Download What is vaccination?

Vaccinations &
Immunisation
L.O: To understand how immunity occurs and
evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of
being vaccinated against a disease
Definitions


Vaccination: taking a vaccine as a
precaution against a disease
Immunisation: to make an animal
resistant (immune) to a disease by
taking a vaccine
What is vaccination?
Small quantities of dead or inactive forms of the pathogen are
introduced into a person by injection or orally.
White blood cells produce the antibodies against these pathogens.
The antibodies
help to destroy
the pathogen.
The person will
now be able to
make the
correct
antibody rapidly
in response to
future infection
by the
microorganism.
Passive Immunity
This is another form of immunity
where the body is actually given the
antibody against something, this
kind of immunity only last for a few
months or at best years.
 E.g. tetanus

How do vaccines work?
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‘To Jab or not to Jab?’ MMR
What is measles?
 An infection caused by a virus, mostly affects the 1 - 4 year age group.
 Highly infectious
 Spread by coughs and sneezes.
What are the symptoms?
 Runny nose, sore eyes, a cough and fever.
 On the 4th day a rash - flat red or brown blotches , usually starting on
the forehead
 May also be diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
 Symptoms usually disappear within two weeks
 Other complications include a severe cough and breathing difficulties,
ear infections, pneumonia and eye infections.
 A very small number may have inflammation of the brain (encephalitis)
those affected could be left with brain damage.
 The most severe only one in 100,000 cases - is a slowly-progressive
brain infection which eventually causes seizures and death.
What is mumps?
Caused by the mumps virus
spread through direct contact with saliva and urine.
What are the symptoms?
 Severe swelling of the salivary glands under the jaw bone
 Adults are more likely to have serious complications
 About one in five adult males who are infected suffer from testicular
inflammation
 The infection can also be linked to meningitis.
 In the first weeks of pregnancy may increase the rate of
spontaneous abortion.
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What is rubella?
Also called German measles, is also caused by a virus
Spread from person to person by coughs or sneezes.
What are the symptoms?
Rash, slight fever, aching joints, headaches, discomfort, runny nose
and reddened eyes.
The rash first appears on the face and spreads from head to toe.
The lymph nodes just behind the ears and at the back of the neck
may swell
If a pregnant woman gets rubella during the first three months of
pregnancy, her baby is at risk of having serious birth defects or
dying.
How can the diseases be
prevented?
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The MMR prevents infection in 90% of children.
A second dose raises this level of protection from measles to 99%.
If people don’t have the immunisation infection rises and exposure is more likely.
The first dose is between 12 and 15 months of age. The booster is given at between
three and five years.
Why is the MMR vaccine controversial?

Some parents believe that their children have developed either an autistic spectrum
disorder, or the bowel disease Crohn's following MMR vaccination.

There is some anecdotal evidence, presented by pressure groups, including cases in
which healthy children fell ill.

The UK government commissioned a large survey and found no link.
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Many other research studies have come to the same conclusion.
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In 2001, the World Health Organization issued a statement "strongly supporting the
use of MMR vaccine on the grounds of its convincing record of safety and efficacy."
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However, further research is underway to try to determine why the number of
children diagnosed with autism has increased over the past 20 years.
Mother’s story
Alec McKelvey just after he had the MMR jab
She said: "He was very social before the jab and in
excellent health.
"Afterwards, his personality changed and he was
frequently ill."
Alec is now doing well, and attends a normal school.
Mrs McKelvey said: " He is now getting treatment for
his bowel disease and follows a special diet. We are
doing the best we can but I wish he had never had that
vaccine."
contracting rubella as son Roger did:
Roger Mulholland, 14, has congenital rubella syndrome.
His mother Jane contracted the disease when she was pregnant,
after having what she believes was an ineffective jab before the
mass immunisation programme started.
When Roger was born, he was a small baby, covered in blood
blisters.
Within a day it was confirmed that he was blind and had severe
brain damage.
He was later found to have four separate heart defects and to be
completely deaf.
He has endured years of surgery, and now attends the Royal
School for the Deaf, where he has to have one-to-one teaching.
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Using the data and witness stories Explain
whether you think the mmr jab should be
compulsory (6 mark)
7000
Evidence 1:
6000
96
MMR vaccination
introduced
95
5000
Number 4000
of cases
of rubella
(
) 3000
2000
Campaign to vaccinate
all schoolchildren
Booster dose of
vaccine recommended
1000
0
Evidence 2:
94 Percentage
of
93 children
vaccinated
against
92 rubella
(
)
91
90
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Year
89
A study in Denmark looked at the health of 444 000 children who had
received the MMR vaccine and 100 000 children who had not. The
results of the study were published in a medical journal and found no
causal link between the MMR vaccine and whether the child suffered
from autism.However, a government spokesman stated that, ‘Strongly
held beliefs are difficult to change as objective data is not likely to put
an end to the controversy.’A department of health spokeswoman said:
‘This large study from Denmark, carried out by independent
researchers and published in an internationally respected journal of
medicine, adds to the increasing body of research which has found no
link between the MMR vaccine and autism.’
Evidence 3:
Evidence 4:
Vaccinations reduce
the spread of an
outbreak
There are two types of outbreaks:
An epidemic (local outbreak)
A pandemic (global outbreak)
Pros and cons of vaccinations
PROS
 Protection against disease
 Protection against more
serious damage e.g. brain
damage and death
 Reduces chances of an
epidemic
 It is cheaper to give a
vaccine than treat an
infected patient
 Keeps hospitals less busy
 MMR is 3 immunisations
in 1
CONS
 Side effects e.g. bruising
 Possible link to autism in
MMR
 Discomfort for young
children