Many children are back in school for the new school year, and in addition to school supplies, uniforms and the registration process, parents are making sure immunizations are up date to avoid serious and sometimes deadly, childhood diseases.
“In this high tech world that we live in, I think people take it for granted that we have cures for everything and we don’t. The reason we don’t see these childhood illnesses anymore is that children have been vaccinated,” said Dr. Jacqueline Harvey, pediatrician at Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers.
Physicians and public health centers offer vaccinations to immunize children from diseases. When you read about some of them and their effects, you’ll see why.
Diphtheria – bacteria causes a thick covering in the back of the throat and can lead to breathing problems, paralysis, heart failure, and death.
Hepatitis A – is a serious liver disease found in the stool; usually spread by close personal contact and sometimes by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the virus.
Hepatitis B – is serious liver disease caused by HBV virus which is spread through contact with body fluids of an infected person. It can become chronic and cause cirrhosis, liver cancer and death.
Hib – Haemophilus influenzae type b is a major cause of bacterial meningitis and can cause pneumonia, severe throat swelling, infections of the blood, joints, bones, the covering of the heart; and can be fatal. The germs are spread person-to-person.
Measles – virus causes rash, cough, runny nose, eye irritation and fever and can lead to ear infection, pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and sometimes death.
Meningococcal – disease is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis (infection of fluid around brain and spinal cord) in children ages 2 through 18 in the U.S. It can cause blood infections and is most common in babies under age 1, teenagers 15-19, college freshmen who live in dormitories and people with certain medical conditions.
Mumps – virus causes fever, headache and swollen glands and can lead to deafness, meningitis, painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries and rarely, death.
Pertussis – or whooping cough bacteria, causes coughing spells so bad that it is hard for infants to eat, drink, or breathe. These spells can last for weeks and may lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and death.
Pneumococcal –Infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria is spread person-to-person and can cause serious illness and death. The infection can lead to pneumonia, deafness and brain damage. Children under 2 years old are at highest risk.
Polio – Virus enters a child’s (or an adult’s) body through the mouth and sometimes it causes paralysis in the arms or legs and can be deadly, usually by paralyzing the muscles that help them breathe.
Rotavirus – Rotavirus is a virus that causes severe diarrhea, mostly in babies and young children. It is often accompanied by vomiting and fever.
Rotavirus is not the only cause of severe diarrhea, but it is one of the most serious.
Rubella – German measles virus causes rash, mild fever and arthritis (mostly in women). Pregnant women with rubella are at risk for miscarriage or serious birth defects in their unborn child. It is spread through the air person-to-person.
Tetanus – bacteria enters the body through cuts or wounds, and causes painful tightening of the muscles all over the body. It can lead to lockjaw, where the victim cannot open his mouth or swallow. It’s fatal in 20 percent of the cases.
Varicella – Chickenpox Rotavirus is a virus that causes severe diarrhea, mostly in babies and young children. It is often accompanied by vomiting and fever.
Dr. Harvey noted that immigrants readily bring children in for vaccinations, because they as adults have seen what the diseases can do.
“I don’t think they realize what would happen if we didn’t have immunizations,” Harvey said, and described a recent case in point involving the Hib vaccine.
“Traditionally, you get four of those at 2, 4, 6 months of age and a final one at 15 months of age, and there was a national shortage of the vaccine for a while and the American Academy of Pediatrics and the ACIP – the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the CDC – they recommended because of the shortage – as pediatricians, we should postpone giving the 15-month vaccine, Harvey said.
“In the interim, we were seeing cases of invasive Hib disease that we weren’t seeing when we the complete series of the vaccine.”
Fortunately, Harvey said as of July 1, pediatricians can return to giving infants and toddlers the full series of Hib vaccine.
The bottom line is – childhood vaccinations work.
“In protecting public health, prevention is always the best policy, and nothing compares to immunization when it comes to stopping the spread of disease,” said Dr. Dolores Gunn, Director of the County Health Department. “I encourage all parents and guardians to keep up-to-date with their children’s vaccinations. Kids that don’t catch disease can’t spread disease.”
School, daycare, or anywhere children are in close contact with a lot of people –they may come in contact with someone who did not receive their complete vaccines.
“Those children may be at higher risk for getting certain infections, like measles,” said Dr. Neesha Kurian, internist and pediatrician for the Institute for Family Medicine who also works at the St. Louis County Health Dept. North Central site in Pine Lawn.
“We do come across a lot of kids that are not completed vaccinated. The CDC has a special set of guidelines to catch up kids with the shots, so we can get them caught up quicker, which is really nice.”
In addition to a recommended annual flu shot for children, some of the older children who have completed their immunizations as youngsters may need an additional dose to fortify against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, called Tdap.
“This covers them because they found out several years ago we were having outbreaks of pertussis, so this is a better coverage,” said Mary Hawkins, school health supervisor for the St. Louis Dept. of Health.
“With all of the changes with science and development – there are new vaccines that come out that parents may not be aware of if their children are older that can help us to keep their children protected from new and different infections.” Kurian added.
Parents and guardians needing to schedule an appointment for back-to-school immunizations are urged to call their primary care provider as soon as possible or contact a community health center.
For more information on specific diseases and vaccines, go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/vaccines.