Effectiveness of Haemophilus influenzae Type b Conjugate Vaccine Introduction Into Routine Childhood Immunization in Kenya

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Abstract
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) causes 3 million episodes of serious disease among children each year, leading to half a million deaths.1 In Kilifi, Kenya, invasive H influenzae disease is responsible for 5% of inpatient deaths among young children; Streptococcus pneumoniae and malaria, by comparison, are responsible for 9% and 22% of inpatient deaths, respectively.2 The efficacy of conjugate Hib vaccines was established in European and American children in 1987-1991.3,4 The vaccines were licensed in the United States in 1991 and were rapidly introduced into wealthy countries from which Hib disease has now almost disappeared.5,6 In 1997, in The Gambia, the efficacy of conjugate vaccine against invasive Hib disease was 95%,7 but the vaccine was not introduced into any other developing country in Africa. By 2000, only 2% of the global Hib disease burden was being prevented by vaccination.1

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