Parents who support the vaccination of children against various diseases may still wonder whether all of these immunizations are really necessary. For instance, they might question why children are still supposed to receive vaccinations against diphtheria, administered by a medical doctor in Andover Kansas. They’ve never heard of anyone getting diphtheria in their lifetime. Why is this vaccine included in the same shot with vaccines protecting against tetanus and pertussis?
About Diphtheria
This bacterial disease causes unpleasant and even dangerous symptoms. People may develop a sore throat, runny nose, swollen lymph glands and a fever. The main concern is a thick gray sheet of membrane-like material covering the throat and disrupting breathing. Immunization provided by a medical doctor in Andover, Kansas prevents infection.
The Risk of Infection
Eliminating the diphtheria vaccine from the childhood immunization schedule in the United States would be a problem because the disease is still infecting people elsewhere around the world. Until diphtheria is entirely eradicated, as smallpox has been, the vaccine is still crucial for preventing infection. The last reported case of smallpox anywhere in the world was in 1977.
Where Diphtheria Still Occurs
The Centers for Disease Control notes that about 7,000 cases of diphtheria are reported to the World Health Organization annually. However, many other cases probably occur and are never reported, according to the CDC.
Most diphtheria infections occur in India and Madagascar. Outbreaks have also been reported in Bangladesh, Venezuela, and Yemen in recent years. An epidemic occurred in the 1990s in the region that used to be the Soviet Union after the dissolution of that regime. As with Venezuela, the disease had been virtually nonexistent there until the nation disintegrated and a chaotic situation developed.
One case was reported in the United States as recently as 2015. People can be infected when they travel to other countries and when visitors from places where the disease still exists come to the United States.
Concluding Thoughts
The risk of an outbreak of this disease in the United States is low. Nevertheless, infection is still possible and the illness can be deadly. For that reason, vaccination at a clinic such as Wichita Family Medicine Specialists LLC is still necessary to protect everyone against diphtheria.
