Before the introduction of the polio vaccine, an average of 16,316 people in the U.S. contracted polio every year, but in 2008 not a single person living in the U.S. contracted the disease, according to the National Institute of Allergy and...
The combination vaccine to fight tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis is called a TDAP shot. While this is given to children ages 6 weeks to 7 years old, people also can get booster shots to fight the three infections later. Boostrix is a...
Tetanus is a disease that has the potential to be life-threatening. MayoClinic.com describes it as a bacterial disease caused by a toxin that can stiffen the jaw muscles, other nearby muscle groups and can make breathing difficult. Vaccinating...
Pertussis, also called whooping cough, is a disease that causes severe, violent coughing fits. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise that pertussis is quite contagious, and is spread through close contact with an...
In the United States, childhood vaccinations are a regular part of raising a healthy child. Immunization programs in place today have been successful in reducing the occurrence of certain childhood diseases including measles, polio and tetanus....
Fevers are a common symptom in children of all ages. "Webster's New World Dictionary" defines fever as "an abnormally increased body temperature." Normal temperatures range from 97 degrees Fahrenheit to 99 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Mayo...
Tdap vaccine or the tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis vaccine helps prevent serious bacterial infections. According to Drugs.com, an online drug resource, this immunization exposes the recipient to a small amount of the bacteria causing...
Vaccines help to prevent diseases and save lives. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, vaccines are "the most successful medical advances of all time." Prior to vaccines, children were dying of diseases such as polio, whooping cough...
Toxins released by the clostridium tetani bacterium cause tetanus, or lockjaw. This bacterium is found in the environment and poses a risk to most people. A serious, acute disease, tetanus is fatal in one of every 10 cases according to the Centers...
Disease runs rampant in civilization. Remember the plague? Disease wiped out large populations. When you're ill with a specific disease, your antibodies fight the antigens of that disease. If you survive, cells remember the invaders and don't...
From the safety of the womb, babies enter a world inundated with all sorts of health dangers. Human babies have immune systems that have yet to be exposed to many pathogens, or disease-causing agents. Many diseases that seem rather innocuous to...
