Scope and Need The pentavalent vaccines provide a golden opportunity to curb HiB disease and hepatitis B along with diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus in the developing countries. HiB is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis among infants (357/100,000) and young children (0–4 y; 86/100,000) with a case fatality ranging from 20 to 29%. Nearly 30% survivors of HiB meningitis suffer from major disabilities. A study estimated 72,000 deaths per year due to HiB disease among children under five with a case fatality rate of 16% among invasive cases in India.
It has been estimated that, of the 25 million infants born every year in India, over one million run the lifetime risk of developing chronic hepatitis B infection. Moreover, every year>100,000 Indians die due to illnesses related to hepatitis B infection. Using the estimates from the HiB study estimate that around 215 000 new cases of HiB…
