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By two years of age, healthy infants in the United States can
receive up to 20 vaccinations to protect against 11 diseases.
Although most people know that vaccines effectively protect against
serious infectious diseases, approximately one-quarter of parents
in a recent survey believe that infants get more vaccines than are
good for them, and that too many immunizations could overwhelm an
infant's immune system. The Immunization Safety Review Committee
reviewed the evidence regarding the hypothesis that multiple
immunizations increase the risk for immune dysfunction.
Specifically, the committee looked at evidence of potential
biological mechanisms and at epidemiological evidence for or
against causality related to risk for infections, the autoimmune
disease type 1 diabetes, and allergic disorders.
In this report, the Immunization Safety Review committee examines
the hypothesis of whether or not the use of vaccines containing the
preservative thimerosal can cause neurodevelopmental disorders
(NDDs), specifically autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), and speech or language delay.
Immunization to protect infants and children from
vaccine-preventable diseases is one of the greatest achievements of
public health. Immunization is not without risks, however. It is
well established, for example, that the oral polio vaccine can on
rare occasion cause paralytic polio.
The Immunization Safety Review Committee was established by the
Institute of Medicine (IOM) to evaluate the available evidence on a
series of immunization safety concerns. The committee is charged
with examining three immunization safety hypotheses each year
during the three-year study period (2001- 2003). While all of the
committee members share the view that immunization is generally
beneficial, none of them has a vested interest in the specific
immunization safety issues that come before the group. In this
report, which is the fourth in the series, the committee examines
the hypothesis that the hepatitis B vaccine increases the risk for
demyelinating disorders of the central or peripheral nervous
systems, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and Guillain-Barre
syndrome (GBS).
This book evaluates the effectiveness of prenatal care
interventions and provides a framework for prenatal care that looks
beyond the limited perspective of immediate neonatal outcomes.
Ultimately, this book seeks to improve the content and the
implementation of prenatal care by shifting the focus away from
short-term technocentric medical advances to concentrate on the
broader public health issues. A unique aspect of this book is its
focus on the effectiveness of prenatal care interventions on
longer-term benefits for women and children's health. Traditional
medical interventions, as well as social support and behavioral
interventions during prenatal care are reviewed. Effectiveness is
considered within the context of its implications for public policy
and service delivery. This book is an important resource for
maternal and child health professionals, policy makers and health
care managers because it provides evidence of the prenatal care
services that improve the long-term health of women and children.
Immunization is widely regarded as one of the most effective and
beneficial tools for protecting the public's health. In the United
States, immunization programs have resulted in the eradication of
smallpox, the elimination of polio, and the control and near
elimination of once-common, often debilitating and potentially
life-threatening diseases, including measles, mumps, rubella,
diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenza type b.
Along with the benefits of widespread immunization, however, have
come concerns about the safety of vaccines. No vaccine is perfectly
safe or effective, and vaccines may lead to serious adverse effects
in some instances. Furthermore, if a serious illness is observed
after vaccination, it is often unclear whether that sequence is
coincidental or causal, and it can be difficult to determine the
true nature of the relationship, if any, between the vaccination
and the illness. Ironically, the successes of vaccine coverage in
the United States have made it more difficult for the public to
weigh the benefits and complications of vaccines because the
now-controlled diseases and their often-serious risks are no longer
familiar. However, because vaccines are so widely used-and because
state laws require that children be vaccinated before entering
daycare and school, in part to protect others-it is essential that
safety concerns be fully and carefully studied.
Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and
Autism, the first of a series from the Institute of Medicine (IOM)
Immunization Safety Review Committee, presents an assessment of the
evidence regarding a hypothesized causal association between the
measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, an assessment of
the broader significance for society of the issues surrounding the
MMR-autism hypothesis, and the committee's conclusions and
recommendations based on those assessments.
Thousands of HIV-positive women give birth every year. Further,
because many pregnant women are not tested for HIV and therefore do
not receive treatment, the number of children born with HIV is
still unacceptably high. What can we do to eliminate this tragic
and costly inheritance? In response to a congressional request,
this book evaluates the extent to which state efforts have been
effective in reducing the perinatal transmission of HIV. The
committee recommends that testing HIV be a routine part of prenatal
care, and that health care providers notify women that HIV testing
is part of the usual array of prenatal tests and that they have an
opportunity to refuse the HIV test. This approach could help both
reduce the number of pediatric AIDS cases and improve treatment for
mothers with AIDS.
Reducing the Odds will be of special interest to federal, state,
and local health policymakers, prenatal care providers, maternal
and child health specialists, public health practitioners, and
advocates for HIV/AIDS patients. January
Infection with the influenza virus can have a serious effect on the
health of people of all ages, although it is particularly worrisome
for infants, the elderly, and people with underlying heart or lung
problems. A vaccine exists (the a /flua shot) that can greatly
decrease the impact of influenza. Because the strains of virus that
are expected to cause serious illness and death are slightly
different every year, the vaccine is also slightly different every
year and it must be given every year, unlike other vaccines. The
Immunization Safety Review committee reviewed the data on influenza
vaccine and neurological conditions and concluded that the evidence
favored rejection of a causal relationship between influenza
vaccines and exacerbation of multiple sclerosis. For the other
neurological conditions studied, the committee concluded the
evidence about the effects of influenza vaccine is inadequate to
accept or reject a causal relationship. The committee also reviewed
theories on how the influenza vaccine could damage the nervous
system. The evidence was at most weak that the vaccine could act in
humans in ways that could lead to these neurological problems.
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