Hiberix Special Precautions

As with other vaccines, the administration of Hiberix should be postponed in subjects suffering from acute severe febrile illness. The presence of a minor infection, however, is not a contra-indication for vaccination. As with all injectable vaccines, appropriate medical treatment and supervision should always be readily available in case of a rare anaphylactic event following the administration of the vaccine. For this reason the vaccinee should remain under medical supervision for 30 minutes after immunisation.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is not considered as a contra-indication for Hiberix.
Although limited immune response to the tetanus toxoid component may occur, vaccination with Hiberix alone does not substitute for routine tetanus vaccination.
Excretion of capsular polysaccharide antigen in the urine has been described following receipt of Hib vaccines, and therefore antigen detection may not have a diagnostic value in suspected Hib disease within 1-2 weeks of vaccination.
Hiberix should under no circumstances be administered intravenously.
The potential risk of apnoea and the need for respiratory monitoring for 48-72h should be considered when administering the primary immunization series to very premature infants (born ≤ 28 weeks of gestation) and particularly for those with a previous history of respiratory immaturity. As the benefit of vaccination is high in this group of infants, vaccination should not be withheld or delayed.
Syncope (fainting) can occur following, or even before, any vaccination as a psychogenic response to the needle injection. It is important that procedures are in place to avoid injury from faints.