Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

TMA has tools to help you talk to your patients about the realities of diseases preventable by childhood and adult vaccinations.
Diphtheria

Most people know little about diphtheria today thanks to the effectiveness of its vaccine. Fear of this highly contagious bacterial infection – which chokes off patients’ ability to breathe – was once so strong it gave birth to the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race.

Attacks Respiratory System

Flu

Influenza, or flu, is serious. The flu shot can prevent or minimize the illness. The U.S. can see up to 710,000 flu-related hospitalizations and as many as 56,000 deaths each year. In 2017-18 , a particularly bad year, Texas saw nearly 12,000 flu-related deaths, including 17 children.

Is Much More
Than a Cold
Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is a highly contagious viral infection that can make people very ill or even kill them. The disease attacks the liver, and people spread it through contact with infected fecal matter.

Spreads Mostly Through Dirty Hands

Hepatitis B

With six different vaccines for hepatitis B in the U.S., there’s no shortage of tools to prevent it. Yet in 2016, nearly 1,700 people in this country – and more than 780,000 worldwide – died from this viral liver infection.

Spreads Through Blood, Body Fluids
Hib

Despite its name, Haemophilus influenzae type b – or Hib – doesn’t cause influenza. In the 1890s, doctors thought this bacteria might cause flu and – despite later research showing flu is a viral illness – the name stuck.

Causes Severe Illnesses in Kids

HPV

HPV – short for human papillomavirus – is the world’s most common sexually transmitted infection. About 80% of people in the U.S. will get HPV, which can lead to cancer in men and women years later.

This Vaccine Prevents Cancer
Maternal Vaccines

Pregnant women may not realize they pass on disease-fighting antibodies to their babies, protecting them early in life. Certain vaccines received before and during pregnancy protect moms and babies.

Keep Moms,
Babies Healthy

Measles

Measles, an awful disease that is incredibly contagious, was eradicated in the U.S. because most everyone got the vaccine against it. But it has made a comeback, including in some areas of Texas.

Can Be Deadly
for Kids
Meningitis B

Meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine is the new kid on the block for children and adolescents, having won approval in 2014. This vaccine for meningitis B often is confused with the older meningococcal vaccine.

Affects People Living in Close Quarters

Meningococcal Disease

Your patients might not be familiar with meningococcal disease because it is relatively rare in the U.S. When it hits, though, it’s nasty, leading to meningitis or bloodstream infections, among other ailments.

Can Cause Death Within Hours
Mumps

Mumps spreads easily through sneezing and coughing, or just by touching infected surfaces. A vaccine, introduced in 1967, reduced U.S. cases by 99%. However, outbreaks continue to occur, including in Texas.

Appears As Puffy Cheeks, Swollen Jaw

Pertussis

The “whoop” that gives whooping cough (pertussis) its name is a terrifying sound. It’s the sound of someone – usually a child – gasping for breath. Adults need the shot to protect babies. Whooping cough can affect anyone, and is especially dangerous for babies.

Can Be Deadly
in Babies
Pneumococcal Disease

Your patients might not have heard of pneumococcal bacteria, but they probably know some of its serious conditions: pneumonia, meningitis, sinusitis, blood infections, and ear infections.

Affects Very Young and Old

Polio

Polio once terrified Americans. In the 1940s-'50s, the virus crippled some 35,000 Americans a year. Because polio often attacked abdominal muscles used to breathe, many died or needed a respirator called an iron lung.

Remains a Threat Worldwide
Rotavirus

Rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrhea for young children in the world today. It is a highly contagious viral infection that inflames the lining of the stomach and intestines, and especially affects children 2 years old and younger.

Causes Severe Diarrhea

Rubella

The virus that causes rubella often appears deceptively mild — so mild, in fact, that one-quarter to half of people infected with it will have no symptoms at all. Rubella is especially dangerous for pregnant women.

Causes Birth Defects, Miscarriage
Tetanus

Tetanus goes by the nickname “lockjaw” for good reason: It causes painful spasms that typically occur in jaw muscles but can wrack the entire body, and can be fatal.

Can Affect All Ages

Texas School Vaccinations

Texas public schools (and most private schools) and colleges require students to have certain shots before they can attend classes.

Keep Children Healthy
Varicella-Zoster Virus

Remember those itchy pockmarks so many people used to get as kids? That’s the varicella-zoster virus, or chickenpox. That same virus does double-duty: It can cause chickenpox when you’re young and reactivate later in life as a painful, blistery rash called shingles.

Causes Chickenpox, Shingles
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Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Diphtheria

Flu

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis B

Hib

HPV

Maternal Vaccines

Measles

Meningitis B

Meningococcal Disease

Mumps

Pertussis

Pneumococcal Disease

Polio

Rotavirus

Rubella

Tetanus

Texas School Vaccinations

Varicella-Zoster Virus

TMA is helping to strengthen your practice by offering advice and creating a climate of medical success across the state.

What could a TMA membership mean for you, your practice, and your patients?

Vaccinations for the Uninsured

Immunization Requirements and Laws

Ask the TMA Knowledge Center

(800) 880-7955