Immunization Quiz
Vaccines have made certain childhood diseases rare in this country. Find out more about vaccines by taking this quiz, based in part on information from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The first vaccine developed was against smallpox.
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The first vaccine was developed in 1796, by a British doctor, Edward Jenner. The word vaccine comes from a Latin word relating to cows, the NIAID says. That's because the first vaccine was based on cowpox, a mild disease of cattle and people, but it also protected against the much more deadly smallpox virus.
To offer the widest protection against a particular disease such as measles or diphtheria, at least 90 percent of children should be immunized.
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If 90 percent of children are immunized, the disease cannot spread far even if someone not vaccinated contracts it. This is sometimes called "herd immunity," in which unvaccinated people are protected by the great number of others immune to the illness.
Vaccines work by teaching your immune system to know what the real infection looks like.
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Before vaccines, the only way to become immune to a disease was to actually get it and, with luck, survive it. Vaccines provide an easier and less risky way to become immune. A vaccine is made from a weakened live, or killed microorganism (a bacterium or virus, for example), or parts of the microbe. The weakened or killed form can't cause the illness, but it triggers a response from your immune system, the NIAID says. Your immune system produces antibodies against the weakened or killed microbe. Those antibodies will remember the microbe should you be exposed to it in the future and protect you against infection. A vaccine with a weakened form of viruses is the combination vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella. Vaccines against polio and influenza contain killed forms of the viruses that cause those diseases. Diseases for which vaccines are available include anthrax, bacterial meningitis, chickenpox, cholera, diphtheria, haemophilus influenza type B, hepatitis A and B, influenza, measles, mumps, pertussis, pneumococcal pneumonia, polio, rabies, rubella, tetanus, and yellow fever.
Some vaccines against bacterial infections contain inactivated toxins that those bacteria produce.
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Vaccines that contain inactivated toxins include the shots for tetanus and diphtheria. Another type of vaccine uses substances called polysaccharides from the cell wall to produce immunity. The vaccines against pneumonia and meningitis are made from antigenic polysaccharides found in the cell walls of bacteria. These vaccines may protect against several different types of the same bacterium.
The yearly flu vaccine is recommended for all people 50 and older, as well as for children 6 months and older.
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Influenza kills about 36,000 Americans each year, many of them older adults and young children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC recommends an annual flu shot for adults 50 and older and for children ages 6 months to 18 years. These people also should get an annual flu shot: people who live in long-term care facilities; people with chronic heart or lung conditions; people who have diabetes, kidney disease, or weakened immune system; and women who will be pregnant during flu season.
Besides a possible annual flu shot, adults also need a booster for tetanus and diphtheria every 10 years.
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You may also need other immunizations, depending on your health and lifestyle. Check with your health care provider. Because of the increasing prevalence of whooping cough (pertussis) in adults, two booster vaccines are now available for adults that protect against pertussis, as well as diphtheria and tetanus.
One of the newest vaccines available protects women against cervical cancer.
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The vaccine Gardasil protects against the human papilloma virus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted disease in this country. HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer. The vaccine is recommended for girls and women ages 9 to 26. It is given in three doses over six months.
Fever and soreness at the site of the injection are two mild reactions that may occur after a vaccination.
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Most people who get vaccinated have no side effects from a vaccine, but mild reactions such as fever or soreness at the injection site can occur, the CDC says. On very rare occasions, someone may have an allergic reaction to a vaccine. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include difficulty breathing, wheezing, hives, weakness, and swelling in the throat. If any of these symptoms occur, seek immediate medical help. The CDC offers a list of possible side effects for each vaccine on its web site.
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