What diseases do immunizations prevent?
• Hepatitis A & B • Diphtheria • Pertussis (Whooping Cough) • Tetanus (Lockjaw) • Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib disease – a major cause of bacterial meningitis) • Pneumococcal disease (causes bacterial meningitis and blood infections) • Polio • Measles • Mumps • Rubella (German Measles) • Varicella (Chickenpox) How do immunizations work? Immunizations help your child’s immune system develop protection against future infections, the same as if he or she had been exposed to the natural disease. The good news is, with vaccines, your child doesn’t have to get sick to get that protection. Do vaccines always work? Vaccines work most of the time, but not always. Most childhood immunizations give immunity to 90 percent to 99 percent of the children who get them. Isn’t all this talk about diseases just a way to scare parents so they’ll bring their children in for immunizations? No! People still die from these diseases. From 1989 through 1991, more than 150 people in the United States died
Your baby’s immunizations prevent her from getting these 13 vaccine-preventable diseases. Most of these are now rare in Canada because of immunization and that’s a good thing. • Diphtheria can cause serious breathing problems for your child. Diphtheria can damage your child’s heart and nervous system and cause paralysis. • Tetanus is a disease that most people think of if they step on a rusty nail. Tetanus is also found in dirt, manure and human stool. If tetanus gets into your baby’s open cut, it can cause muscle spasms, convulsions and death. • Pertussis (Whooping Cough) can turn into severe coughing (“whooping” sound), choking and vomiting. It can last for weeks or months, and may even cause death. It is most dangerous when your baby is under six months old. • Polio attacks your child’s nervous system and can paralyze muscles or even cause death. • Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) can cause meningitis – an infection of the lining around your child’s spinal cord and brain. It can
