Immunization against Haemophilus influenzae type B fails to prevent orbital and facial cellulitis: Results of a 25-year study among military children

Vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae type B (HI) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) have dramatically reduced the incidence of bacterial meningitis (due to both HI and SP) and epiglottitis (due to HI) in childhood. The effects of these vaccines on other conditions, however, are less clear. We report an analysis of the effect of serial deployment of various HI and SP vaccines over a 25-year period, involving an examination of over half a million pediatric hospitalizations occurring in Army hospitals worldwide. We show that, in marked contrast to the reduction in the number of meningitis and epiglottitis cases, the disease burden of orbital and facial cellulitis - conditions oft attributed to HI and SP - did not diminish.