Diphtheria Diphtheria is caused by bacteria that live in the mouth and throat of an infected person and cause a sore throat, fever and chills. If diptheria is not properly diagnosed and treated, the bacteria can produce a toxin that causes serious complications such as heart failure and paralysis. About one person in 10 dies. Diphtheria used to be a major cause of childhood illness and death. It is spread from person to person through sneezing, coughing, or even breathing. Through the 1920s about 150,000 people a year got diphtheria, and about 15,000 of them died. Hepatitis A Hepatitis A virus causes liver disease, which can result in fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, stomach pain, vomiting, and yellow skin or eyes (jaundice). Children younger than about
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Hepatitis A virus is found mainly in bowel movements, and is spread by personal contact or through contaminated food or water. Part One Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Childhood Vaccines 9 Hepatitis B Hepatitis B virus also causes liver disease (the word hepatitis comes from the Greek words for “liver” and “inflammation”). It is spread through contact with blood and other body fluids. Hepatitis B infection can cause muscle or stomach pains, diarrhea or vomiting, yellow skin or eyes (jaundice) or loss of appetite and fatigue. People usually recover after several weeks, but some of them become “chronically infected.” These people can spread the disease to others through unprotected sex, sharing needles, or other exposures to blood. Chronically infected people often suffer from cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or liver cancer, and about 3,000 to 5,000 die each year. Health care workers are at increased risk, as are police officers and other public service workers. A mother who is chronically infected with hepatitis B virus is very likely to infect her baby at birth. Other than babies of infected mothers, children aren’t at particularly high
Hepatitis A virus is found mainly in bowel movements, and is spread by personal contact or through contaminated food or water. Part One Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Childhood Vaccines 9 Hepatitis B Hepatitis B virus also causes liver disease (the word hepatitis comes from the Greek words for “liver” and “inflammation”). It is spread through contact with blood and other body fluids. Hepatitis B infection can cause muscle or stomach pains, diarrhea or vomiting, yellow skin or eyes (jaundice) or loss of appetite and fatigue. People usually recover after several weeks, but some of them become “chronically infected.” These people can spread the disease to others through unprotected sex, sharing needles, or other exposures to blood. Chronically infected people often suffer from cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or liver cancer, and about 3,000 to 5,000 die each year. Health care workers are at increased risk, as are police officers and other public service workers. A mother who is chronically infected with hepatitis B virus is very likely to infect her baby at birth. Other than babies of infected mothers, children aren’t at particularly high