Children Vaccines

Poliovirus is an enter virus which is transmitted by the faecal-oral route. The virus is ingested, transits the stomach, and replicates in the lining of the gut where it causes short-term diarrhea. The virus is shed in the faeces for several weeks after resolution of symptoms. In about 1 in 200-1000 cases, the virus escapes the intestine, enters the bloodstream and infects the nervous system where it causes the classic paralytic symptoms associated with the disease. The poliomyelitis (polio) vaccine protects against poliovirus infections. The vaccine helps the body produce antibodies (protective substances) that will prevent an individual from contracting polio.

Immunity acquired by a foetus because of the presence of maternal IgG (Immunoglobulin) that passes through the placenta. Protection against disease acquired by a foetus through the passage of maternal antibodies via the placenta. A specific form of passive immunity in neonates, which is provided by IgG antibodies from the mother passing across the placenta to the foetus. Maternal immunity is immune protective for the infant for up to 6 months. Passive immunity in a neonate provided by IgG antibodies from the mother passing across the placenta to the foetus.

Combination vaccines reduce the number of shots your child needs while protecting against several serious diseases. Vaccines are our best defence against infections that may have serious complications such as pneumonia, meningitis, cancer, and even death. CDC recommends vaccinations before the age of two years to protect children against 13 infectious diseases: MMR measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), varicella (chickenpox), hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib), polio, influenza (flu), rotavirus, and pneumococcal disease

Meningococcal disease is an infection caused by a strain of bacteria called Neisseria meningitides. This invasive bacteria is one of the leading causes of bacterial meningitis in children aged 2 to 18 in the U.S.Meningococcal disease can include meningitis -- a serious, potentially life-threatening inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord -- and/or a life-threatening blood infection. Meningococcal disease can cause limb loss through amputation, hearing loss, problems with the nervous system, mental retardation, seizures, and strokes. Fortunately, meningococcal disease is preventable, and the key to prevention is the meningococcal vaccine.

The chickenpox vaccine is a shot that can protect nearly anyone who receives the vaccine from catching chickenpox. It's also called the varicella vaccine, because chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The vaccine is made from a live but weakened, or attenuated, virus. Viruses that have been attenuated are less virulent than viruses that are not. Although the virus in the chickenpox vaccine is generally incapable of causing a disease, it still stimulates a response from the body's immune system. That response is what gives someone who's had a shot for chickenpox immunity or protection from the illness.

Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the U.S. Vaccine Can is given starting at 9 years of age. HPV is also associated with several less common types of cancer in both men and women. It can also cause genital warts and warts in the upper respiratory tract. More than 50% of sexually active men and women are infected with HPV at some time in their lives.

Hib disease is an invasive bacterial infection that at one time was the most common cause of bacterial meningitis; invasive means that germs spread to parts of the body that are normally germ-free. Meningitis is an infection of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord. Bacterial meningitis is a serious infection that can cause fever, decline in cognitive ability, coma, and death. It kills from 3% to 6% of the children who have it.In addition to meningitis, Hib can cause pneumonia; epiglottitis, which is an infection in the throat that can cause breathing difficulties; blood infection; bone infection; and joint infection leading to arthritis.

Each year during flu season, at least one in every 20 people in the U.S. will come down with influenza or flu. Some years, that number can be as high as one in every five. For most of us, getting the flu means several days of feeling pretty miserable. Headaches, body aches, fever, chills, fatigue, and exhaustion are all part of the disease running its course. But then most people recover on their own. The flu is caused by influenza viruses that are highly contagious. Fortunately, there are ways to protect you against seasonal flu, and the primary way to prevent it is to get an annual vaccination.

Rotavirus gets its name from the fact that, under a microscope, the virus resembles a wheel. And you could say, like you might say about a wheel, rotavirus goes round and round. This nasty, potentially lethal bug causes severe acute gastroenteritis with diarrhoea and vomiting, primarily in infants and young children. Fortunately, there are two rotavirus vaccines that can protect children from paediatric critical care for this disease.

Pneumococcal disease is an infection caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumonia or pneumococcus. People can be infected with the bacteria, or they can carry it in their throat, and not be ill. Those carriers can still spread it, primarily in droplets from their nose or mouth when they breathe, cough, or sneeze. Bacterial meningitis, an infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord that can lead to confusion, coma, and death as well as other physical effects, such as blindness or paralysis.

Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are two members of a family of closely related diseases -- the others being hep C, D, and E -- that are caused by a viral infection. Although each of those viruses is different, the diseases are similar. Hepatitis is marked by liver inflammation, and it can be serious or even life-threatening. Although there are no vaccines for hepatitis C, D, or E, there are safe and effective vaccines that can prevent hep A and B. There is also a combination vaccine adjuvants that guard against both diseases.

A drug may be classified by the chemical type of the active ingredient or by the way it is used to treat a particular condition. Each drug can be classified into one or more drug classes. Bacterial vaccines contain killed or attenuated bacteria that activate the immune system. Antibodies are built against that particular bacteria, and prevents bacterial infection later. An example of a bacterial vaccine is the Tuberculosis Vaccine.

New-borns have an immature immune system that renders them at high risk for infection while simultaneously reducing responses to most vaccines, thereby posing challenges in protecting this vulnerable population. Nevertheless, certain vaccines, such as Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) and Hepatitis B vaccine (HBV), do demonstrate safety and some efficacy at birth, providing proof of principal that certain antigen-adjuvant combinations are able to elicit protective neonatal responses.

Neonates and infants suffer a high frequency and severity of microbial infection resulting in millions of deaths worldwide. The same immune deficiencies that render new-borns susceptible to infection also reduce their memory responses to most antigens, thereby potentially frustrating efforts to protect this high-risk population. As birth is the most reliable point of healthcare contact worldwide and effective vaccination at birth would provide early protection for new-borns and infants, expanding and improving the available means of neonatal vaccination is a global health priority.

The national vaccine immunization program, directed principally at children, is one of the most successful examples of effective preventive care in the United States. One of the most dramatic examples of the benefits of appropriate immunization is the marked decrease in cases of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infection since the introduction of Hib conjugate vaccines (HbCVs) in December 1987. The number of cases in children younger than five years of age declined by >99 percent by 2000. To further emphasize the success of the immunization program, it is important to note the remarkable benefits achieved with recommended administration of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

An adjuvant is an ingredient of a vaccine that helps create a stronger immune response in the patient’s body.  In other words, adjuvants help vaccines work better. Some vaccines made from weakened or dead germs contain naturally occurring adjuvants and help the body produce a strong protective immune response. However, most vaccines developed today include just small components of germs, such as their proteins, rather than the entire virus or bacteria. These vaccines often must be made with adjuvants to ensure the body produces an immune response strong enough to protect the patient from the germ he or she is being vaccinated against.

Immunizations help save lives, prevent serious illnesses, and are recognized as one of the most effective public health interventions available today. Vaccines immunology programs are among the most cost-effective ways to prevent disease. The success of these programs depends heavily upon the high immunization coverage of the target group and vaccine inventory management, including proper storage and handling of vaccines. This document is intended to assist all health care providers with how to properly store and handle provincially funded vaccines. Prior to storing vaccine, health care providers are required to understand and meet with the vaccine storage and handling requirements indicated in this document.

First we are assured that, thanks to vaccines, some diseases are almost gone from the U.S. But we are also warned to immunize our children, ourselves as adults, and the elderly. Unless we can "stop the leak" (eliminate the disease), it is important to keep immunizing. Even if there are only a few cases of disease today, if we take away the protection given by vaccination, more and more people will become infected and will spread disease to others. Soon we will undo the progress we have made over the years.

There are currently several factors that are creating pressure to improve delivery systems for vaccines. First, in the current regulatory environment, there is a growing requirement to develop vaccines that are very well defined in molecular terms. Thus, as opposed to using whole-inactivated pathogens presenting a complex range of antigens, most newly developed vaccines are rather based on selected target antigens. In some cases these may be single molecules, or even fragments thereof, derived from an infectious micro-organism, a tumour cell, an allergen or an auto-antigen. The target molecule may be administered as a purified protein or as a peptide(s), or may be expressed from plasmid DNA or a recombinant virus. Often, such molecular vaccines are poorly immunogenic, implying a need for an adjuvant, a specific formulation or a vector system of enhanced immunogenicity1. Second, although in the past most vaccines have been designed to stimulate antibody responses against surface molecules of bacteria or viruses, new generation vaccines are increasingly designed to elicit cellular immune responses, especially of the Th1 type. Such responses are considered paramount for targeting chronic infectious diseases that may have an intracellular stage (associated for example with HIV1, herpes viruses, hepatitis C virus, Helicobacter pylori, Plasmodium falciparum, Mycobacterium tuberculosis), but also for the development of therapeutic vaccines against cancer, autoimmune diseases or allergies2. New vaccines are also being developed to elicit mucosal immune responses in humans, for example to protect against pathogens such as influenza virus, HIV1, HSV or human oncogenic or wart-associated papilloma viruses. Unlike most of the traditional vaccines, these efforts require the recruitment of cellular or mucosal immune effector mechanisms and necessitate the exploration of new routes of administration, new formulations, and new adjuvant systems3. Third, improving vaccine administration generally, either for the physician, or more importantly for the customer, towards pain-free and safe needle-less devices is likely to represent a major driver in the future vaccine market.

Human vaccine development remains challenging because of the highly sophisticated evasion mechanisms of pathogens for which vaccines are not yet available. Recent years have witnessed both successes and failures of novel vaccine design and the strength of iterative approaches is increasingly appreciated. These combine discovery of novel antigens, adjuvants and vectors in the preclinical stage with computational analyses of clinical data to accelerate vaccine design. Reverse and structural vaccinology have revealed novel antigen candidates and molecular immunology has led to the formulation of promising adjuvants. Gene expression profiles and immune parameters in patients, vaccines and healthy controls have formed the basis for biosignatures that will provide guidelines for future vaccine design.