Immunisation still important

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 392, 25 June 1991, Page 9

Immunisation still important

HEALTH WATCH

BY

HELEN

POCKNALL

, PHN

Childhood immunisation is one of the central components of preventative medicine. Once again I am immunising our region's Form 1 girls against contracting Rubella (German measles). Rubella is an infectious disease. The symptoms can be so mild that one may not even know that one has it. It can manifest itself with a pink skin rash, swollen glands in the neck and perhaps a temperature or one may just feel generally off colour for a few days. It commonly affects young children and young adult males who have not been immunised. It will not affect them at all, however, if a pregnant woman comes into contact with someone who has Rubella and contracts the disease in the first four months of her pregnancy then she is at serious risk of miscarrying or harming her unbom baby. The baby may be born with a damaged brain, heart, with hearing or vision defects. So free immunisation is offered to girls sometime before they plan a pregnancy. This is done at our local schools or if parents wish, they may take their daughter to their family doctor to give the injection. A combined immunisation for measles, mumps and rubella is now offered for small

children at 12-15 months old. This is foi both male and female babies. Statistics prove that it was necessary to also offer protection against mumps and rubella at this age. Measles vaccination has been given now for quite some time and approximately 70% of children have received this in the past. Measles is the most serious of common •childhood diseases. Complications associated with it include otitis media, pneumonia, diarrhoea and encephalitis. Mumps is generally a mild illness in children causing fever, headache and inflammation of the salivary glands which causes the cheeks to swell. Serious complications can occur. Mumps is one of the major causes of unilated deafness and is the most common cause of viral meningitis in non-vac-cinated children under the age of 15. In adult males who contract mumps, roughly a quarter may experience a reduction in male fertility. Rubella continues to be present in our community despite 98% of Form I girls receiving the immunisation. It is maintained and spread by young un-immunised children and older unimmunised males. So, it is wise to have our children immunised now at the age of 12-15 months. Rubella immunisations will continue to be offered to Form 1 girls.