Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material (the vaccine) to produce immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by a pathogen. Vaccination is considered to be the most effective and cost-effective method of preventing infectious diseases. The material administrated can either be live but weakened forms of pathogens (bacteria or viruses), killed or inactivated forms of these pathogens, or purified material such as proteins. Smallpox was the first disease people tried to prevent by purposely inoculating themselves with other types of infections; smallpox inoculation was started in China or India before 200 BC. In 1718, Lady Mary Wortley Montague reported that the Turks had a habit of deliberately inoculating themselves with fluid taken from mild cases of smallpox, and that she had inoculated her own children. Before 1796 when British physician Edward Jenner tested the possibility of using the cowpox vaccine as an immunisation for smallpox in humans for the first time, at least six people had done the same several years earlier: a person whose identity is unknown, England, (about 1771), Mrs. Sevel, Germany (about 1772), Mr. Jensen, Germany (about 1770), Benjamin Jesty, England, in 1774, Mrs. Rendall, England (about 1782) and Peter Plett, Germany, in 1791.
I'm going to Goa in 2 weeks have i left it to late to have any vaccinations needed and how important is it that i have them,what's the risk of...
just wondered if they are necessary
I've been advised by my travel company that I'm going to need vaccinations against Cholera, Hapatitis A, B and E, Malaria, Polio, Rabies, and ...
Hi, We will be travelling with a 7 month old baby so don't want her to have to have vaccinantions - shes had enough injections this year! An...
Travelling to Antigua from UK in August 2007 with 2 children - do we need to have any vaccinations for a week's holiday? Thanks.
Me and my friend are going to Cuba - she went to the doctor to get her jabs and got them free but my doctor says there's a charge for them. Do so...
I have only taken two of the three jabs needed of the hepatitis B vaccinations. I was supposed to have the third in April of last year. Because it'...
why do we need 3 does of certain vaccinations like hepatitis b?
I am planning to bring my wife and kid to dubai. Recently I read that Hepatitis B test is made compulsary and Hepatitis B vaccination is made compulsa...
Hi i am 21 years old. I want to know if all the doses of the hepatitis B vaccinations are the same doses. I received shot 1 and 2 in 2004. Then rece...
I phoned my GP but was told they do not do the hepatitis B vaccination at my doctors surgery so i have to go to a private doctor to have it done. I ne...
I dont have the virus. My NICU says that my baby should be vaccinated just for the sake of added protection. She's only about 35 weeks gestation. ...
I have a 18 month old Lab who has not had any shots or tests since he was a puppy. I need to get his vaccinations current. I think I need to get his B...
Next year I want to take my dog to visit my sister in Italy. I know she will need a rabies vaccination (The dog, NOT my sister!!!).... is that it? Wha...
Its eight weeks old and i want to know what kind and how many vaccinations it should get throughout the year and to its fully grown to an adult. Can y...
If I were to get a cat, what vaccinations would I need to give her regularly, how often and how much would they cost? The cat has had her first innoc...
This is my first puppy that I have owned by myself, and I need to know what vaccinations the puppy needs and when. Any other useful advice, such as tr...
I don't know if it matters or not, but I'm in the United States. I'm moving to Europe soon and in order for me to bring her with me, I hav...
Where can I find information about the flu and flu vaccinations?
Hi, as you are probably aware we have now an outbreak of Equine Influenza in Australia due to imported horses. Luckily where I live hasn't been af...
I don't want to die or anything and I hate the doctors office so I have 2 questions... 1. Does my seasonal-flu vaccination work against swine-f...
a)they develop active immunity to the flu b)they develop passive immunity to the flu c)they have immunity to smallpox infection d)they have an incr...
In the past I've given the combination vacs with Tetnus and then had the Vet administer the West Nile... I've heard that these may not be as e...
I was immunized against the flu while pregnant. My daughter is now four weeks old, and someone in the house has the flu. I know my baby's immune s...
My cat was given a rabies vaccination when she was under 1 y.o. now she's about 4 y.o. but she has only had one of those rabies shots. How many sh...
I have 2 feral cats. A few years ago they got their rabies shots (I used a Have-A-Hart trap to catch them). Now the vets are constantly asking me to c...
I am traveling to a rabies risk area and want to be immunized before I leave. I went to the doctors but they the rabies shot is not given unless one h...
I would like to know how the vaccine has "evolved" per say since it was first created. I know that Pasteur created it but i would like to kn...
I just got the first shot for the series of pre exposure vaccinations for rabies (three shots) and I was wondering if there's a problem if I start...
I have posted a similar question regarding a rabies shot causing a bald spot in my little maltese. We did not notice the bald spot until about 2 mont...
Since I have been reading all about vaccines and autism, I hear that single shots of MMR vaccines given at different times are a safer way. (Dr. steph...
Does anyone know where I can order a single dose 5-way vaccine for puppies? I am a new breeder and my dog only ended up with one puppy. I give my own ...
I've been reading about the harmful effects of the combo vaccines and was wondering if anyone knows of a vet in north florida that uses single vac...
Please can anybody advise where and how the single mumps and rubella vaccines are available in australia?
What are the answers to the autism mystery? Collected studies and opinions on the various causes of what today is called "autism". http://...
I received vaccinations for typhoid, rubella, diptheria, yellow fever, Hep A, Hep B, meningitis & rabies in June 2002. I am travelling again this fal...
I am traveling to Jamaica, later in the year and was wondering if i need vaccinations, and any other advice anyone has would be appreciated.
I need the vaccinations for work but my doctors will only imunise me for a holiday/Travel are they the same thing or weaker doses? what should i do? i...
South Africa, Guadeloupe, El Salvador, Brunei, Fiji,
If so, is there a certain time I need to get them?
My friend is a Japanese student in the U.S. and wants to travel to Brazil for 2 weeks. Are vaccines required for tourists to enter Brazil?
they are required to enter my university. i got them done in 1997 to attend another university. would i be considered immunizized?
And how could a measles vaccination affect the digestive system? It's something I read once and can't proper remember ...
I am talking about the first dose, being given the same day for all three these deseases, and the second dose given on another date but always for all...
Visiting at end of month and trying to assess if I need shots or something. Coming from US.
Okay - I'll be honest I don't see the problem, our school district had a long list of vaccinations like measles - before any of our children c...
I'm so annoyed. I had the vaccination when I was young, then I contracted rubella. Last year, my husband has the rare case of measles in men... an...
When are children usually due for the MMR vaccination in the US?
I took the MMR vaccination on June 6th 2007. My gyny says that I only need to wait 6 weeks after the vaccination to conceive, wheras the doctor who ad...
Ok so here's the deal. I need my MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccination) paperwork. I have no idea where that would be. I'm fairly certain s...
back in the late 90's there was an autism scare that was supposedly linked to the MMR vaccination. was there a price difference between getting th...
I had mononucleosis in 2001 and received a vaccination for MMR (required by college) probably 1 year later. UC symptoms (as well as many other strang...
Hi, I have had chicken pox 2 weeks ago and now i am recovered. But i will have to take MMR vaccination in 2 days for my higher education. I am wo...
Where can I find information on the vaccines given to newborns/infants. I would like to hold off for a while on injecting my newborn with live viruses...
Hello! I have a puppy, shes 7wks old; born on Aug 13, 2008. What vaccines do i need to give her? I am not planning to take her to the vet, i am goi...
I heard the dosage may be the problem or allergy to the vaccine but i don't know which one. My son has mild end autism spectrum disorder. If he is...
Under what circumstances should the government be able to force its citizens to be vaccinated against diseases? What kinds of diseases should have man...
I was talking to someone about vaccines earlier and we got on the subject of mercury. From what I've heard the vaccines that contain mercury have eith...
Can someone tell me how many polio vaccines (IPV) are produce worldwide and who produces them? A breakdown by company would be ideal.