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Mark and Amanda can count on receiving more boosters before they turn 11 to maintain their immunity against nine vaccine-preventable diseases:
• Polio: Caused by a virus found in nose, throat and intestine, polio may cause permanent paralysis or death. Symptoms are sudden fever, headache, upset stomach, sore throat, neck or back stiffness or muscle weakness. It is most likely to affect children ages 1-16 and occurs most often during the summer and fall. ^
• Measles: This highly contagious virus can, in its most severe cases, lead to pneumonia, brain damage and even death. In the first 29 weeks of this year, 206 cases of measles were reported in the U.S., none of them in Virginia. Initial symptoms are fever, a cough and light sensitivity. A rash follows, beginning on the face. Measles occur most often during the late winter and early spring.
• Rubella: Also a contagious virus, rubella has symptoms similar to measles but is a milder disease. Outbreaks are common among unvaccinated teenagers, which is risky because if a woman catches it early in a pregnancy the baby is likely to suffer serious birth defects. Only 87 cases of rubella were reported in the U.S. so far this year, none of them in Virginia.
• Diphtheria: The diphtheria bacterium usually enters the body through the nose or mouth; victims display symptoms like those of a mild cold. In serious cases, dead cells and bacteria may block the windpipe so the victim cannot breathe. Adults may contract diphtheria but it is most often seen in children under 15. No cases of diphtheria have been reported in the U.S. this year.
• Pertussis: This is whooping cough, caused by a bacterium. It starts with the usual cold symptoms accompanied by a cough that develops into the high-pitched “whooping” sound. The most frequent and serious complication of pertussis is pneumonia and it can be fatal in children under 12 months of age. Nine cases of pertussis have
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