Is it essential to repeat the Smallpox vaccine, if it does not errupt the first time and at what age should we repeat triple antigen vaccine?

If there is no effect of the Smallpox vaccination, i.e. no successful scar, it should be repeated every six weeks till it is positive, and later every three years. Triple Antigen must be repeated at 1 year after the last injection and then at 5 years and later it should not be DPT but DT only, every three years, till the child is 15 years of age. We do not like to give DPT after six years of age. since pertussis vaccine may be dangerous.

Why is the whooping cough element dangerous?

The whopping cough vaccination, if given after the age of six, may produce encephalitis in one in 100,000 cases. We do not want to take any risk with your precious child, hence we do not advise it after the age of six.

Please tell us something about immunization against Polio.

Polio vaccination is done by few drops of the vaccine being put in the baby's mouth. You should make it certain that the baby is not fed for at least 1/2 hour before and 1/2 hour after the vaccination. The baby should not have diarrhoea and upper respiratory tract infection like cold and cough for a successful vaccination to take place. It is very necessary that you should get the vaccine from an authorised centre, otherwise the chances of false protection may cost you heavily. The vaccination becomes ineffective if not given properly. The vaccine has to be stored in a deep freeze at a certain temperature, which very few centres can afford. So please be careful where you get the polio vaccination done for your baby. Polio immunization need not be repeated after the first, or maximum the second Booster.

How to save the child from Cholera and Typhoid?

The typhoid vaccination must be.done just before summer every year, since the protection provided by the vaccine is only for 6 months.

In fact if you think you can give your child water to carry in a flask I can assure you, that either he will share it with his friends or throw it away and drink the water from the tap. Carrying water singles him out and his desire is to be identified with his friends and socialise, to be one with them and not different. - Milk and ice-creams beside water are vehicles for this infection which is carried by fluids. Children love ice-creams in summer and hence it is necessary to protect them rather than prohibit them from eating the delicacies of summer. Cholera immunization as a routine is not advised.

Is Booster-shot required after bcg too?

Yes, once a child is vaccinated for BCG he should be tested at one year of age whether the BCG was effective. This is done by a test known as Mantoux. If it is negative, BCG vaccine should be repeated. If it is positive then the purpose has been served.

Tell us about the M.M.R. vaccine.

The M.M.R. vaccine stands for measles, mumps, and rubella (also known as German Measles).

Why is rubella dangerous for a pregnant mother?

Rubella is a disease like measles except that it is milder in severity and has other manifestations like glands in the neck which identify it from the ordinary measles. If a young girl has rubella, that gives her a long immunity from the disease. But the non-im­munized pregnant woman, especially in the first three months of pregnancy, if exposed to rubella, is likely to transfer the disease to her unborn infant in which case the infant may be bom blind or may have many other congenital abnormalities and be crippled. That is the reason why we suggest that rubella immunization should be done in early childhood, because if the ^mother has had the disease or was immunized then; then if she is exposed to German measles in pregnancy, she is not going to suffer from the disease or transfer it to her unborn child.

What schedule do you recommend for a child who is not immunized?

The schedule is exactly as in infants. This means that if a child comes to us under the age of six, we can give this child BCG, DPT and polio on the first day o.f the visit. Every month DPT and polio is to be repeated for the next two months. The Smallpox vaccination can be given next. If a child comes after the age of six, then it should be DT and NOT DPT as explained above, but the rest of the schedule remains the same.

Tell us where we /can get immunizations for our baby.

Immunizations can be done in any big hospital, MCH centres or primary health centres. Most of these have various immunizing agents. The Polio vaccine may not be available in some places but in most centres where deep freeze or fridge is available, polio may also be available.

Does immunization provide 100% protection?

Well, immunization may not provide 100% protection but it does provide at least 90% protection for most of these diseases. The reason why I say 90% is because if the child is incubating, the protection may not be complete. At the worst, the child may have the diseases in a very mild form which may not affect the child's health, on the. other hand if immunizations are done early enough as advised, the protection is nearly 100%. Even for the polio vaccine, where it is said that immunized child might have the disease, I may assure you that it usually is not true if the immunizing agent was well stored, and given well. Further many viruses may cause similar pattern of diseases and unfortunately we do not have a vaccine against them at present.