Chickenpox is a fairly harmless and mild disease for most people, but in some it can be deadly. According to BabyCenter, before the vaccine for chickenpox was developed, between 100 to 150 people died as a result of chickenpox and over 10,000 were...
Before the introduction of polio vaccine, the U.S. reported 13,000 to 20,000 cases of paralytic polio each year. Although 95 percent of people infected with poliovirus show no signs of disease, the virus causes permanent paralysis--which can lead...
Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 30 percent of the world's population has evidence of infection with HBV. In the United States, approximately 5...
As of 2010, there is no recommended vaccine to prevent human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV) infection, and many challenges remain for developing a vaccine. HIV is the infectious organism, which leads to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS);...
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...
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended in 2006 that all adults age 60 or older get vaccinated against shingles. Shingles is caused by the virus that causes chicken pox, and contracting it as an adult can be very painful...
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is estimated to affect over one million people in the United States. People infected with the virus are at risk for chronic liver disease; the medical textbook "Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Family Medicine"...
Vaccines work by introducing biological materials into the body to produce specific immunities. They are most effective when introduced several months before encountering microbes in a real-world setting. For instance, the influenza vaccine...
Of the several types of hepatitis viruses that cause infection resulting in liver damage, only hepatitis types A and B can be prevented by vaccines. Twinrix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is the only vaccine to combine protection against...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the flu vaccine to all healthy adults and children except for a few cases. There are two forms of administration of the vaccine. The first is an inactivated flu virus given via...
Swine flu--what scientists now call 2009 H1N1--represents a quadruple reassortment virus, a novel combination of four genes from flu viruses that infect birds, humans and pigs in Europe and Asia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
Caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculosis can be present in a latent or active form. The latent form is dormant and causes no symptoms. The active form, however, can be deadly. The bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine, or BCG,...
There are currently two vaccines approved for use in preventing meningococcal meningitis which is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis. The vaccines are the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) and the meningococcal polysaccharide...
It takes approximately six months to make an effective flu vaccine. In every case, the first step is to identify the virus or viruses the vaccine is intended to target. This is a complicated process. According to the World Health Organization,...
The hepatitis B vaccine was introduced in the United States in 1981, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hepatitis B vaccination has been a routine part of childhood vaccination since 1991. Since the introduction of...
The herpes zoster vaccine, known more commonly as the shingles vaccine, is an injectable treatment used to help prevent shingles in patients over the age of 60, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Shingles is characterized...
The seasonal flu, or seasonal influenza, is a virus that attacks the respiratory system and causes fever, chills, night sweats, cough, nasal congestion and body aches. Young, healthy individuals are less likely to experience the severe...
Several vaccines exist to protect people against developing liver inflammation caused by either the hepatitis A or B viruses. Hepatitis vaccines are typically administered as injections within the upper arm. The dangers of hepatitis vaccines are...
The bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae causes potentially serious illnesses, including pneumonia, middle ear infections, meningitis and bacteremia (infection of the blood), and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) causes nearly 1...
Getting the seasonal flu shot is the single best way to avoid getting the flu each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2009, an additional vaccine was approved for the pandemic H1N1 or swine flu strain. In...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend vaccination as the first step to reduce your risk of infection with seasonal and pandemic flu. While there are many pros to getting vaccinated, there are also some cons you may wish to...
Flu vaccines are made by creating altered forms of the flu virus that do not infect humans. These altered forms are injected into the human body where they will be detected by the immune system. The immune system will then get sensitized to the...
Each year, approximately 1 million people in the United States develop shingles, a painful skin rash that affects older adults, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. The herpes zoster, or shingles, vaccine can be...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), influenza affects 5 to 20 percent of the population each year. The best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated every year. The flu vaccine is available as an...
Tetanus, caused by Clostridium tetani, is a serious medical condition that results in jaw muscle stiffness (lockjaw), body muscle stiffness and possibly even death. According to the Mayo Clinic, spores of the tetanus bacterium settle in a wound...
"Flu" is a generic term for a syndrome of respiratory infection produced by several distinct influenza viruses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and about 36,000 people...
Typhoid fever is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the Salmonella tyhpi bacteria. The illness rarely occurs in the United States, but it still exists in underdeveloped countries like Africa, Asia and Latin America according to the...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting immunized for influenza each year is your best bet for avoiding the flu. However, the vaccine is not for everyone, especially people with allergies. Knowing the ingredients...
If a person becomes exposed to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), they can develop an inflammatory liver disease called hepatitis B. To limit the risk of developing this infection, health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...