Taking them to their sports physical, making sure they eat healthy and get plenty of sleep…you know these are crucial to your child’s health. But did you also you know your preteens and teens need vaccines to stay healthy and protected against serious diseases?

As they get older, preteens and teens are at increased risk for some infections. Plus the protection provided by some of the childhood vaccines begins to wear off, so preteens need an additional dose (booster) to “boost” immunity. You may have heard about whooping cough (pertussis) outbreaks recently. Vaccine-preventable diseases are still around and very real. The vaccines for preteens and teens can help protect your kids, as well as their friends, community, and other family members.

There are four vaccines recommended for all preteens at ages 11 to 12:

• Quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine, which protects against four types of the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease. Meningococcal disease is an uncommon but serious disease that can cause infections of the covering of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) and blood (bacteremia). Since protection decreases over time, a booster dose is recommended at age 16 so teens continue to have protection during the ages when they are at highest risk of meningococcal disease.
• HPV vaccine, which protects against the types of HPV that most commonly cause cancer. HPV can cause future cancers of the cervix, vulva and vagina in women and cancers of the penis in men. In both women and men, HPV also causes cancers in the back of the throat (including base of the tongue and tonsils), anal cancer and genital warts.
• Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough. Tetanus and diphtheria are uncommon now because of vaccines, but they can be very serious. Whooping cough is common and on the rise in the United States. It can keep kids out of school and activities for weeks, but it is most dangerous — and sometimes even deadly — for babies who can catch it from family members, including older siblings.
• Influenza (flu) vaccine, because even healthy kids can get the flu, and it can be serious. All kids, including your preteens and teens, should get the flu vaccine every year. Parents should also get vaccinated to protect themselves and to help protect their children from the flu.

Teens and young adults (16 through 23 year olds) may also be vaccinated with a serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccine, preferably at 16 through 18 years old.

You can use any health care visit, including sports or camp physicals, checkups or some sick visits, to get the shots your kids need. Talk with your child’s healthcare professional to find out which vaccines your preteens and teens need. Vaccines are a crucial step in keeping your kids healthy.

Want to learn more about the vaccines for preteens and teens? Check out www.cdc.gov/vaccines/teens or call the Monongalia County Health Department at 304-598-5119.

You want to do what is best for your children. You know about the importance of car seats, baby gates and other ways to keep them safe. But did you know that one of the best ways to protect your children is to make sure they have all of their vaccinations? 

Immunizations can save your child’s life. Because of advances in medical science, your child can be protected against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children are no longer common in the United States – primarily due to safe and effective vaccines. Polio is one example of the great impact that vaccines had in the United States. Polio was once America’s most feared disease, causing death and paralysis across the country but today, thanks to vaccination, there are no reports of polio in the United States.

Vaccination is very safe and effective. Vaccines are only given to children after a long and careful review by scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals. Vaccines will involve some discomfort and may cause pain, redness, or tenderness at the site of injection, but this is minimal compared to the pain, discomfort, and trauma of the diseases these vaccines prevent. Serious side effects following vaccination, such as severe allergic reaction, are very rare. The disease-prevention benefits of getting vaccines are much greater than the possible side effects for almost all children.

Immunization protects others you care about. Children in the United States still get vaccine-preventable diseases. In fact, we have seen a resurgence of whooping cough (pertussis) over the past few years. For example, more than 18,000 cases of whooping cough were reported in the United States in 2015. Each year up to 20 babies die from whooping cough in the United States. Most deaths are babies who are too young to be protected by their own vaccination.

Unfortunately, some babies are too young to be completely vaccinated and some people may not be able to receive certain vaccinations due to severe allergies, weakened immune systems from conditions like leukemia, or other reasons. To help keep them safe and protected from vaccine-preventable diseases, it is important that you and your children who are able to get vaccinated are fully immunized. This not only protects your family, but also helps prevent the spread of these diseases to your friends and loved ones.

Immunizations can save your family time and money. A child with a vaccine-preventable disease can be denied attendance at schools or child care facilities. Some vaccine-preventable diseases can result in prolonged disabilities and can take a financial toll because of lost time at work and medical bills. In contrast, getting vaccinated against these diseases is a good investment and usually covered by insurance or the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, which is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children from low-income families.

To find out more about the VFC program, visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/ or call MCHD WIC (Monongalia County Health Department Women, Infants and Children) at 304-598-5181. Follow this link for the Childhood Immunization Schedule.

Immunization protects future generations. Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few generations ago. For example, smallpox vaccination eradicated that disease worldwide. Your children don’t have to get smallpox shots anymore because the disease no longer exists. By vaccinating children against rubella (German measles), the risk that pregnant women will pass this virus on to their fetus or newborn has been dramatically decreased, and birth defects associated with that virus are rarely seen in the United States. If we continue vaccinating now, and vaccinating according to the recommended schedule, parents in the future may be able to trust that some diseases of today will no longer be around to harm their children in the future.

Information on WV school immunization requirements can be found on our webpage at http://www.monchd.org/school-immunizations.html or call the MCHD at 304-598-5119.

From the moment you found out you were pregnant, you started protecting your developing baby. You might have changed the way you eat, started taking a prenatal vitamin, or researching the kind of car seat you’ll buy. But did you know that one of the best ways to start protecting your developing baby against serious diseases is by making sure you get the whooping cough (Tdap) and flu vaccines while you are pregnant? 

The vaccines you get during your pregnancy will provide your developing baby with some disease protection (immunity) that will last the first months of life after birth. By getting vaccinated during pregnancy, you can pass antibodies to your baby that may help protect against diseases.  This early protection is critical for diseases like the flu and whooping cough because babies in the first several months of life are at the greatest risk of severe illness from these diseases. However, they are too young to be vaccinated themselves. Passing maternal antibodies on to them is the only way to help directly protect them.

In cases when doctors are able to determine who spread whooping cough to an infant, the mother was often the source. Once you have protection from the Tdap shot, you are less likely to give whooping cough to your newborn while caring for him or her.

When it comes to flu, even if you are generally healthy, changes in immune, heart, and lung functions during pregnancy make you more likely to have a severe case of the flu if you catch it. If you catch the flu when you are pregnant, you also have a higher chance of experiencing pregnancy complications, such as premature labor and delivery. Getting a flu shot will help protect you and your baby while you are pregnant. 

You also can rest assured that these vaccines are very safe for you and your developing baby. Millions of pregnant women have safely received flu shots for many years, and the CDC continues to monitor safety data on flu vaccine in pregnant women.

The whooping cough vaccine also is very safe for you and your developing baby. Doctors and midwives who specialize in caring for pregnant women agree that the whooping cough vaccine is important to get during the third trimester of each pregnancy. Getting the vaccine during your pregnancy will not put you at increased risk for pregnancy complications.

You should get your whooping cough vaccine between your 27th and 36th week of pregnancy. You can get a flu shot during any trimester. You can get whooping cough and flu vaccines at the same time during your pregnancy or at different visits. If you are pregnant during the flu season, you should get a flu vaccine soon after vaccine is available.

If you want to learn more about pregnancy and vaccines, talk to you ob-gyn or midwife, visit http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/rec-vac/pregnant.html or call the Monongalia County Health Department at 304-508-5119.

Mosquito borne diseases are flourishing day by day despite different control efforts in action. Mosquitoes are more active during summer and fall months and that increases the risk of mosquito borne diseases during these months. According to West Virginia Vector borne Disease Surveillance report (Vectorborne Disease Report), there were nine human cases of mosquito borne diseases reported in West Virginia from January 1 to July 18, 2016. Among the cases, eight were travel associated Zika virus disease and one travel associated Malaria. The Zika virus has not been found in any mosquitos in West Virginia yet.

Mosquitoes belong to the family Culicidae; some transmit extremely harmful diseases such as Malaria, Yellow fever, Chikungunya, West Nile virus, La Crosse Encephalitis, St. Louis Encephalitis, Western Equine Encephalitis, Dengue fever and Zika virus disease. The West Virginia Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology states that La Crosse Encephalitis is the most commonly reported mosquito borne disease in West Virginia, 10-20 cases per year (Preventing La Crosse Encephalitis in West Virginia Pamphlet). Other travel associated mosquito borne disease (Dengue fever, malaria and now Zika virus disease) have also been reported.

People get malaria from the bite of mosquito infected with a malarial parasite. Symptoms of malaria are high fevers, shaking chills and flue like illness. It could be fatal in some cases. CDC states that about 1,500 malaria cases are diagnosed every year in the United States. Most of the cases are in travelers coming back from the places where Malaria occurs. According to West Virginia Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, 1-2 travel associated cases of Malaria are reported every year in West Virginia. Taking an antimalarial drug and preventing mosquito bites are the prevention measures for Malaria.

Yellow fever is an acute viral disease caused by Flavivirus, transmitted to humans by the bites of an infected aedes and homogenous mosquitos. Symptoms of Yellow fever include fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Serious cases may cause fatal heart, liver and kidney conditions. Yellow fever is most common in tropical and subtropical areas in Africa and South America. Recent updates from CDC states that the cases of Yellow fever illness in US travelers is rare. Vaccination can prevent the disease.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is transmitted to human by infected mosquitos. People infected normally do not develop symptoms, only 1 in 5 infected has fever. There is no vaccination to prevent WNV. Cases of WNV are regularly reported in United States. According to West Virginia Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, WNV is not commonly reported in West Virginia however mosquitoes infected with WNV are regularly reported in a few counties.

Chikungunya, Zika virus and Dengue fever have many things in common. These are commonly transmitted to people from the bite of an infected mosquito commonly, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Aedes albopictus are common mosquito species in United Sates and also found in many counties in West Virginia.  No vaccine is available for any of these three mosquito borne diseases. Chikungunya and Dengue fever have similar symptoms which include sudden onset of fever, joint pain, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash.

As of July 27, 2016, CDC reported 1,658 Zika cases in United Sates. All these cases are travel associated except one being laboratory acquired. According to CDC, there are 9 Zika cases in West Virginia till date and all are travel associated. Follow the link (http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/united-states.html) to get recent updates on Zika cases in the United States.

If you do have any symptoms of any mosquito borne diseases, visit your health care provider as soon as possible. If you notice any mosquito breeding site around your area notify your local health department. Sanitarians with the Monongalia County Health Department investigate the mosquito complaints and help with controlling mosquito breeding sites. The can be contacted at 304-598-5131 or file a complaint on the website at http://www.monchd.org/contact-environmental.html

You can prevent yourself from getting mosquito borne infections by using the Mosquito Bite Prevention Checklist.