In the United States, vaccines have reduced or eliminated many infectious diseases that once harmed or killed many people. However, the viruses and bacteria that cause these diseases still exist and can be passed on to people who have not been immunized.
Diseases that are preventable have many effects on society as a whole: sick children miss school, which can force parents to take off from work. Visits to the doctor’s office are usually necessary. Vaccine-preventable diseases may also result in hospitalization, permanent disability, or even death.
Do you really know the impact these vaccine-preventable diseases could have?
The polio virus causes a paralysis that can lead to permanent disability or even death. Before the polio vaccine was available, as many as 20,000 cases of polio were reported every year in the United States. Thousands of victims were left needing braces, crutches, wheelchairs, and even iron lungs to survive. Polio immunization programs have virtually eliminated the disease in the Western hemisphere. Less than three thousand cases of polio were reported world-wide in 1999.
Measles is one of the most infectious diseases in the world. Before immunization was available, more than ninety percent of people who were exposed to the virus got the disease. Up to twenty percent of those with the disease require hospitalization. Around the world, approximately one person out of every hundred with measles does not survive. According to the World Health Organization, if measles vaccinations were stopped, we could expect as many as 2.7 million measles deaths annually around the world.
Before vaccinations were available for pertussis, nearly all children developed whooping cough at some point. As many as 260,000 cases were reported each year in the United States before the immunization became available. Pertussis in infants can be a severe illness, resulting in brain damage, seizures, and other mental problems. Without immunizations, the disease could experience a massive resurgence.
Diphtheria is a serious disease caused by a bacteria that produces a poisonous substance that causes heart and nerve damage. At the height of the disease in the United States, more than 200,000 cases were reported and more than 15,000 were fatal. The very young and the elderly are especially vulnerable, with a death rate of up to twenty percent. Diphtheria is very rare in the United States but is still common in other parts of the world.
Tetanus is a severe, often fatal disease that is still present in many parts of the world. The bacteria that causes tetanus (or lockjaw) leads to muscle stiffness and spasms. The throat can close, causing eating and breathing problems. Approximately twenty percent of reported cases of tetanus are fatal. Around the world, the disease kills 300,000 newborns and 30,000 birth mothers who were not properly vaccinated. Tetanus is infectious, but not contagious — immunization is the only way to prevent the disease.
One more disease to think about: mumps. Before the vaccine was introduced, mumps was a major cause of deafness in children — approximately one out of every 20,000 reported cases resulted in hearing loss. Women who develop mumps during the first trimester of pregnancy are more likely to have a miscarriage. The virus that causes mumps is easily spread among people who are not vaccinated; most cases are mild but some people experience serious side effects like brain swelling, paralysis, and seizures.