The success of the conjugate Hib vaccines has been spectacular. Prior to their introduction, an estimated 10,000 cases of Hib meningitis occurred annually in the United States, which was approximately 1 in 300 children. It was even higher among native Alaskan and American Indian children. Since the widespread use of the vaccine, the disease has nearly disappeared in the United States, with only 40 cases in children under age 5 years reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2014. Thus, bacterial meningitis, once a scourge that killed and damaged too many American children is, for the most part, now a bad memory.
Comparing Electronic News Media Reports of Potential Bioterrorism-Related Incidents Involving Unknown White Powder to Reports Received by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation: U.S.A., 2009-20