The concept of vaccination, or deliberately introducing a potentially harmful microbe into a patient, initially met with suspicion and outrage. Widespread vaccination programs against contagious infectious diseases now have a positive influence worldwide.

In 1721, Cotton Mather, a Boston minister, encouraged smallpox variolation as a preventive step subsequent to the Boston smallpox epidemic. Mather was widely criticized by suspicious citizens for his role in promoting variolation. Since the introduction of the first vaccine, there has been opposition to vaccination. In 1910, Sir William Osler expressed his frustration with the antivaccinationist movement. Although fear and mistrust have arisen every time a new vaccine was introduced in the 18th century, the antivaccine movement receded between the 1940s and the early 1980s. Three trends promoted a positive attitude toward vaccines:

• A boom in scientific discovery and the production of vaccines

 • A desire to protect children from significant outbreaks of infectious diseases, including polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and pertussis (whooping cough)

• An increase in the birth rate among more educated and affluent parents, who accepted the use of vaccines

An increase in antivaccinationist thinking emerged in the 1970s, when outbreaks of infectious diseases decreased, with more vaccines in the childhood vaccination schedule. When countries dropped pertussis vaccination from the vaccination schedule, the incidence of whooping cough increased 10 to 100 times. Fears grew in the late 1990s, when vaccines were suspected of causing autism. Once again, in 2009 and 2010, the H1N1 influenza pandemic evoked strong public fear of vaccination. Reemergence of a previously controlled disease, such as pertussis, has led to hospitalizations and deaths. The worst pertussis out breaks in the past 50 years are now occurring in California.

Despite public fears, American children now receive vaccinations to numerous diseases that were once common child hood infectious diseases. In the United States, the recommended childhood immunization schedule now includes vaccines to protect against 15 diseases, including seasonal influenza. Immunization schedules vary by age and by country (Tables 1 to 3, A and B).

Table1. Childhood Vaccination Schedule, South Africa, 2011

Table2. Recommended Immunizations for Children, Birth Through 6 Years Old, United States, 2011

Table2. Recommended Immunizations for Children, Birth Through 6 Years Old, United States, 2011—cont’d

Table3A. Recommended Immunization Schedule for Persons 7-18 years, United States, 2011

Table3B. Recommended Immunization Schedule for Persons aged 7-18 years, United States, 2012

Table3B. Recommended Immunization Schedule for Persons aged 7-18 years, United States, 2012—cont’d

The latest adult immunization rates in the United States lag behind target levels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that in 2010, the pneumococcal vaccination rate for patients at high risk was less than 20%. The hepatitis B vaccination rate for health care personnel was about 60%. In addition, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rate among young women was slightly more than 20%.

Adults require updates of certain vaccinations (Fig. 16-1). Especially serious diseases for adults age 65 years and older include diphtheria, herpes zoster (shingles), influenza, pneumococcus, and tetanus (lockjaw). In 2006, a vaccine was approved for adults older than 60 years to reduce the risk of shingles (reactivation of varicella virus) in those who had chickenpox in childhood. International travelers frequently require vaccination to endemic diseases in a particular country (e.g., hepatitis A, yellow fever). Health care professionals are now protected against hepatitis B by vaccines. Also, each year, many adults prepare for winter and the flu season by receiving flu vaccine.

The use of vaccines has spread to pets and livestock as well (e.g., rabies, Lyme disease, feline leukemia).

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

في موكب العتبتين المقدستين.. المجمع العلمي ينظم محفله القرآني الدولي الأول بالنجف الأشرف

معمل ثلج الكفيل يرفع طاقته الإنتاجية لنحو 3 آلاف قالب يوميّاً خلال زيارة الأربعين

المجمع العلمي ينشر محطاته القرآنية على مختلف الطرق الرئيسة المؤدية إلى كربلاء

مجمع أبي الفضل العباس (عليه السلام) يرفع إنتاج الصمون لأكثر من 25 ألف قطعة يوميًا

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

قد يؤدي إلى فشل القلب.. تحذير من مسكن آلام يستعمله الملايين

هل الجري يساعد على فقدان الوزن؟.. إليك ما يقوله الخبراء

ماذا يحدث لجسمك عند شرب عصير البطيخ بانتظام؟

علماء يكتشفون أن نقص عنصر غذائي "شائع" قد يسبب الزهايمر

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

المعادن الحيوية قد تنضب خلال 10 سنوات.. دراسة صادمة ؟

"إنستغرام" يستنسخ خاصية شائعة من منافسه "سناب شات"

رواد فضاء يغادرون محطة الفضاء الدولية بعد مهمة استمرت 5 أشهر

"كريساليس".. سفينة فضائية ستسافر بالبشر إلى أعماق النجوم ؟!

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Viral Vaccines

Microbiota, Chronic Infections, and Vaccines

Vaccines and the Role of Pre-existing Immunity

Examples of Protein Subunit Vaccines

Methods for Using Full-Length Antigens (Proteins) as Vaccines

Pan-Genomic Analysis

Reverse Vaccinology

Improving Vaccines over Natural Immune Responses

Selecting Vaccine Antigens

Principles of Vaccine Development

A Brief History of Vaccination

Development of Vaccines for Tuberculosis and Meningitis