-
As the search for survivors continues in Oklahoma hundreds of volunteers from across country are stepping into help including some from East Tennessee.More >> As the search for survivors continues in Oklahoma hundreds of volunteers from across country are stepping into help including some from East Tennessee.More >> Students at Tellico Plains High School when March 2012 tornado hit recall the school's safety procedures.More >> Students at Tellico Plains High School when March 2012 tornado hit recall the school's safety procedures.More >> Gov. Bill Haslam came to East Tennessee Tuesday to sign a bill into law designed to prevent people from being abandoned like one Illinois woman was in 2012.More >> Gov. Bill Haslam came to East Tennessee Tuesday to sign a bill into law designed to prevent people from being abandoned like one Illinois woman was in 2012.More >> Tea Party members and supporters gathered in downtown Knoxville Tuesday to protest the IRS.More >> Tea Party members and supporters gathered in downtown Knoxville Tuesday to protest the IRS.More >> East Tennessee is no stranger to natural disasters and in case of an emergency, EMA officials say there are preparations we need to make just to be safe until help arrives.More >> East Tennessee is no stranger to natural disasters and in case of an emergency, EMA officials say there are preparations we need to make just to be safe until help arrives.More >> Six people are facing drug charges in Blount County after a pair of meth lab busts on Monday.More >> Six people are facing drug charges in Blount County after a pair of meth lab busts on Monday.More >> No charges will be filed in the case of a senior prank at a Knox County High School last week.More >> No charges will be filed in the case of a senior prank at a Knox County High School last week.More >> The U.S. House has passed legislation that would put a two-year moratorium on an Army Corps of Engineers plan to erect barriers to prevent people from fishing below dams on the Cumberland River.More >> The U.S. House has passed legislation that would put a two-year moratorium on an Army Corps of Engineers plan to erect barriers to prevent people from fishing below dams on the Cumberland River.More >> A California fugitive wanted for robbery and felony fraud was taken into custody Monday after deputies pulled him over for speeding.More >> A California fugitive wanted for robbery and felony fraud was taken into custody Monday after deputies pulled him over for speeding.More >> Police are looking for the driver of a car that ran an Anderson County school bus off the road Tuesday morning, sending three students to the hospital.More >> Police are looking for the driver of a car that ran an Anderson County school bus off the road Tuesday morning, sending three students to the hospital.More >>
We have record or near record low levels of vaccine preventable childhood diseases in the United States, but that does not mean these have disappeared. Many of the viruses and bacteria are still circulating in this country or are only a plane ride away. That’s why it’s important that children, especially infants and young children, receive recommended immunizations on time. In our mobile society, over a million people each day people travel to and from other countries, including countries where many vaccine preventable diseases remain relatively common. Without vaccines, epidemics of many preventable diseases could return, resulting in increased– and unnecessary– illness, disability, and death among children.
[Vaccination schedule for children]
The following vaccine-preventable diseases, not long ago, disabled and killed millions of American children. Thanks to our country’s high childhood immunization coverage levels, these diseases are now very uncommon.
Diphtheria | Description | A respiratory disease caused by bacteria |
| Symptoms | Gradual onset of a sore throat and low-grade fever |
| Complications | Airway obstruction, coma, and death if not treated |
| Transmission | Spread by coughing and sneezing |
| Vaccine | Diphtheria toxoid (contained in DTP, DTaP, DT or Td vaccines) can prevent this disease. |
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) | Description | A severe bacterial infection, occurring primarily in infants |
| Symptoms | Skin and throat infections, meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, and arthritis (Can be serious in children under age 1, but there is little risk of getting the disease after age 5) |
| Complications | Hib meningitis (death in one out of 20 children, and permanent brain damage in 10% - 30% of the survivors) |
| Transmission | Spread by coughing and sneezing |
| Vaccine | Hib vaccine can prevent this disease. |
Hepatitis A
| Description | A disease of the liver caused by hepatitis A virus |
| Symptoms | Potentially none (likelihood of symptoms increases with the person's age) If present: yellow skin or eyes, tiredness, stomach ache, loss of appetite, or nausea |
| Complications | Because young children might not have symptoms, the disease is often not recognized until the child's caregiver becomes ill with hepatitis A. |
| Transmission | Most often: spread by the fecal-oral route (An object contaminated with the stool of a person with hepatitis A is put into another person's mouth.) Less often: spread by swallowing food or water that contains the virus |
| Vaccine | Hepatitis A vaccine will prevent this disease. |
Hepatitis B
| Description | A disease of the liver caused by hepatitis B virus |
| Symptoms | Potentially none when first infected (likelihood of early symptoms increases with the person's age) If present: yellow skin or eyes, tiredness, stomach ache, loss of appetite, nausea, or joint pain |
| Complications | The younger the person, the greater the likelihood of staying infected and having life-long liver problems, such as scarring of the liver and liver cancer |
| Transmission | Spread through contact with the blood of an infected person or by having sex with an infected person |
| Vaccine | Hepatitis B vaccine is will prevent this disease. |
Measles
| Description | A respiratory disease caused by a virus |
| Symptoms | Measles virus causes rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes, lasting about a week. |
| Complications | Diarrhea, ear infections, pneumonia, encephalitis, seizures, and death |
| Transmission | Spread by coughing and sneezing (highly contagious) |
| Vaccine | Measles vaccine (contained in MMR, MR and measles vaccines) can prevent this disease. |
Mumps
| Description | A disease of the lymph nodes caused by a virus |
| Symptoms | Fever, headache, muscle ache, and swelling of the lymph nodes close to the jaw |
| Complications | Meningitis, inflammation of the testicles or ovaries, inflammation of the pancreas and deafness (usually permanent) |
| Transmission | Spread by coughing and sneezing |
| Vaccine | Mumps vaccine (contained in MMR) can prevent this disease. |
Pertussis (whooping cough)
| Description | A respiratory disease caused by bacteria |
| Symptoms | Severe spasms of coughing that can interfere with eating, drinking, and breathing |
| Complications | Pneumonia, encephalitis (due to lack of oxygen), and death, especially in infants. |
| Transmission | Spread by coughing and sneezing (highly contagious) |
| Vaccine | Pertussis vaccine (contained in DTP and DTaP) can prevent this disease. |
Polio
| Description | A disease of the lymphatic and nervous systems |
| Symptoms | Fever, sore throat, nausea, headaches, stomach aches, and stiffness in the neck, back, and legs |
| Complications | Paralysis that can lead to permanent disability and death |
| Transmission | Contact with an infected person |
| Vaccine | Polio vaccine (IPV) can prevent this disease. |
Rubella (German measles)
| Description | A respiratory disease caused by a virus |
| Symptoms | Rash and fever for two to three days ( mild disease in children and young adults) |
| Complications | Birth defects if acquired by a pregnant woman: deafness, cataracts, heart defects, mental retardation, and liver and spleen damage (at least a 20% chance of damage to the fetus if a woman is infected early in pregnancy) |
| Transmission | Spread by coughing and sneezing |
| Vaccine | Rubella vaccine (contained in MMR vaccine) can prevent this disease. |
Tetanus (lockjaw)
| Description | A disease of the nervous system caused by a bacteria |
| Symptoms | Early symptoms: lockjaw, stiffness in the neck and abdomen, and difficulty swallowing Later symptoms: fever, elevated blood pressure, and severe muscle spasms |
| Complications | Death in one third of the cases, especially people over age 50 |
| Transmission | Enters the body through a break in the skin |
| Vaccine | Tetanus toxoid (contained in DTP, DT, DTaP & Td vaccines) can prevent this disease. |
Varicella (chickenpox)
| Description | A virus of the herpes family |
| Symptoms | A skin rash of blister-like lesions, usually on the face, scalp, or trunk |
| Complications | Bacterial infection of the skin, swelling of the brain, and pneumonia (usually more severe in children 13 or older and adults) |
| Transmission | Spread by coughing and sneezing (highly contagious) |
| Vaccine | Varicella vaccine can prevent this disease. |
(Information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
