Vaccinations-Are they effective? Pres Thurles

Vaccinations- Are they effective?

Introduction How are they made? How they work! The Polio Vaccine History e-mail us TB & MMR

The Tetanus Vaccine The Meningococcal C Vaccine Who should be vaccinated? Side Effects Disadvantages

The Rubella Vaccine

Rubella – The Disease

Rubella is also called German measles. It’s a mild disease in children, but rubella endangers the foetus when a pregnant woman becomes infected. It is caused by a virus. The virus is spread in droplets expelled when an infected person coughs or sneezes. As many as half the woman who contract rubella while pregnant, especially during the first three months, miscarry or deliver babies with heart disease, blindness, hearing loss, or learning problems. Before the rubella vaccine was approved in 1969, some 20,000 babies were born with severe birth defects because their mothers were exposed to the disease while pregnant

Rubella – The Symptoms

After two-three weeks a person may develop a sore throat, runny nose or mild fever. Pink spots appear on the face and then spread to the body and limbs. Lymph nodes in the neck area may become sore. In adults symptoms may include swollen joints. In some cases no symptoms appear.

The Vaccine

The MMR vaccine is given in two doses, at 15 months and again between 4 and 6 years or at the end of primary. Most children have no side effects from the MMR vaccine, but about 5 to 15 percent develop a fever. A few develop a measles-like rash, swelling of the lymph glands, and a mild pain in the joints. The vaccine was developed in 1969. . Women should receive the vaccination before becoming pregnant. Pregnant women should not receive the rubella vaccine, nor should a woman get pregnant within three months after getting the vaccine because it will endanger the foetus.