Vaccines and their Effectiveness Flashcards
What do immunisation programs provide?
They not only prevent an individual from getting a disease, but it also decreases the spread of the disease in the pathogen.
What are the causes & symptoms of smallpox?
Smallpox virus.
Bubbles on skin, fever, headache and backaches.
Enters through throat & lungs.
What is the history of smallpox?
Responsible for 1/10 deaths in Europe. Spread through travel & trade.
What are the vaccination programs for smallpox?
Edward Jenner produced the first smallpox vaccine by injecting individuals with cow pox.
1967 - WHO used the vaccine on a global scale.
1980 - WHO declared the world free of smallpox.
How effective is the smallpox vaccine?
It is very effective as the smallpox virus is now completely gone.
What are the causes & symptoms of polio?
Viral disease.
Fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting and pain in the limbs.
Invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis.
What is the history of polio?
It mainly affects children.
Polio cases have decreased by 99% since 1988.
It is spread from person to person through the faecal-oral route.
2 countries in the world remain endemic for the disease.
What are the vaccination programs for polio?
WHO recommends all children be vaccinated against polio.
The first polio vaccine was developed in 1955.
How effective is the polio vaccine?
It is highly effective in reducing polio worldwide.
WHO aims for a polio-free world by 2018.
What are the causes & symptoms of diphtheria?
Bacterial disease.
Severe inflammation of the nose, throat and windpipe.
Fever, sore throat, breathing and swallowing problems.
What is the history of diphtheria?
Most feared childhood disease.
In the 1920s, approx 100,000 to 200,000 cases of diphtheria per year in the US.
Spread through droplets and close contact.
What are the vaccination programs for diphtheria?
Effective vaccines were not developed until after WW2.
It has re-emerged in Russia and in other parts of the world at near-epidemic levels.
How effective are diphtheria vaccines?
Substantially effective as there are still some cases of diphtheria occuring throughout the world.
