Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTaP) vaccine
DTaP vaccine protects against three serious diseases:
Diphtheria is a serious infection that causes a thick covering in the back of the nose or throat. It can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis, and even death.
Why vaccinate?
Diphtheria is readily preventable by means of vaccination. In children younger than 5 who are not vaccinated, the mortality rate can be as high as 20%.
Tetanus or lockjaw is a potentially deadly infection that causes painful muscle stiffness and lockjaw.
Why vaccinate?
Worldwide, about 50% of people who have tetanus die. Preventing tetanus is far better than treating tetanus. Tetanus rarely develops in people who have completed a primary series of tetanus vaccinations and have had vaccinations every 10 years as recommended.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious disease known for uncontrollable, violent coughing that often makes it hard to breathe. It can be deadly for babies.
Why vaccinate?
Complications of pertussis can include pneumonia, ear infections and in rare instances brain damage. Active immunisation is part of the standard childhood vaccination schedule.
Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine
Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine protects against three serious diseases:
The measles virus can cause a fever that can get very high, a distinctive rash, cough, runny nose, and red eyes. Sometimes, it can also cause diarrhea and ear infection. It can also lead to pneumonia (infection in the lungs), brain damage, deafness, and death.
Why vaccinate?
Worldwide, measles infects about 20 million people annually, causing about 200 000 deaths, primarily in children. Complications can be severe and include pneumonia, encephalitis (infection of the brain) and middle ear infections. Mumps typically starts with a fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite. Then, most people’s salivary glands swell, which causes puffy cheeks and a swollen jaw.
Why vaccinate?
Mumps is pretty mild in most people but can sometimes cause lasting problems, such as deafness, meningitis (infection of the covering around the brain and spinal cord), and swelling of the brain, testicles, ovaries, or breasts. Rubella may cause a rash or fever, but many people have no symptoms.
Why vaccinate?
Rubella can cause miscarriage or serious birth defects in a developing baby if a woman is infected while she is pregnant. Infected children can spread rubella to pregnant women.
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine
Hib vaccine protects against Hib disease, which ranges from mild ear infections to serious bloodstream infections, pneumonia (infection in the lungs), and meningitis (infection of the covering around the brain and spinal cord).
Why vaccinate?
Vaccines are available for children older than 6 weeks of age in South Africa and have decreased the incidence of serious infection by 99%. Hib disease can cause brain damage, hearing loss, or even death.
Polio (IPV) vaccine
IPV vaccine protects against polio, a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that can invade the brain and spinal cord.
Why vaccinate?
Polio can cause lifelong paralysis and even death. Extensive vaccination has almost eradicated polio in developed countries. However, cases still occur in regions with incomplete vaccination such as sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. The injectable polio vaccine given during childhood produces protection in more than 95% of recipients.
Rotavirus (RV) vaccine
RV vaccine protects against a contagious virus that causes severe diarrhea, often with vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain, requiring hospitalisation. It is most common in infants and young children. Adults who get rotavirus tend to have milder symptoms.
Why vaccinate?
In South Africa approximately 6 children die every day from severe rotavirus. Worldwide, approximately 600 000 children die each year from rotavirus.
