ABCs OF CHILDHOOD VACCINES RISKS OF NOT VACCINATING Terms To Remember • Hib: Short for Haemophilus influenzae type b, Hib is a bacterial infection that usually strikes children under 5 and is a cause of infection of the blood, brain, lungs, throat, bones, and joints. • Meningitis: A serious infection of the surface of the brain and spinal cord, leading to mental retardation, deafness, and even death • Polio: A viral disease that may lead to paralysis and death Vaccination Works! Measles • Let's look at the history of measles. • 1958-1962: Over a half a million cases of measles are reported each year. 432 measles-related deaths occur on average each year. • Measles vaccine is licensed. • By 2000, only 81 cases are reported in all of the U.S.! Vaccination Works! Hib Meningitis • Consider the history of Hib meningitis. • Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease usually strikes children under 5 years of age. • Hib can cause blood poisoning or meningitis. • 1985 and before: An estimated 20,000 children develop Hib every year, with 600 deaths. • First Hib vaccine is licensed. • Fewer than 10 Hib deaths are reported. Vaccination Works! Polio • Polio, caused by a virus, was once America's most feared disease, causing death or paralysis. Its most famous victim was President Franklin Roosevelt. • 1951-1954: Paralytic polio strikes nearly 20,000 Americans every year, killing nearly 1,900. • 1955: First polio vaccine is licensed. • Today there are no reports of polio in the United States, but the disease still exists in some parts of the world. Some Diseases Are So Rare, Why Keep Immunizing? • Whooping cough, chickenpox, and other diseases still exist in the United States, causing serious illness and even death. • When children aren't immunized, diseases can return. • In Great Britain, people stopped immunizing for pertussis (whooping cough) in the early 70s. Within just a few years, a pertussis epidemic occurred-100,000 cases with 36 deaths. • In Japan similar events occurred: a decline in childhood pertussis vaccinations during the 70s, was followed by a pertussis epidemic-13,000 cases, 41 deaths-in 1979. A Disease Is More Than An Illness. • Sick children are kept out of school. A child with chickenpox, for example, can miss one or more weeks of school. • A child with a vaccine-preventable disease can experience physical pain, discomfort, trauma, long-term disabilities, or even death from an illness that could have been prevented with a vaccine. • A sick child can also infect parents, sisters, brothers, other family members, friends, and classmates too! A Disease Is More Than An Illness. • A sick child with a prolonged illness can impact a family's financial resources. Parents must be there to care for a child, meaning loss of pay or use of vacation time. • Sickness drains other financial resources. For example, for every dollar invested in the Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, the United States saves $27 in costs such as work-loss, death, and disability. Key Facts • Measles, Hib and polio are diseases that used to kill or handicap many young children. All have been controlled with vaccination. • But when vaccination rates fall, epidemics can occur, because disease-causing viruses and bacteria still exist in nature. • Immunizing protects the health of children and the emotional and financial well-being of their families and communities. • Immunizing also protects the health of children who cannot be vaccinated, such as children with immune deficiencies or weakened immune systems due to medical treatments like chemotherapy. Additional Resources • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: www.cdc.gov. Click “Vaccines & Immunizations,” then click “NIP Home Page” in the right column. Or, go directly to www.cdc.gov/nip • National Immunization Hotline: 800-232-2522 • Parent's Guide to Childhood Immunization: Publication available online at www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/ • For information on vaccine testing and licensing: www.fda.gov • For information about local health care resources: www.naccho.gov or look under "public health" in the blue pages of your local phone book • For information on children's health insurance: www.insurekidsnow.gov • Additional ABCs of Childhood Vaccines slide shows cover the following topics: Vaccine Safety; How Vaccines Work; Natural Immunity; Primary Vaccinations