6 in 1 Vaccine – Child

Details

Diphtheria

Diphtheria is caused by bacteria. Affected persons may have fever, sore throat with patches of greyish membrane adhered to the throat and breathing difficulty. In serious cases, it can cause airway obstruction, heart failure, nerve damage or even death. The disease is spread by contact with patient or carrier. Less commonly, a person may get infected through contact with articles soiled with discharges from affected persons.

Tetanus

Tetanus is caused by bacteria, which gets into the body through a break in the skin and produce a toxin that attacks the nervous system. It can cause painful tightening of the body and locking of the jaws, so that the infected person cannot open his/her mouth or swallow. When tetanus affects muscles that help to breathe, the patient can die very quickly.

Pertussis

Pertussis, also known as “whooping cough”, is an acute respiratory illness caused by bacteria. The infected person may initially have non-specific symptoms like runny nose, sneezing, low grade fever and mild cough. The cough gradually becomes more severe and spells of violent coughing can interfere with eating, drinking and breathing. The symptoms can last for weeks. Complications include lung infection, seizures and brain damage. It is spread by direct contact with droplets from patients.

Poliomyelitis is caused by one of the 3 types of Poliovirus (1, 2 and 3). The virus enters the body through oral route and eventually invades the central nervous system. Symptoms include fever, severe muscle pain, stiffness in the neck and back, paralysis, or even breathing difficulty and death.

Haemophilus influenzae type b

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is a bacterium which can cause serious invasive disease especially in young children. Contrary to what the name Haemophilus influenzae suggests, the bacterium does not cause influenza.

Hib infection usually affects children aged below five years. The risk of infection among older children is relatively low. Invasive Hib infection commonly presents with symptoms of infection of membranes covering the brain (meningitis), often accompanied by bacteria entering the bloodstream. It may also affect other parts of the body, such as the lungs, upper part of the throat (epiglottis), joints and bones.

The clinical features depend on the parts of body being affected. When the membranes covering the brain are infected, there will be fever, headache and stiff neck, coupled with decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, fear of bright light, confusion and sleepiness. When the upper part of the throat is infected, there may be fever, sore throat, drooling, pain on swallowing, refusal to swallow or difficulty in breathing.

If a child has persistent fever, unusual changes in behaviour and deteriorating condition, or in cases of doubt, medical attention should be sought immediately.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is another type of viral hepatitis that leads to acute hepatitis. It can be followed by chronic liver damage, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. It has an incubation period of 6 weeks to 6 months. About 5-10% of infected adults and 70-90% of infected infants are unable to clear the virus, therefore becoming chronic hepatitis B and serving as a source of infection to others. HBV infection occurs throughout the world. It is estimated that more than 2 billion people have been infected worldwide, of which more than 350 million have chronic liver infection. Hepatitis B is endemic in Southeast Asia. In Hong Kong, the overall prevalence of chronic hepatitis B infection is moderate. The hepatitis B virus is found in the body fluids of an infected person, mainly in the form of blood, amniotic fluid, semen and vaginal secretions. Routes of transmission include perinatal transmission, blood contact and sexual contact.