WEB DOCTORS

Immunisation and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Unfortunately, one in five Nigerian children die before the age of 5 years, and this is mostly due to vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). Fortunately, these deaths can be prevented by ensuring all children are fully vaccinated. The common VPDs in children under the age of five are Tuberculosis, Poliomyelitis, Hepatitis B, Diarrhoea, Haemophilus Influenza type B, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Whooping Cough), Tetanus, Pneumonia, Measles, Rubella, Yellow Fever, Meningitis and Human Papilloma Virus. These are serious diseases that could lead to mortality and vaccinations are the most effective way to prevent them. Vaccines are live or weakened bacterial or viral agents that stimulate the body's immune system to recognise such agent as a foreign body (antigen). The immune response leads to a destruction of the antigen and produces antibodies that help the body "remember" to protect itself from infections and diseases if that particular...