Vaccines

Throughout the ages, humanity suffered from common infectious diseases including diseases such as polio, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough to name a few. And whilst these diseases certainly are not all gone, one important reason that they occur much less frequently is because of the wonderful invention of vaccination. In fact, from a public population health point of view, vaccinating children is the most effective health intervention that medicine has offered humanity. Apart from children undergoing their important vaccination regime, vaccinations are very useful for people who are planning international travel. In these videos, Dr Grant Blashki talks about the different types of vaccines, their indications, and their side effects.

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Influenza (FDE Rating 4.7)
By Anne Kelso
The term ‘influenza’ is often used loosely to describe respiratory illness caused by a wide range of viruses, including respiratory syncytical virus, parainfluenza viruses, rhinoviruses and adenoviruses as well as influenza viruses themselves. Although all of these viruses can cause significant disease, true influenza has a special place in the world of communicable diseases for two reasons…

The Immunise Australia Program (FDE Rating 4.9)

Immunisation is a simple, safe and effective way of protecting people against harmful diseases that can cause serious health problems in the community. Immunisation not only protects individuals from life-threatening diseases, but also dramatically reduces transmission in the community. The more people who are vaccinated, the fewer opportunities a disease has to spread. The Australian Government’s Immunise Australia Program implements the National Immunisation Program (NIP) Schedule, which currently includes vaccines against a total of 16 diseases. These include routine childhood vaccinations against diseases that were once widely fatal, such as measles, diphtheria and whooping cough (pertussis), as well as more recently developed vaccines, such as Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and the meningococcal C vaccine

Measles is unfortunately on the rise due to poor vaccination rates in some regions.