Nov. 1, 2008 This month, Pakistan is introducing a new
combination vaccine that will protect its children against the
bacterium Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and four other
common childhood diseases. Hib, a bacterium that can cause
deadly meningitis and pneumonia, is one of the top killers of
young children in the developing world. Even with treatment, an
estimated 23,000 children die of Hib disease in Pakistan every
year. Survivors are often permanently disabled—paralyzed,
deafened or brain damaged. Globally, over 1,000 children under 5
years of age die from Hib-related diseases each day. "This is
excellent news for generations of Pakistani children and their
families. Pakistan is the largest country to date of all
developing countries to introduce Hib vaccine into their
national immunization program," said Dr. Rana Hajjeh, Director
of the Hib Initiative. "The government's decision to introduce
Hib-containing pentavalent vaccine will protect millions of
infants against some of the most dangerous childh