Vaccine preventable diseases
Question
Can you recall the main vaccine-preventable diseases
Vaccine-preventable diseasesDiseases for which vaccines exist that can confer partial or complete protection. originally targeted by the EPI (Expanded Programme on Immunization)? Select them from the following boxes:
The initial EPI goals were to vaccinate every child – by the time they were one year of age – against:
All the answers are correct.
- The initial EPI goals were to vaccinate every child against tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and measles by the time they were one year of age, and to give tetanus toxoid vaccinations to women to protect them and their newborns against tetanus.
Vaccines to prevent other diseases have become available since the introduction of EPI and are recommended by the WHO for global use. They cover diseases such as hepatitis B disease, infections or cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus, diarrhoeal disease caused by rotaviruses, and pneumonia and other respiratory tract infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae type B and pneumococcal bacteria. Others, such as the vaccine against yellow fever, are recommended in countries where the disease burden is significant.
The main vaccine-preventable diseases and the associated vaccines
| Tubercle bacillus | Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine |
| Poliovirus | Oral polio vaccine (OPV) vaccine, Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) vaccine |
| Corynebacterium diphtheriae (Diphtheria)* |
Diphtheria toxoid** vaccine |
| Clostridium tetani (Tetanus)* |
Tetanus toxoid (TT) vaccine |
| Pertussis* | Whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine, Acellular (cell-free) pertussis (aP) vaccine |
| Measles virus | Measles vaccine |
| Hepatitis B virus | Hepatitis B vaccine |
| Rotavirus | Rotavirus vaccine |
| Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) | Hib conjugate vaccine |
| Streptococcus Pneumoniae (Pneumococcal infection) |
Pneumococcal vaccines |
| Yellow fever virus | Yellow fever vaccine |
| Human Papillomavirus | Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine |
| Hepatitis A virus | Hepatitis A vaccine |
| Varicella-Zoster virus | Varicella Zoster virus (VZV) vaccine |
* DiphtheriaDiphtheria toxoid vaccineA vaccine containing diphtheria toxoid, used to immunize against diphtheria., tetanusTetanus toxoid (TT) vaccineA preparation of tetanus toxoid used to immunize against tetanus. When given to women of childbearing age, vaccines that contain tetanus toxoid (TT or Td) not only protect women against tetanus, but also prevent neonatal tetanus in their newborn infants. and pertussisPertussis vaccineTwo types of pertussis vaccines are currently available: the inactivated whole-cell vaccine (wP) and subunit protein-based vaccine (aP). vaccines are usually administered in combination vaccines (e.g. DTwP, DTaP) when given to infants and young children. These vaccines are also available in combinations with hepatitis BHepatitis B vaccine (HepB)A subunit protein-based recombinant vaccine used against hepatitis B infection. (e.g. DTwP-HepB, DTaP-HepB) and/or HibHaemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccineA subunit polysaccaride-conjugate vaccine used to immunize against invasive Hib disease. vaccines (e.g. DTPwP-HepB+Hib, DTPaP-HepB+Hib).
**Diphtheria toxoidDiphtheria toxoid vaccineA vaccine containing diphtheria toxoid, used to immunize against diphtheria. is only available as a combined vaccine with tetanus toxoidTetanus toxoid (TT) vaccineA preparation of tetanus toxoid used to immunize against tetanus. When given to women of childbearing age, vaccines that contain tetanus toxoid (TT or Td) not only protect women against tetanus, but also prevent neonatal tetanus in their newborn infants. and other childhood vaccines such as pertussis, hepatitis B, Hib, and IPV.