Child Development and Public Health

 The process of protecting a person against a disease, via antibodies, Immunization can happen naturally, when some survives a disease, or medically, usually via a small dose of the virus that stimulates the production of antibodies and thus renders a person immune. (Also called vaccination.) Berger, K. S. (2012).

The public health topic I chose to write about is; Immunizations.

Immunizations protects children not only from temporary sickness but also from serious complications, including deafness, blindness, sterility, and meningitis. Sometimes the damage from illness is not apparent until decades later. Childhood mumps, for instance, can cause sterility and doubles the risk of schizophrenia (Dalman et al., 2008). Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

           

Some people cannot be safely immunized, including: 1. Embryos exposed to rubella (German measles), who may be born blind, deaf, and brain-damaged, 2. Newborns, who may die from a disease that is mild in children; 3. People with impaired immune systems (HIV. Positive, aged, or undergoing chemotherapy). All these are protected if they are part of a community (a herd) in which 90 percent of the people are immunized, because then the disease does not spread to those who are vulnerable.  Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

The biggest problem with immunization is that no effective vaccine has been found for AIDS, malaria, cholera, typhoid, and shigellosis-all devastating diseases in the developing world. Another problem is that public health measures have not reach many rural areas of the world. Failure to immunize infants constitutes medical neglect. Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

I was immunized as a child and all three of my children were immunized, so far no regrets. There are a lot of un-providing facts out there that are scaring young mothers to not immunize their children. For example; (MMR) causing Autism. Parents a duty to protect their children, if the reason for not immunizing their children is because they could possibly get Autism, you could argue, if you don't you risk the chances of your child being exposed to deafness, blindness, sterility, and meningitis. If you chose to not immunize because of religious belief, there is no argument from me.

 A variety of pathogens – bacteria, viruses and parasites – are responsible for the major childhood diseases. Bacteria causes tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and tuberculosis. Viruses cause polio and measles. A single-celled parasite causes malaria.

Measles, a viral respiratory infection, killed over 500,000 children in 2003, more than any other vaccine-preventable disease. The measles death toll in Africa is so high – every minute one child dies – that many mothers don't give children real names until they have survived the disease. Measles weakens the immune system and renders children very susceptible to fatal complications from diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition. Those that survive may suffer blindness, deafness or brain damage. http://www.unicef.org/immunization/index_why.html

References:

Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

http://www.unicef.org/immunization/index_why.html