Immunization

Immunization or vaccination is the most important prophylactic measure aimed at combating infectious diseases. The purpose of performing vaccinations (making inoculations) is not only to create individual insensibility to certain infections, but also to form the “joint immunity”. If in some region or country 95% of children are vaccinated, it is possible to achieve the situation where no one falls sick with such diseases as measles, rubella, poliomyelitis, etc. in other words, with the high degree of population immunization on a certain territory the circulation of infection pathogens stops. Periodicity of children morbidity rise is different and directly associated with the accumulated stratum of non-immunized population (i.e. children who, due to different circumstances, remained non-vaccinated). An example from the recent past may be cited: parents started massively refusing vaccination to their children against diphtheria after a series of articles on vaccination danger has appeared in the periodical press. In a few yeas we saw the epidemic of this hazardous disease.

Not far ago, the percentage on non-vaccinated children was below the possible one, due to unjustified children exemption from inoculations, parents’ refusal from vaccination because of the alleged complications in children after previous vaccination. There exists a very limited group of children to whom some inoculations ate contraindicated. These are children having oncologic diseases, immune deficits, severe nervous system diseases (severe birth traumas, hereditary diseases, epilepsy), as well as children who had allergic reactions to previous inoculations in the form of anaphylaxis, urticaria or Quincke’s edema. Children with chronic diseases are vaccinated only at the background of clinical laboratory remission and with adherence to the terms of medical  for each disease. Naturally, any acute disease (ARVI, pneumonia, intestinal infection) is also a temporary contraindication to immunization. Such children are vaccinated no earlier than in a month after complete recovery.

The incidence of postvaccinal complications is low and is registered in the Sanitary Epidemiologic Station: each case of postvaccinal complication is followed by special investigation. Such complications are usually caused by incorrect performance of vaccination, low quality of vaccines, non-compliance with the rules of vaccine storage or transportation. It should be noted that temperature rise to 38 and skin reddening at the injection site up to 5 cm in diameter are the signs of a normal course of postvaccinal period.

Children from risk groups (allergic diseases, pronounced local or general reactions) are vaccinated in the in-patient facilities. For children who fall sick frequently and cannot be vaccinated timely, individual vaccination schedules are made up.

To better realize the necessity of vaccination, one must have enough information on infectious diseases, the way they run and possible complications. The very first vaccination against hepatitis B performed in the maternity home in 12 hours after the birth.

Hepatitis B is a viral liver disease transmitted parenterally (via the blood: by means of insufficiently sterilized medical instruments; though the damaged skin contacting the blood of hepatitis B patient; sexually). The disease often has a severe pattern and produces complications in the form of malignant hepatitis, liver cirrhosis or cancer. Vaccination is performed once in 7-10 years via a thrice-repeated vaccine injection. On the third day of a baby’s life at the maternity home vaccination against tuberculosis (BCG) is performed. Tuberculosis is a disease induced by tubercle bacillus (Koch’s bacillus) which most oven affects lungs, with further development of specific inflammation, intoxication, respiratory deficiency.

Tuberculosis requires a long-term treatment and a very thorough observation, since without compliance with all rules it may result in complications in the form of pulmonary hemorrhage, development of severe respiratory deficiency and even death. Patients with open forms of tuberculosis are dangerous for people around, as the disease is transmitted via inhalation.

To control the tubercle bacillus contamination and immunity level after BCG, annual skin tuberculin tests (Mantoux tests) are performed. It is necessary to keep in mind that this is not an inoculation but a control test for antigens to tuberculosis.

At a 3-month age vaccination begins against such hazardous diseases as diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, poliomyelitis, hemophilus infection. Diphtheria is a severe infectious disease caused by diphtheria bacillus, which penetrates the epithelial tissue or damaged skin area and forms fibrinous exudate. In the larynx diphtheria these pseudo-membranous patches may became the cause of asphyxia. Being intensively reproduced, diphtheria bacillus produces a strong exotoxin, which penetrates the blood flow and affects cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems, and not infrequently the kidneys. Without specific treatment using anti-diphtheria antitoxin, and without antibacterial and symptomatic treatment, the disease often leads to death. The most common among the known complications are the cardiac deficiency at the background of ventricular arrhythmia or complete cardiac blockade, and the bulbar paralysis with swallowing impairment or peripheral paralyses. Transmission route: aerial - from the diseased people or carriers. Cutaneous or ocular forms may be transmitted via contacts.

Whooping cough is a specific respiratory disease induced by pertussis bacillus and involving a long-term (up to 6 months) spell-like spasmodic coughing with apnea (breath holding) moments and often vomiting. The disease is dangerous for babies in the first year of life, when lethality accounts for 1-2 %. Severe complications are bronchopneumonia, asphyxia, emphysema, pneumorrhesis at the background of a severe coughing with pneumothorax development, as well as hematencephalon, hematopsia and mucosal hemorrhage. Transmission route: aerial.

Tetanus is an infectious disease caused by a pathogen which retains in the environment for a long time in the form of spores, penetrates the body mostly through the damaged skin or mucosa, and produces exotoxin affecting the nervous system. The disease manifests itself via the pronounced tonic musculature spasms. Lethality reaches 50 %.

Poliomyelitis is an infectious disease also known as infantile paralysis. The virus affects people only and is highly contagious. It enters the human body orally, is reproduced in the lymphoid tissue of the stomatopharynx and intestine, penetrates the blood flow and affects the nervous system and peripheral nerves. Lethality due to severe forms of poliomyelitis is 1-4 %, but more often it is dangerous by the postpoliomyelitic syndrome characterized by paralyses and atrophy of the affected muscles.

Hemophilus infection is induced by the gram-negative bacillus Hemophilus influenzae type b, which at the infantile age may be the cause of such diseases as meningitis, sepsis, septic arthritis, pneumonia, otitis media, sinusitis and acute epiglottiditis. In Ukraine since 2005 the inoculation against this disease (HIB) has been included as compulsory in the vaccination calendar and is performed, according to the approved schedule, to all children having no contraindications.

At the age of 12 months vaccination against measles, rubella and epidemic parotiditis is performed. This is a group of viral infections that every practically child suffered from earlier. In the mild course, these diseases run favorably without any consequences. In case of severe disease course, measles can be complicated with pneumonia, while rubella and epidemic paroditis may result in meningoencephalitis. Moreover, the rubella virus possesses the pronounced teratogenic properties and may be very dangerous to pregnant women. The virus of epidemic parotiditis not infrequently affects no only the salivary glands but also sexual glands in boys (orchitis) and pancreas. The childhood orchitis may become the cause of male infertility. There exist several vaccinations, which are considered recommended in our country and may be performed to children at the parents’ request or under specific indications. These are inoculations against chickenpox, hepatitis A, pheumococcal infection, forest-spring encephalitis, rubies, yellow fever, typhoid fever, meningococcus A and C.

Used at the «Medical Club» clinic are vaccines by the world leading manufactures, which have been proving the advantages of their products throughout the years. Among these are companies Aventis Pasteur (France) and Smith Klinе Bееchаm Pharmaceuticals (Belgium). The benefits of their vaccines are high effectiveness, low reactogenicity, disposable packing into syringe-tubes, vaccine multicomponent nature and the use of acellular and inactivated pathogenic forms. The combination of vaccines in single syringe means a single injection less traumatic for a child.

Having read and weighted all the above information, you can make a decision as to what is safer for your child: to be every day under the risk of getting a serious infection or to be vaccinated.

The risk of postvaccinal complications equals to the risk of reactions to any drugs and is less considerable than the risk of riding in a car. Using as an example Priorix vaccine (for prophylaxis of measles, rubella and epidemic parotiditis), one may show the character and ratio of possible side effects: hyperemia (7,2%), swelling (2,6%) and pain (3,1%) on the site of injection, parotid gland edema (0,7%), skin rash (7,1%), fever (6,4%), febrile convulsions (0,1%).

If you give consent to inoculate your child, you must have with you the data on the previous immunization showing the postvaccinal reactions (if any), indicate allergies to food in your child and next of kin, answer all the questions regarding the current patient health and fulfill all doctor’s recommendations for the child’s postvaccinal follow-up.