Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1994 Mar 29;91(7):2464–2468. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.7.2464

Quest for life-long protection by vaccination.

W R Dowdle 1, W A Orenstein 1
PMCID: PMC43389  PMID: 8146140

Abstract

Life-long protection from disease through immunization can be accomplished through individual or community protection. Individual protection is the goal for vaccination against diseases that have inanimate or animal reservoirs or that pose risks for certain populations. Community protection is the goal for vaccination against diseases that are transmitted only from human to human. Community protection afforded by childhood vaccines has been highly successful against measles, rubella, mumps, and polio. However, outbreaks of measles, rubella, and mumps continue to occur, primarily because of inadequate immunization of children under age 2. Simplification of vaccination regimens, provision of incentives to care providers and parents, and increased access to care should improve vaccination rates in the United States. Better protection requires better use of available vaccines. Eradication of disease through vaccination is the ultimate goal of community protection. Elimination of the infectious agent is the most effective means of achieving life-long protection. The World Health Organization's (WHO) smallpox eradication campaign eliminated a serious disease as well as the need for a vaccine with frequent and severe adverse reactions. The discontinuation of smallpox vaccination in the United States has produced a savings of over $3 billion. Polio has been targeted by WHO for eradication by the year 2000. The eradication of polio and the elimination of the need for polio vaccination in the United States should result in a savings of $110 million per year in vaccine costs alone. Strong United States support is crucial for WHO to reach its goal. Any of the vaccine-preventable childhood virus diseases could be eradicated with sufficient national and international will. Measles and hepatitis B should be high priorities. The ultimate goal of vaccination is life-long protection of all individuals. Any disease of sufficient public health importance to warrant routine vaccination is of sufficient importance to warrant eradication wherever judged to be possible.

Full text

PDF
2464

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adams W. G., Deaver K. A., Cochi S. L., Plikaytis B. D., Zell E. R., Broome C. V., Wenger J. D. Decline of childhood Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease in the Hib vaccine era. JAMA. 1993 Jan 13;269(2):221–226. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Anderson L. J., Nicholson K. G., Tauxe R. V., Winkler W. G. Human rabies in the United States, 1960 to 1979: epidemiology, diagnosis, and prevention. Ann Intern Med. 1984 May;100(5):728–735. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-100-5-728. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson R. M., May R. M. Directly transmitted infections diseases: control by vaccination. Science. 1982 Feb 26;215(4536):1053–1060. doi: 10.1126/science.7063839. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cherry J. D. The epidemiology of pertussis and pertussis immunization in the United Kingdom and the United States: a comparative study. Curr Probl Pediatr. 1984 Feb;14(2):1–78. doi: 10.1016/0045-9380(84)90016-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. De Quadros C. A., Andrus J. K., Olivé J. M., Da Silveira C. M., Eikhof R. M., Carrasco P., Fitzsimmons J. W., Pinheiro F. P. Eradication of poliomyelitis: progress in the Americas. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1991 Mar;10(3):222–229. doi: 10.1097/00006454-199103000-00011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hinman A. R., Foege W. H., de Quadros C. A., Patriarca P. A., Orenstein W. A., Brink E. W. The case for global eradication of poliomyelitis. Bull World Health Organ. 1987;65(6):835–840. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hinman A. R. World eradication of measles. Rev Infect Dis. 1982 Sep-Oct;4(5):933–939. doi: 10.1093/clinids/4.5.933. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hopkins D. R., Hinman A. R., Koplan J. P., Lane J. M. The case for global measles eradication. Lancet. 1982 Jun 19;1(8286):1396–1398. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(82)92510-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kimura M., Kuno-Sakai H. Developments in pertussis immunisation in Japan. Lancet. 1990 Jul 7;336(8706):30–32. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)91530-n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mahoney F. J., Woodruff B. A., Erben J. J., Coleman P. J., Reid E. C., Schatz G. C., Kane M. A. Effect of a hepatitis B vaccination program on the prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection. J Infect Dis. 1993 Jan;167(1):203–207. doi: 10.1093/infdis/167.1.203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Noble G. R., Bernier R. H., Esber E. C., Hardegree M. C., Hinman A. R., Klein D., Saah A. J. Acellular and whole-cell pertussis vaccines in Japan. Report of a visit by US scientists. JAMA. 1987 Mar 13;257(10):1351–1356. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Schlenker T. L., Bain C., Baughman A. L., Hadler S. C. Measles herd immunity. The association of attack rates with immunization rates in preschool children. JAMA. 1992 Feb 12;267(6):823–826. doi: 10.1001/jama.267.6.823. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Smith L. D. The occurrence of Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium tetani in the soil of the United States. Health Lab Sci. 1978 Apr;15(2):74–80. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Stehr-Green P. A., Zell E. R., Eddins D. L. Childhood vaccinations: are rates really declining? JAMA. 1993 Oct 27;270(16):1932–1932. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Strebel P. M., Sutter R. W., Cochi S. L., Biellik R. J., Brink E. W., Kew O. M., Pallansch M. A., Orenstein W. A., Hinman A. R. Epidemiology of poliomyelitis in the United States one decade after the last reported case of indigenous wild virus-associated disease. Clin Infect Dis. 1992 Feb;14(2):568–579. doi: 10.1093/clinids/14.2.568. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tsen Y. J., Chang M. H., Hsu H. Y., Lee C. Y., Sung J. L., Chen D. S. Seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in children in Taipei, 1989: five years after a mass hepatitis B vaccination program. J Med Virol. 1991 Jun;34(2):96–99. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890340205. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Whittle H. C., Inskip H., Hall A. J., Mendy M., Downes R., Hoare S. Vaccination against hepatitis B and protection against chronic viral carriage in The Gambia. Lancet. 1991 Mar 30;337(8744):747–750. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)91367-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Wright P. F., Kim-Farley R. J., de Quadros C. A., Robertson S. E., Scott R. M., Ward N. A., Henderson R. H. Strategies for the global eradication of poliomyelitis by the year 2000. N Engl J Med. 1991 Dec 19;325(25):1774–1779. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199112193252504. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. de Quadros C. A., Andrus J. K., Olive J. M., Guerra de Macedo C., Henderson D. A. Polio eradication from the Western Hemisphere. Annu Rev Public Health. 1992;13:239–252. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pu.13.050192.001323. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES