Israel's Health Ministry has reported that an 11-month-old infant has been hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit with meningitis, after contracting Haemophilus influenza B (Hib).
The infant, a resident of central Israel, did not receive the vaccine which provides immunity against Haemophilus influenza B, a virus which can cause meningitis.
An epidemiological investigation showed that the infant had not received the vaccine as part of the routine vaccination schedule.
The Ministry is working to provide preventive treatment to those exposed to the infant.
Haemophilus influenzae typically causes pneumonia, meningitis, or bloodstream infections, often leading to deafness and mental retardation in young children. Antibiotics are the treatment of choice, however, H. influenzae is often resistant to antibiotics. In some cases, amoxicillin is effective.
In developed countries, the Hib vaccine has all but eliminated these infections, but rarely, an unvaccinated child will fall ill with H. influenzae.