A brief history of vaccination

The practice of immunisation dates back hundreds of years. Buddhist monks drank snake venom to confer immunity to snake bite and variolation (smearing of a skin tear with cowpox to confer immunity to smallpox) was practiced in 17th century China. Edward Jenner is considered the founder of vaccinology in the West in 1796, after he inoculated a 13 year-old-boy with vaccinia virus (cowpox), and demonstrated immunity to smallpox. In 1798, the first smallpox vaccine was developed.

Over the 18th and 19th centuries, systematic implementation of mass smallpox immunisation culminated in its global eradication in 1979. Louis Pasteur’s experiments spearheaded the development of live attenuated cholera vaccine and inactivated anthrax vaccine in humans (1897 and 1904, respectively). Plague vaccine was also invented in the late 19th Century. Between 1890 and 1950, bacterial vaccine development proliferated, including the Bacillis-Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination, which is still in use today.

In 1923, Alexander Glenny perfected a method to inactivate tetanus toxin with formaldehyde. The same method was used to develop a vaccine against diphtheria in 1926. Pertussis vaccine development took considerably longer, with a whole cell vaccine first licensed for use in the US in 1948.

Viral tissue culture methods developed from 1950-1985, and led to the advent of the Salk (inactivated) polio vaccine and the Sabin (live attenuated oral) polio vaccine. Mass polio immunisation has now eradicated the disease from many regions around the world

Immunisation overview

Immunisation is the most effective way to actively protect your child from preventable diseases, such as whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and measles.

The first time we are exposed to a germ, for example a bacterium or virus, it takes time for the immune system to respond and we become unwell. However, once the immune system has memory of the infection, it is able to respond rapidly to destroy the germ the next time we are exposed.

Vaccines contain parts of or weakened versions (inactivated or attenuated) of a particular germ. Vaccination exposes the body to parts of the germ for the first time without causing disease, and subsequently,  the real germ can be rapidly destroyed if it enters the body to prevent illness.

Very young children are particularly at risk of becoming sick, because their immune system lacks experience and is unable to respond quickly. Many of the diseases that vaccines protect us from are very serious in young children. Some, for example measles, are highly contagious and usually fairly mild, but pose a risk of serious complications even in healthy people. Immunisation is the safest and most effective way to provide protection for your child’s health.

The National Immunisation Schedule provides the best protection for our children when they are most at risk.  From six weeks of age, children can be protected from several potentially dangerous diseases. It is very important to stick to the schedule – not immunising your child increases the risk of them getting the infection, and not keeping up to date reduces the protection that the immunisation can provide. It takes a few months and repeated doses of a vaccine for an infant to be fully protected.

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a respiratory viral infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus. From late 2019, this disease rapidly spread resulting in a pandemic.

COVID-19
Diphtheria is a rare but serious infectious disease. The bacteria usually causes infection of the throat and nose but can also cause skin infections.

Diphtheria
Hib disease is caused by the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae type b. Humans are the only host of these bacteria. Infants and children less than five years of age are most vulnerable to Hib infections.

Haemophilus influenzae type b
Hepatitis A is a viral disease that affects the liver. There are several types of viral hepatitis, designated A, B, C, D, and E.

Hepatitis A
There are several types of viral hepatitis: A, B, C, D, and E. Hepatitis B virus is very infectious and spreads from person to person through bodily fluids, including blood, semen and vaginal fluids.

Hepatitis B
Herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles, is caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox. Following chickenpox infection the virus lies dormant in the nerves near the spine and may re-emerge many years later as shingles.

Herpes zoster (shingles)
Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are a group of common viruses spread through skin to skin contact. Some are sexually transmitted and can cause causing genital warts, and a range of types of cancer.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)
Influenza (flu) is a common viral illness. Most cases occur during the winter months: May to October in New Zealand. It is easily spread to others through talking, coughing and sneezing.

Influenza
Measles is one of the most infectious diseases in humans. It is also known by the names English measles, morbilli and rubeola. Measles is now the third most common vaccine-preventable cause of death among children throughout the world.

Measles
Meningococcal disease is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. Humans are the only host for these bacteria.

Meningococcal disease
Mumps is a viral illness, which can cause swelling and tenderness of one or more salivary (parotid) glands. Some people with mumps have no symptoms and others may only have symptoms in other organs.

Mumps
Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. It causes severe bouts of coughing, which may be accompanied by vomiting and a whooping sound.

Pertussis
Pneumococcal disease is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. These bacteria are the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia in young children and older people.

Pneumococcal disease
Polio (poliomyelitis) is a highly contagious viral disease. There are three types of poliovirus, types 1, 2 and 3. Infection can result in irreversible paralysis, usually of the leg muscles.

Polio
Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that infects the intestine causing gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhoea) and fever, predominantly in infants and young children.

Rotavirus
Rubella, also known as German measles, is caused by a virus. It is usually a mild disease, but can result in severe damage of an unborn baby when it occurs during pregnancy.

Rubella
Tetanus, often called lockjaw, is caused by the release of tetanus toxin from a spore-forming bacterium found worldwide in the environment, especially in soil. Tetanus toxin is one of the most potent poisons known.

Tetanus
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Most cases reported in New Zealand are in people from overseas. TB can remain inactive (latent TB), sometimes for many years, before it becomes active.

Tuberculosis
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus and is most commonly seen in children.

Varicella (chickenpox)
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Published in GI-Mail 10/2022 (English edition).

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