Childhood vaccination protects your kids against some diseases
One of the greatest achievements in the field of medicine is the development of vaccines and childhood vaccination is a very important component of child care. A vaccine is either a component of a microbe or the entire organism in a modified form (killed or weakened) which when introduced into the human body stimulates the immune mechanism resulting in the production of antibodies. Live vaccines are more effective than vaccines containing dead organisms or some component of organisms but carry a small risk of causing disease. Newer vaccines are being developed from time to time and the recommendations for childhood vaccination keep changing. Some vaccines are routinely recommended while others are advised during an epidemic or under special circumstances. The schedule of childhood vaccination varies from country to country. The vaccines available are as follows.
B C G: This vaccine protects against the serious forms of tuberculosis-a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. This has been discontinued in some countries. The vaccine is given soon after birth. It causes a small swelling at the site of injection after several weeks, which ruptures and heals leaving behind a small scar. Sometimes the lymph nodes in the axilla become enlarged after vaccination. It the nodes do not subside it may be necessary to treat the child for tuberculosis. The vaccine is given on the outer aspect of upper arm and one dose is sufficient. If there is no local reaction it may be necessary to repeat the vaccine. D P T: This vaccine protects against 3 diseases and hence it is also called triple vaccine-Diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus. The vaccine is started at the age of 6 weeks. 3 doses are given at 4 weeks interval. This completes primary childhood vaccination against the three diseases. Booster doses are given between 18 months to 24 months and around 5 years. A new type of this vaccine (acellular pertussis-DTaP) is now available and is being used in some countries. This does not contain the pertussis bacteria but only the toxin. Adverse reactions are less with this vaccine compared to the usual DPT vaccine. Polio: The poliovirus has caused a lot of morbidity all over the world and also some deaths. Polio vaccine has substantially decreased this. Some countries have even become polio free. There are 2 types-live and killed. The live vaccine is more effective but carries a small risk of causing the disease. Hence some countries have switched over to killed vaccine. But the killed vaccine is not effective in removing carrier state and in improving the overall immunity of the community. Pulse polio-where all children is a country aged below 5 years are immunized on the some day has been highly effective is reducing the incidence of polio. Measles: This is a live vaccine and is given at the age of nine months. This highly effective vaccine has significantly reduced the incidence of measles, a highly infectious disease, which caused a lot of morbidity and even some mortality. M M R: This vaccine protects against mumps, measles and rubella. Mumps is a viral infection, which mainly affects the salivary glands. It causes swelling over the sides of neck and pain. Sometimes complications like pancreatitis, orchitis (inflammation of testis) oophoritis (inflammations of ovaries) and even encephalitis (inflammation of brain) can occur. Rubella (German Measles): This is another viral disease, which is relatively mild. But if a pregnant woman gets this disease the developing baby may develop serious and even life threatening complications. Hence it is important to immunize girls. MMR which also contains rubella vaccine is recommended at 15 months and a dose of only Rubella during adolescence. Hepatitis- B: This is a highly infections viral infection affecting liver. Hepatitis B causes chronic liver disease and predisposes to cirrhosis and cancer. Three doses are given in primary immunization. It can be started at birth or along with D P T at 6 weeks. Today combination vaccines are available and are being increasingly used in childhood vaccination. Hepatitis B and DPT are available in a single vaccine. A booster dose is recommended every five years. H I B: Stands for Haemophilus Influenza B. This is a bacterium that can cause serious infections like bacterial meningitis in infants and young children. It is usually started at the age of 2 months. 2 to 3 doses are given at 8 weeks interval depending on the type of vaccine. A booster dose is given between 12 and 24 months of age. Hepatitis A: Hepatitis A is milder compared to Hepatitis B and does not usually lead to complications. Hence this vaccine is not routinely recommended in all countries. Chicken pox: Chickenpox is a viral infection and is usually mild in children and does not cause complications. However it can be severe in adults. There is some difference of opinions about immunization. Some say that the live virus can survive in the body for a long time and cause herpes zoster in later life. Moreover a drug is available now for treating chickenpox (acyclovir), which when started early is quite effective in containing the disease. But as the disease is quite contagious many countries routinely give the vaccine. Meningococcal vaccine: This is not routinely recommended in all countries. It is given to people at high risk (those who have undergone splenectomy). Pneumococcal vaccine: This vaccine against Pneumococci, a common cause of infections like pneumonia and meningitis is routinely recommended in some countries while in others it is advised for high risk individuals like those who have undergone splenectomy, people suffering from sickle cell disease, cancer and HIV infection. Typhoid: Both oral vaccine and injection are available against typhoid fever. Oral vaccine is recommended for children over 6 year and adults one capsule is given on days 1, 3 and 5 one hour before food with cold water. Protection starts about 2 weeks after taking the best capsule. It lasts for about 3 years injections, 2 doses have to be given at an interval of 4-6 weeks. This is also not routinely recommended. Influenza: Influenza is a viral disease, which causes cough, cold, and fever and body pain. The disease is usually mild but can occasionally cause complications like pneumonia. There are three subtypes of the virus. One problem with the virus is that it undergoes antigenic changes making immunization less effective. Hence it is not possible to prevent epidemics. This is routinely recommended in a few countries but for those at high risk in other countries.
Vaccines given on special occasions Rabies: Rabies is a viral disease, which is almost always fatal. The vaccine is usually given following dog bite. It is important to remember that scratch by a dog also carries the risk of transmitting the disease as the dog often keeps its paw inside the mouth and the contact with saliva carrying the virus makes the scratch infectious. Three types are available. Human Diploid Cell Vaccine Purified Vero Cell Vaccine Purified Chick Embryo Vaccine After exposure five doses are recommended starting as early as possible on the day of bite. Subsequent doses are given at 3, 7 14 and 28 days. The day of bite is taken as day 0 (zero). Yellow fever: This is a viral infection, which can cause jaundice and can be fatal. Vaccine is recommended to those who are traveling to countries where yellow fever is endemic or if the country requires that people entering it should be vaccinated against yellow fever. Anthrax: Anthrax is a bacterial infection usually occurring in cattle, goats and sheep. Man can be affected through skin contact, ingestion or inhalation of the bacterial spore. Inhalation of the spores causes the most serious form of the disease. This vaccine is given to people at high risk. For more detailed information on vaccines please visit this site.
Vaccines stimulate the immune system and induce immune reaction in the body. This is called active immunity. This takes some time, as the immune system has to be sensitized before producing antibodies. In some situations it may be necessary to provide immunity immediately as for example when a dog that is strongly suspected to be rabid bites a person. In such situations antibodies are directly introduced into the body to neutralize the toxin. This is called Passive Immunization. These antibodies are obtained either from animals or human beings. Antibodies obtained from animals can cause severe reactions and hence are administered only if there is no alternative. Passive immunization is also available for Tetanus and Hepatitis B. In all these situations specific immunoglobulins are administered. Normal human immunoglobulins (obtained from individuals having the usual level of immunoglobulins) are used to prevent contacts of people having measles and hepatitis A from developing the diseases. To vaccinate or not There are some people in this world who oppose routine childhood vaccination. They claim that there is a nexus between vaccine industry, health professionals and bureaucrats to exploit gullible people. They also point out occasional vaccine related reactions and deaths and claim that vaccination is even harmful. Though I agree that the relation between health professionals and pharmaceutical industry has become somewhat unholy I cannot entirely endorse the views of those who oppose routine childhood vaccination. The disappearance of smallpox cannot be dismissed as a mere coincidence. The dramatic decline in the incidence of polio buttresses the opinion that childhood vaccination does help in preventing diseases.
It should be remembered that vaccines vary in their effectiveness. Some vaccines provide nearly one hundred percent protection where as with others the protection may be a little more than fifty percent. There is a book entitled raising a vaccine free child. The book has useful information but I do not advocate the extreme of not immunizing children at all. My advice is to try to boost immunity as much as possible and prevent diseases using natural methods [by taking plenty of protective foods-fruits, raw vegetables, honey and nuts (almonds, cashew, pistachio, walnut etc), daily exercises, avoidance of bad habits like smoking and alcoholic drinks and leading a moral life) and take the strongly recommended vaccines. But be careful while going for the newer vaccines.
Page last reviewed on 9th November 2009
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