Of thirteen vaccine-preventable diseases in America, figures indicate there has been a big fall in the number of disease cases, hospitalizations and deaths when figures before vaccination programs started and after are compared, according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The authors explain that vaccinations programs have played a major role in eliminating many vaccine-preventable diseases in the USA – they have also contributed towards reducing the incidence of other diseases.
The researchers write “Vaccine-preventable diseases have societal and economic costs in addition to the morbidity and premature deaths resulting from these diseases – the costs include missed time from school and work, physician office visits, and hospitalizations.”
Sandra W. Roush, M.T., M.P.H., CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Atlanta, and team with the Vaccine-Preventable Disease Table Working Group, looked at illness and death rates before and after nationwide implementation of national vaccine recommendations (in place before 2005) for 13 vaccine-preventable diseases.
These diseases include׃
— diphtheria
— pertussis
— tetanus
— poliomyelitis
— measles
— mumps
— rubella (including congenital rubella syndrome)
— hib (invasive haemophilus influenzae type b)
— acute hepatitis b
— hepatitis a
— chickenpox (varicella)
— streptococcus pneumoniae
— smallpox
For vaccination recommendations that started before 1980, the rate of incidence decline before vaccinations started compared to 2006 was enormous׃
— diphtheria – 100% decline
— measles – 99.9% decline
— paralytic poliomyelitis – 100% decline
— rubella – 99.9% decline
— congenital rubella syndrome – 99.3% decline
— smallpox – 100% decline
— mumps 95.9% decline
— tetanus 92.9% decline
— pertussis 92.2% decline
While smallpox has been eradicated globally, the endemic transmission of poliovirus, measles virus, and rubella virus have been eliminated in the USA. There have been no reported deaths as a result of contracting diphtheria, measles, mumps, paralytic poliomyelitis, or rubella; deaths due to congenital rubella syndrome are not reported (all these figures refer just to the USA).
The following diseases had vaccine licences or were recommended after 1980 and before 2005 – their rate of incidence decline is as follows׃
— invasive Hib disease declined 99.8
— hepatitis A, 87.0 percent
— hepatitis B 80.1%
— invasive pneumococcal disease 34.1
— varicella (chickenpox) 85%
The researchers write “The number of cases of most vaccine-preventable diseases is at an all-time low; hospitalizations and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases have also shown striking decreases. These achievements are largely due to reaching and maintaining high vaccine coverage levels from infancy throughout childhood by successful implementation of the infant and childhood immunization program.”
The authors conclude “Vaccines are one of the greatest achievements of biomedical science and public health. Continued efforts to improve the efficacy and safety of vaccines and vaccine coverage among all age groups will provide overall public health benefit. The challenges in vaccine development, vaccine financing, surveillance, assessment, and vaccine delivery are opportunities for the future.”
JAMA. 2007;298(18):2155-2163
Written by – Christian Nordqvist