Hib disease is a collective term for infectious diseases caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b. These bacteria are found in nearly everyone’s nasal passage at some point. Hib disease spreads through coughing, sneezing or kissing. You can infect others even if you do not have any symptoms. Small babies and toddlers have the highest risk of becoming seriously ill.
Factsheet on Hib disease
| How does the bacteria spread? | From sneezing, coughing or kissing |
|---|---|
| Common symptoms | Stuffy nose, ear infection, sore throat and/or sinusitis |
| Serious symptoms | Infections, such as pneumonia, meningitis, joint inflammation, laryngitis and/or blood poisoning |
| Which vaccinations protect against this disease? | DTaP-IPV - Hib - HepB vaccination |
Symptoms of Hib disease
If your child gets Hib disease, they usually only have a runny nose or pharyngitis, rhinitis or sinusitis (an infection of the throat, nose and/or sinuses on both sides of the nose). Babies, toddlers and older people have the highest risk of becoming seriously ill. They develop a high fever, headache and vomiting and look pale. Meningitis is also possible; symptoms include a stiff neck, intense nappy pain (babies may cry hard during nappy changing) or blood poisoning. You can recognise blood poisoning by a red or purple spotty rash, or small bruises on the skin. Other serious symptoms of Hib disease include pneumonia, joint inflammation and laryngitis.
Vaccination can protect your child against Hib disease. Read more about the Hib vaccination or read how vaccination works.
Your child will not usually become very ill from an infection involving the Haemophilus influenza bacteria (Hib disease). But sometimes the bacteria move from the nasal cavity and penetrate further into the body. When this happens, it is called an invasive disease. If the bacteria do spread into the body, they can cause a lot of damage within a short time, so it is important to get treatment quickly. At that point, patients are given IV antibiotics in hospital.
Before the Hib vaccination was introduced in the Netherlands, around 700 children under the age of 5 years were seriously ill each year due to Haemophilus influenzae type b bacteria. About half of those got meningitis, while the rest had blood poisoning and/or laryngitis. Some patients died.
After the Hib vaccination was introduced, the number of annual Hib infections dropped to 17 cases in 2001. Hib infections hovered around over 30 infections per year until 2015 (see figure below). These cases only involved seriously ill patients.
In the past few years, the annual number of Hib infections has ranged from 45 to 65 cases. RIVM is conducting research to understand this increase. Although Hib disease in vaccinated children decreased significantly since the introduction of Hib vaccination, it still occurs 5 to 15 times annually in vaccinated children.