Rare sickness kills child; officials urge vaccination

By Madison Park
CNN

(CNN) -- A childhood illness that has mostly been curbed through vaccinations has killed one child and sickened four others in Minnesota, health officials said Friday.

Authorities recommend that those younger than 2 years be vaccinated against 14 diseases, including Hib.

The five children were infected with a bacterial infection known as Hib: Haemophilus influenzae type b.

Three of the affected children had not received any vaccinations, including the 7-month-old who died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The situation is of concern," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease at the CDC. "It could be happening elsewhere, and of course it's tragic that one of the children actually died from a preventable disease."

Hib primarily affects infants and children under 5 years of age. The vaccine prevents pneumonia, epiglottitis (severe throat infection) and meningitis, which is an infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord, caused by the bacteria.

One in 20 children infected with Hib dies, according to the CDC. And survivors of the disease can become deaf; 10 to 30 percent have permanent brain damage.

"Parents may not realize the importance of this vaccine," Schuchat said. "The disease is still around."

People tend to "think it's gone because it has not been seen for a while. Clearly, the bacteria is in the community in Minnesota, and babies that haven't gotten their vaccines are at risk," she said.

Before vaccines became widely used, about 20,000 Hib cases were reported each year in the country. After children began receiving the vaccinations in the early 1990s, CDC officials said. Read more....