Vaccines and the diseases they prevent.
Find out about the most commonly recommended vaccines
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Vaccines help protect children and adolescents against serious or sometimes fatal diseases. The following table lists the vaccines that most governments and doctors recommend to keep children and the rest of the population safe from disease outbreaks.
Vaccines | Disease | Symptoms and effects |
|---|---|---|
| BCG | Tuberculosis | Tuberculosis is an infection that, in most cases, attacks the lungs, but in children it affects other organs, such as the brain. A severe case could lead to serious complications or death.
Tuberculosis is very difficult to treat once contracted; the treatment is lengthy and not always successful. |
| Hep B | Hepatitis B | The Hepatitis B virus is a dangerous liver infection that, in children, can take years to cause symptoms. At older ages it can manifest itself in the form of cirrhosis and liver cancer. |
| Poliomielitis | Poliovirus | Polio is a virus that paralyzes 1 in every 200 persons who become infected with it. Of those cases, between 5 and 10 per cent die from paralysis of the respiratory muscles. Once paralysis sets in, there is no cure for polio, only treatment to relieve symptoms. |
| DTP | Diphtheria | Diphtheria infects the throat and tonsils and children who suffer from it have difficulty breathing and swallowing. Severe cases can cause damage to the heart, kidneys and/or nerves. |
| DTP | Tetanus | Tetanus causes very painful muscle contractions. It can cause stiffness in the neck and jaw in children (lockjaw), preventing them from opening their mouth, swallowing (or breastfeeding), or breathing. Even with treatment, tetanus is often fatal. |
| DTP | Pertussis | Pertussis, or whooping cough, causes coughs that can last for weeks. In some cases, it can make breathing difficult and cause pneumonia or even death. |
| Hib | Type B Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) | Hib is a bacteria that causes pneumonia, meningitis and other serious infections almost exclusively in children under five years of age. |
| Pneumococcal | Pneumococcal diseases | Pneumococcal diseases range from serious diseases, such as meningitis and pneumonia, to milder ones such as sinusitis or ear infections. Pneumococcal diseases are a common cause of illness and death worldwide, especially among children under two years of age. |
| Rotavirus | Rotavirus | Rotaviruses can cause severe vomiting and diarrhoea that can lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and shock in children. If treatment, especially fluid replacement, is not started immediately, the sufferer may die. |
| MMR | Measles | Measles is a very contagious disease. Some of its symptoms are fever, nasal congestion, white spots at the back of the mouth and rashes. The most severe cases can cause blindness, brain oedema and death. |
| MMR | Mumps | Mumps can cause headache, malaise, fever and swelling of the salivary glands. Some of its possible complications are meningitis, inflammation of the testicles and deafness. |
| MMR | Rubella | Rubella infection in children and adults is usually mild, but in pregnant women it can cause miscarriage, death of the foetus, death of the baby, or birth defects. |
| VPH | Human papillomavirus (HPV) | HPV usually has no symptoms, but some strains can cause cervical cancer (the fourth most common cancer in women). The cause of almost all cases of cervical cancer (99%) is HPV. HPV can also cause genital warts in both men and women, as well as cancer in other parts of the body. |
If you would like to learn about the recommended vaccination schedule in your country, contact your doctor, health centre or Ministry of Health.