Vaccine-preventable diseases
A vaccine-preventable disease is an infectious disease for which an effective preventive vaccine exists. If a person acquires a vaccine-preventable disease and dies from it, the death is considered a vaccine-preventable death.
In 2002, the World Health Organization estimated that 1.4 million of deaths among children under the age of five were from vaccine-preventable diseases.[1] With 100% immunization, and 100% efficacy of the vaccines, one out of seven deaths among young children could have been prevented.[1] Four vaccine-preventable diseases were responsible for 98% of vaccine-preventable deaths: measles, Haemophilus influenzae serotype b, pertussis, and neonatal tetanus.[1]
The Immunization Surveillance, Assessment and Monitoring program of the WHO monitors and assesses the safety and effectiveness of programs and vaccines at reducing illness and deaths from diseases that could be prevented by vaccines.[2]
Vaccine-preventable deaths are usually caused by a failure to obtain the vaccine in a timely manner. This may be due to financial constraints or to lack of access to the vaccine. Additionally, a vaccine that is generally recommended may be medically inappropriate for a small number of people due to severe allergies or a damaged immune system.
Finally, a vaccine against a given disease may not be recommended for general use in a given country, or may be recommended only to certain populations, such as young children or older adults. Every country makes its own immunization recommendations, based on the diseases that are common in its area and its healthcare priorities. If a vaccine-preventable disease is uncommon in a country, then residents of that country are unlikely to receive a vaccine against it. For example, residents of the United States do not routinely receive vaccines against yellow fever, which leaves them vulnerable to infection in the unlikely event that they are exposed to the disease.[citation needed]
The most common and serious vaccine-preventable diseases tracked by the WHO are: diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae serotype b infection, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, pertussis, poliomyelitis, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever.[1] Other common vaccine-preventable diseases include influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia.[citation needed]
