Vaccination has all but eliminated smallpox. The doctor makes a tiny scratch on the person he is vaccinating, and applies some weak germs of a harmless disease called cowpox; the blood promptly creates antibodies that protect it against cowpox and smallpox for a number of years. Introducing material that has been rendered harmless to the body but will cause it to create a resistance to certain germs is the principle involved in inoculations against many diseases.
The immunity acquired in this way is called an active immunity; the individual himself has made the substances that will protect him from the disease. Passive immunity is developed when an individual receives an injection of antibodies that have been created in the body of another person or an animal.
Everyone can and should be immunized against the following dangerous diseases: smallpox, diphtheria, poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis), tetanus and typhoid fever in certain instances, whooping cough, measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles). It is particularly important to protect young children against these diseases.
Be sure to follow carefully the schedule of immunization recommended by your doctor.
Measles is a serious disease, and can lead to other and even more serious illnesses, such as pneumonia. Diseases of the nervous system may be late-developing complications of measles. Paediatricians recommend that the measles vaccine be given at 9 to 12 months of age.
A rubella (German measles) vaccine became available in 1969. However, doctors advise pregnant women against taking such a step, as it is not yet known whether the vaccine might have a harmful effect on the developing baby.
Vaccination against smallpox should be repeated every five to seven years until there have been three successful vaccinations; after that, whenever there is danger of exposure to smallpox, a new vaccination should be obtained.
I strongly advise adults who have not had the above inoculations to do so as soon as it is convenient. While being inoculated against tetanus and typhoid fever is not essential under all circumstances, why not have it done to be on the safe side? Other diseases against which adults as well as children should be immunized in special circumstances are yellow fever and tularaemia.
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