Meningitis caused by Hib can be devastating. Five percent of children with brain infection will die despite appropriate antibiotic treatment, and many among the survivors will be left with permanent disabilities, including deafness and mental retardation.

The throat infection caused by Hib is almost as bad as the brain infection. The infection causes rapid swelling of the throat, and doctors frequently need to insert a tube directly into the lungs of these children to prevent suffocation.

Hib can also cause bone and joint infections in children. Even though these types of infections are not as deadly, the bacteria can cause the infected bones and joints to be destroyed and permanently cripple these children. What makes bone infections more difficult to manage is that the infections usually need to be treated with intravenous antibiotics for more than six weeks. Prolonged hospitalization followed by a protracted recovery is the norm for these types of infections.