close and made it impossible for her to swallow.

Dr. Johnson recalls the experience, stating, I had a fever and felt like I was choking, and I thought I needed to throw up.

She was treated at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, where doctors performed an emergency tracheostomy, cutting through her neck into the windpipe to allow her to breathe. While antibiotics successfully treated the infection and the plastic airway was eventually removed, a scar remains at the base of her neck. Dr. Johnson now serves as the chief medical officer at the same hospital where she was treated.

Rising Risks and Vaccination Trends

Doctors express concern that the success of the vaccine has created a paradox. Because the frightening effects of Hib have been largely absent from public memory, some parents are increasingly opting out of vaccinating their children against the disease.

Medical experts warn that these falling vaccination rates are changing the way medicine is practiced as the risk of this vaccine-preventable disease returns to the population.