Disease |
Effects of disease |
Side effects of vaccine |
Diphtheria
Contagious bacteria that spread by close contact with an infected person or carrier and cause a sore throat and severe breathing difficulties. |
Of the people who get diphtheria: The bacteria release a toxin (poison) which can lead to paralysis and heart failure. |
Of the people who are immunised: - 1 in 10 have redness and swelling where the injection was given or have a fever.
Serious side effects are very rare. |
Hib
(haemophilus
influenzae B)
Contagious bacteria that spread by close contact with an infected person and cause meningitis (inflammation of the lining around the brain), epiglottitis (swelling in the throat that causes choking), septicaemia (blood poisoning) and osteomyeltitis (infection of the bone). |
Of the people who get hib disease: - 1 in 20 people who have hib meningitis will die;
- 1 in 4 people who recover from hib meningitis will have permanent brain damage or deafness; and
- 1 in 100 people who have epiglottitis (swelling in the throat that causes choking) will die.
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Of the people who are immunised: - 1 in 5 have discomfort,
- redness or swelling where the injection was given; and
- 1 in 50 will have a fever.
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Hepatitis B
A viral disease that is spread through contact with the blood or other body fluid of an infected person and causes liver disease. Children have a higher risk of having hepatitis B infection for life. |
Of those who have hepatitis B infection for life- 1 in 4 will die from scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) or liver cancer.
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Of the people who are immunised: - 1 in 10 have discomfort, redness or swelling where the injection was given, or will have a fever
Serious side effects are very rare. |
Measles
A highly contagious virus that is spread by close contact with an infected person and causes fever, a cough and a rash. |
Of the people who get measles:
- 1 or 2 in 1000 will die;
- 1 in 20 will get an ear infection;
- 1 in 25 will get pneumonia or bronchitis;
- 1 in 200 will have convulsions (fits); and
- 1 in 6 will get diarrhoea.
- 1 in 1000 will develop encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). For every 10 children who develop encephalitis:
- 1 will die; and up to 4 will have brain damage.
- 1 in 8000 children under two years get SSPE (brain degeneration), which may be many years after measles and is always fatal.
- 1 in 6000 will get a blood-clotting problem
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Of the people who are immunised: - 1 in 10 will have discomfort, redness or swelling where the injection was given, or will have a fever;
- 1 in 20 will get a rash six to 12 days later(this is not contagious);
- 1 in 1000 will have a convulsion (fit);
- 1 in a million may develop encephalitis (inflammation of the brain);
- 1 in 22,000 will get a temporary blood clotting problem.
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Men C
(meningococcal
C disease) Contagious bacteria that spread by saliva or close contact with an infected person or carrier and causes meningitis or septicaemia, or both. (The men C vaccine does not protect against other types of meningitis including that due to meningococcal B disease.) |
Of the people who get men C disease: - 1 in 15 will die
- 1 in 10 people who recover from meningococcal disease will have a major disability such as deafness, brain damage or loss of fingers, toes, hands, feet, arms or legs.
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Of the babies who are immunised: - 1 in 20 babies will get redness or swelling where the injection was given;
- 1 in 20 babies will get a fever;
- 1 in 2 babies will become irritable; and
- 1 in 100 may get a tummy upset or vomit.
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Mumps A contagious virus that is spread by close contact with an infected person and causes swollen neck glands and a fever |
Of the people who get mumps: - 1 in 20 will get viral meningitis;
- 1 in 1000 will get encephalitis (brain inflammation);
- 4 in 10 men who have mumps will get swollen testicles;
- 1 in 3 will get a fever, a headache, and swollen salivary glands under the jaw; and
- 1 in 20,000 may become deaf.
Mumps can also rarely cause infertility in men. |
Of the people who are immunised: |
Pneumococcal disease
A bacterial disease spread by close contact with an infected person or carrier and causes pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia |
Of those who are infected:
- 1 in 3 will develop pneumonia;
- 1 in 3 will develop meningitis; and
- 1 in 10 will die.
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Of the people who are immunised:
- 1 in 10 will have discomfort or swelling where the injection was given or have a fever
Serious side effects are very rare. |
Polio
A contagious virus that is spread by close contact with an infected person or their faeces (poo). It causes fever, headache and vomiting and may progress to paralysis. |
Of the people who get polio:
- Up to 1 in 100 will become paralysed;
- 1 in 20 patients who become paralysed will die; and
- 1 in 2 of those with paralysis whom survive will be permanently paralysed.
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No serious side effects have been recorded for inactivated polio vaccine, which has been used for over 40 years.
- There may be a little redness or soreness where the injection was given.
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Rubella
A contagious virus that is spread by close contact with an infected person and causes a rash, fever and swollen glands. It may cause major birth defects in the baby if the mother gets rubella it in early pregnancy. |
Of the people who get rubella:
- 9 in 10 babies will have a major birth defect (such as deafness, blindness, brain damage or heart defects) if the mother got rubella in early pregnancy;
- 1 in 3000 get thrombocytopenia (bruising or bleeding of the skin);
- 1 in 6000 get encephalitis (inflammation of the brain);
- About 1 in 2 will get a rash and painful swollen glands; and more than half of women with rubella get painful joints.
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Of the people who are immunised:
- 1 in 10 will have discomfort, redness or swelling where the injection was given or will have a fever;
- 1 in 20 get swollen glands, a stiff neck, or joint pains;
- 1 in 20 get a rash (which is not infectious);
- 1 in 22,000 get bruising or bleeding; and
- 1 in 1 million may get encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
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Tetanus A bacteria from soil which release a toxin and causes painful muscle spasms, convulsions and lockjaw. |
Of the people who get tetanus:
- 1 in 10 people will die The risk is greatest or the very young or old.
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Of the people who are immunised:
- 1 in 10 will have redness and swelling where the injection was given or have a fever.
Serious side effects are very rare. |
TB
(tuberculosis)
Contagious bacteria that infect the lungs and spread by close contact with an infected person. It causes coughing, sweating, weight loss and tiredness. TB may also infect the brain or other parts of the body, but this type of TB is not contagious. |
People who get TB will need many months of treatment to cure it. In the past, many people in Ireland died of TB. |
Of the people who are immunised: - most people will get a blister and scarring on the arm where the BCG injection was given;
- 1 in 100 may get small swollen glands under the arm; and
- up to 1 in 1000 may get an infection, which responds to treatment.
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Whooping cough
(pertussis)
Contagious bacteria that spread by close contact with an infected person and causes a ‘whooping’ cough and vomiting. The disease can last up to three months. |
Of the people who get whooping cough: - 1 in 500 will die from pneumonia or brain damage (90% of deaths are in children under the age of 6 months);
- 1 in 125 will have fits (1 in 70 if less than 6 months old);
- 1 in 1000 will get encephalitis (1 in 500 if less than 6 months old);
- 1 in 20 will get pneumonia (1 in 10 if less than 6 months old); and
- 1 in 5 will need to go into hospital.
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Of the people who are immunised: - 1 in 10 have redness and swelling where the injection was given or have a fever;
- about 1 in 2500 may cry for more than three hours after the immunisation; and
- 1 in 12,500 may have a convulsion (fit).
Serious side effects are very rare. |
