Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
58–HTL Incidence rate for Haemophilus influenzae b (invasive) (Hib) disease
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Definition
Rationale and notes for interpretation
Technical specifications
Data availability
Considerations for indicator quality and comparability
Responsibility to produce the data
Definition
The rate of new cases of invasive Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib) disease reported by year in children less than 5 years of age.
A confirmed case is defined as invasive disease with laboratory confirmation of infection in the absence of recent immunization with Hib-containing vaccine, by isolation of H. influenzae type b from a normally sterile site or epiglottis in a person with epiglottitis or demonstration of H. influenzae type b antigen in cerebrospinal fluid. Invasive disease includes meningitis, bacteraemia, epiglottitis, pneumonia, pericarditis, septic arthritis, or empyema.
Rationale and Notes for Interpretation
Hib was the most common cause of bacterial meningitis and a leading cause of other serious invasive infections in children prior to the introduction of Hib vaccines. Four doses of the vaccine are given in combination with diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and polio before the age of 2 years in routine infant immunization programs. Vaccine-preventable cases are now rare.
Technical Specifications
Exclusions: Persons 5 years of age and older; cases of invasive disease due to non-type b H. influenzae.
Calculation: (Numerator/denominator) x 100,000
Numerator: Number of reported cases of invasive Hib disease in children < 5 years of age.
Denominator: Total population of children < 5 years.
Source: Notifiable Diseases Reporting System, Centre for Immunization and Respiratory Infectious Diseases (2000–2006).
Data Availability
- Report as a rate per 100,000 children less than 5 years old per year.
- Data are available from 1990 to 2004. (2005 and 2006 data are provisional).
Considerations for Indicator Quality and Comparability
Confirmed cases of invasive disease due to H. influenzae type b are notifiable at the national level. Cases of invasive disease due to non-b types of H. influenzae (a, c, d, e, f and non-typeable isolates), although rare, are also reportable in some provinces and territories to their respective departments of health. However, only cases of invasive disease due to H. influenzae type b are used to calculate this indicator.
Provinces/territories update their reportable disease data frequently, even after Public Health Agency of Canada finalizes the data for a given period, so provinces/territories always have the most up-to-date data for their respective jurisdictions.
Some data produced for the previous Comparable Health Indicators Reports may have changed due to updated provincial and territorial numbers. In addition, a data import error was identified where non–b serotypes were included in the numerator for several provinces/territories which has since been rectified. As such, data tables provided for the 2008 Comparable Health Indicators Report replace all previous data tables.
Minor variations in data will occur when comparing data with other federal and provincial/territorial publications because of reporting delays, different cut-off dates and date of access to Statistics Canada’s population estimates.
Responsibility to Produce the Data
Public Health Agency of Canada
