.:| BIOFARMA |:. | penyakit berhubungan dengan vaksin

DIPHTHERIA

Diphtheria is a bacterial respiratory infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a gram-positive bacillus (1). Diphtheria affects people of all ages, but most often it strikes unimmunized children. In 2000, 30 000 cases and 3 000 deaths of diphtheria were reported worldwide (2).

PERTUSIS

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a disease of the respiratory tract caused by bacteria that live in the mouth, nose, and throat. Many children who contact pertussis have coughing spells that last 4 to 8 weeks. The disease is most dangerous in infants. In 2000, an estimated 39 million cases and 297 000 deaths occurred worldwide, due to pertussis (1).

TETANUS

Tetanus is acquired through exposure to the spores of the bacterium Clostridium tetani which are universally present in the soil. The disease is caused by the action of a potent neurotoxin produced during the growth of the bacteria in dead tissues, e.g. in dirty wounds or in the umbilicus following non-sterile delivery (1). People of all ages can get tetanus. But the disease is particularly common and serious in newborn babies. This is called neonatal tetanus. Most infants who get the disease die. Neonatal tetanus is particularly common in rural areas where most deliveries are at home without adequate sterile procedures. In 2000, WHO estimates that neonatal tetanus killed about 200 000 babies (1).

POLIO

Poliomyelitis is an acute viral infection which ranges in severity from a nonspecific illness to paralysis with permanent disability. Worldwide, WHO estimates that some 140,000 new cases of paralytic poliomyelitis occurred in 1992. The cumulated number of children and adults with paralysis due to poliomyelitis is estimated at 10 to 20 million persons.

TUBERCULOSIS

Tuberculosis is an ancient and venerable infectious disease throughout the world. There are records indicating that pulmonary tuberculosis was recognized in Europe in pre-Christian times, and Hippocrates clearly described the disease in ancient Greece (1)

MEASLES

Measles, in spite of available vaccination, remains a heavy public health burden worldwide especially in developing countries with 30-40 million cases occuring annually. In 2002, there were an estimated 610 000 deaths due to measles worldwide, 540 000 of them in children under the age of five, representing 30-40% of the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases in childhood.