Haemophilus influenzae disease - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2024
Surveillance and monitoring
In 2024, 5 856 confirmed cases of invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease were reported in the EU/EEA, representing a continued increase compared to the previous years (5 520 in 2023 and 4 002 in 2022) and a substantial rise from COVID-19 pandemic-era figures (1 693 in 2021, 1 838 in 2020), coinciding with the post-COVID-19 return to typical respiratory disease transmission patterns.
- The notification rate rose to 1.3 cases per 100 000 population, the highest observed in the past five years, up from 1.2 in 2023, 0.9 in 2022 and 0.4 in both 2020 and 2021.
- Age-specific rates remained highest among infants under one year old (6.8 per 100 000 population), followed by those aged 65 years and older (3.6 per 100 000 population).
- Serotyping data were available for 55% of cases. Among cases with known serotype, non-capsulated strains continued to dominate, accounting for 82% of infections. Serotype b was the most frequent capsulated strain, responsible for 6% (191 cases) of all cases, followed by serotype f detected in 5.7% (183) cases.
- In 2024, serotype b (Hib) represented 6% of known serotyped cases, a slight increase from 5% in 2023. The relatively low proportion of serotype b (Hib) reported continues to reflect the strong effect of the Hib vaccination programmes in EU/EEA countries.
Publication file
Haemophilus influenzae disease - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2024
English (912.19 KB - PDF)
