Research led by Dr Anthony Scott at the Kenya Medical Research Institute–Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya, has helped ensure that Kenyan children will continue to receive vaccinations against Hib – a disease that causes 400 000 deaths per year globally – as part of standard immunisation programmes.

Hib (H. influenzae type b) infection is expensive and difficult to diagnose, and can lead to pneumonia and meningitis. Although a Hib vaccine exists, a lack of available data on its effectiveness and on Hib disease burden means that Hib immunisation is a low priority for many developing countries.

In 2001, a five-year programme (sponsored by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) was launched to provide free Hib vaccine to Kenya and 11 other African countries; but from 2007, these countries are being asked to contribute financially to the programme.

To assess the impact of Hib vaccination, researchers at Kilifi examined Hib infection rates in 38 000 under-fives admitted to Kilifi District Hospital between 2000 and 2005. Hib immunisation reduced the number of cases of Hib disease by 88 per cent, on the basis of which the Kenyan Ministry of Health committed itself to funding the ongoing immunisation programme.

Other work supports the introduction of pneumococcal vaccines into immunisation programmes. In a similar surveillance study of children attending the hospital in Kilifi, the incidence of pneumococcal bacteraemia – blood poisoning caused by bacterial infection – was four times greater than previously estimated from inpatient studies, suggesting that bacterial infections have a much greater impact on child health than had been appreciated.

See also

• KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme

External links

• Cowgill AD et al. Effectiveness of Haemophilus influenzae type b Conjugate vaccine introduction into routine childhood immunization in Kenya. JAMA 2006;296(6):671–8.
• Brent AJ et al. Incidence of clinically significant bacteraemia in children who present to hospital in Kenya: community-based observational study. Lancet 2006;367(9509):482–8.