The main vaccines

Whooping-cough

Vaccination against the whooping-cough obligatory but is not very recommended. The whooping-cough is indeed a disease which can be very serious in young nourrisson and it is currently in recrudescence.

There are two types of vaccine: a vaccine with killed whole germs and recently, a vaccine acellulaire.

The vaccine with killed whole germs is responsible for local and general reactions (fever, faintness…) rather frequent. It nevertheless is still used in France for the first vaccinations because it gives a more durable immunity. The risk of neurological complications is very weak. It is usually coupled with the vaccines against the diphteria, tetanus and the polio. Three injections are necessary to 2, 3 and 4 months. The 18 months recall is done with the vaccine whooping-cough acellulaire. The killed anti-coquelucheux vaccine is not practised any more after the 5 years age.

The premature old children, the children having suffered with the birth (Score of low Apgar), those having presented convulsions should not be vaccinated by the killed vaccine. In the event of neurological antecedents in the family, it seems more advisable to avoid this vaccination.

The vaccine acellulaire against the whooping-cough is practised in France since 1999 for the 18 months recall then every 5 years. It gives much less secondary reactions.

The hæmophilus B

The hémophilus (bacillus of Pfeiffer) was responsible every year for a thousand of serious infections (meningitides, epiglottitises etc) in the child for less than 5 years in France. Mortality was high and the significant frequency of the after-effects (mental deficiency, hydrocéphalie, deafness, blindness, paralyses…).

The vaccine obtained by genetic engineering against the hémophilus has been employed in France for a few years. This vaccine does not have a side effect and is practised at the same time as the vaccines diphteria, tetanus, polio and whooping-cough as from two months (pentavalent vaccine).

This vaccine is not useful in the child of more than five years.

Measles, mumps and rubella

In France, measles, is not always a disease as benign as the opinion wants to believe it well. The vaccine is very well tolerated and its complications exceptional are compared with those of natural measles.

Rubella is a minor illness in the child but gravissime at the pregnant woman. 

The mumps are a minor illness but it can exist complications meningitis, deafness, orchite and sterility. 

Triple vaccine ROR is advised as from 12 months with a revaccination between the age of three and five years. The minimum time between two vaccines is 1 month. This vaccine can involve 8 to 15 days later, of the various symptoms: fever, eruption, cough, state grognon, loss of appetite, small ganglia behind the ears and on the nape of the neck, articular pains.

The counter-indications are rare: feverish affections in progress, the true allergy to proteins of egg and the kanamycine and immunizing deficits.

Hepatitis B

The genetic engineering made it possible to develop vaccines recombined against hepatitis B which give a better immunity without side effect. The noises which ran on the risks of multiple sclerosis these last years were refuted but, by prudence, the vaccine is disadvised if there are family antecedents of multiple sclerosis. Two intramuscular injections with the external face of the arm necessary are spaced one month with a recall between 6 and 12 months later.

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