Haemophilus influenzae

[1234emc]

Has anyone been able to get immunised against haemophilus influenzae? I've just had a bad infection which has been hard to shake off and I don't want it again. I know there is a vaccine available for adults but my hospital seems never to have heard of it.

[SofiaDeo]

You haven't put your country in your profile, so hard to comment not knowing where in the world you are having this concern.

[PaulaS Volunteer]

I had a Hib/MenC vaccination in England several years ago. It's for the strain B of Haemophilus influenzae, as well as for MenC (a strain of meningitis).

Paula

[1234emc in reply to PaulaS]

Thanks Paula. Sorry I didn't say I'm in England and although I had CLL diagnosed in 2016 and was treated with chemo in 2018 I haven't been on Healthunlocked since then. I'm still in remission but have had a series of infections this year and am beginning to think my luck may have run out.Could you let me know which NHS region you're in Paula?

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to 1234emc]

Hi 12334emc ,

Good to hear that you've been in remission since 2018, but sorry to hear about your series of infections recently. It may not be your CLL coming back. There've been a lot of nasty bugs around this year - I've seen several young and healthy folk going down with them. 🙁

However, it's best to get all the vaccinations you can. Here's a quick list of the usual ones recommended.

1) Pneumonia - Prevnar 13 (or Prevnar 20 if possible), then Pneumovax 23 at least two months later

2) Flu (annual jabs for you AND those close to you)

3) HiB/MenC (for Haemophilus Influenzae typeB and Meningococcal C).

4) Possibly other strains of Meningitis (eg MenB and MenACWY)

5) Hepatitis - Hep B vaccination is recommended for "most adults". AVOID the attenuated (live) hepatitis vaccines.

6) Shingrix - the non-live vaccine for shingles. Two doses required, 2 to 6 months apart. Make sure you're not given the older, live shingles vaccine called Zostavax.

7) Covid - Different parts of the world vary as to what's available, but get whatever you can, and check for followups and boosters for the immuno-compromised.

8) Check if you need boosters for pneumonia, tetanus, diptheria, whooping cough.. (eg Pneumovax 23 can be given every 5 years.)

 CLLerinOz has written a much more detailed post about the various vaccinations. healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

I live in South Yorkshire, but I had to push to get my jabs. My haematologist thought it was my GP's responsibility, and my GP didn't know about it. However, the GP followed it up and asked an immunologist who was very helpful. You could try asking your GP to follow it up.

I haven't had any infections for a long time, but ever since Covid I've been very careful to avoid crowded indoor places and avoid people who have coughs and colds.

Here's another post I wrote, giving simple tips to improve our immune systems. healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...

Hope you get all the help you need, and can avoid getting so many infections in future.

Best wishes,

Paula (in Sheffield)

[1234emc in reply to PaulaS]

Wow - can't believe you're in Sheffield - so am I! Thanks for your very helpful reply. I had the same reaction to my request for an HiB vaccination. My GP is also following it up. You've encouraged me to carry on pushing for it as well as an update on my pneumonia jabs.

Many thanks

Eileen (in Sheffield!)

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to 1234emc]

Wow indeed! Never thought you'd be in Sheffield too! Great place to live - not far from Peak District hills 😀

Keep pushing for all the jabs you can get, as soon as possible. Hopefully you're not coming out of remission, but if you are, your vaccinations will work much better if done before you start more treatment.

Wishing you well,

Paula

[1234emc in reply to PaulaS]

Hi PaulaS. I've tried to get my consultant and my GP to agree to me having the HiB vaccination citing the evidence that some NHS Trusts give it to CLL patients routinely, but I have failed.

Given we live in the same city and, as a patient, one would hope for consistency at least within the same Trust, I wondered if you could share how you went about fighting to get this?

I don't know if or how one can share things privately on forums - I'm not used to using them as you can probably tell.

Many thanks

Eileen

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator in reply to 1234emc]

Eileen, this HU help article explains how to send chat messages to other HU members, where you can share information privately support.healthunlocked.com/... help message explains how to view chat messages support.healthunlocked.com/...

Neil

[1234emc in reply to AussieNeil]

Thanks Neil. That's helpful

Eileen

[PaulaS Volunteer in reply to 1234emc]

Eileen, I have sent you a private chat message. You should get a notification of this. You can open it by clicking on the "chat" icon above. (The icon looks like a paper aeroplane).

Paula

[Viccll]

Important to monitor your gamma globulin levels and make sure they're above a certain number where you're infections are less frequent..... in the states our Medicare national insurance pays for a level of 600.

my understanding is that the disease and or the treatment decreases the quantity and quality of our natural antibodies. I have to take gamma globulin monthly...

I hope your gamma globulin levels are above 600 and that you can stay healthy good luck with everything.

[skipro]

was it the H flu you had

[1234emc in reply to skipro]

I don't think so. The test result showed "a heavy growth of Haemophilus Influenzae" which led to bronchitis. It's not the same as flu.

[SofiaDeo in reply to 1234emc]

The shorthand many docs have used for "Haemophilus influenzae" is "H flu" lol. Skipro is a doc, he wasn't referring to viral influenza. Another shorthand used for Type B influenza infections of this bacteria is "Hib". When charting bacterial infections, docs have often used abbreviations: H flu, H duc, H aeg. Strep p, MRSA, VRSA. C diff. PCP (now PJP), E Coli. For some reason, H Pylori always seemed to have the "pylori" be spelled out. Shorthand was also done with fungal infections. "Zoster" and "Simplex" were understood to be Herpes viruses. There often was a reference to full name in the "diagnosis" section, with the shorthand being used in the Progress Notes & Recommendations.

IDK if electronic charts do or allow this nowadays, but in previous decades shorthand like this was common in the US.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8...

[skipro in reply to SofiaDeo]

Sofia

Thanks for explaining that.

I've never had an H-flu vaccine and am waiting a bit until my B cells recover from the Obin .

I've seen confusing confliciting data on T cell response to vaccines.

Anyway

Thank you

[skipro in reply to 1234emc]

Just curious,

Did they swab your nose or have you cough up phlegm or stick a suction tube down to get the Haemophilus diagnosis?

Thx

skipro

[1234emc in reply to skipro]

I gave a sputum sample to the GP

[skipro in reply to 1234emc]

Awe

Just basically coughed up some phlegm?