Polio vaccination

Not long ago, polio was a serious problem worldwide, causing epidemics with frequent deaths. The onset of vaccination against the virus that causes this disease has helped to reduce the incidence of disease, so doctors call polio vaccination one of the most important in childhood.

Most often, the disease appears in children up to five years. One form of poliomyelitis is paralytic. With it, the virus that causes this infection attacks the child’s spinal cord, which is manifested by the appearance of paralysis. Most often, babies have paralyzed legs, less often - upper limbs.

If the infection is severe, exposure to the respiratory center is fatal. Such a disease can only be treated symptomatically, and in many cases the child does not fully recover, but remains paralyzed until the end of his life.

Drugs that vaccinate against polio, are presented in two options:

1. Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). In this preparation there is no live virus, so it is safer and practically does not cause side effects. The use of this vaccine is possible even in situations of reduced immunity in a child. The drug is administered intramuscularly in the area under the scapula, in the thigh muscle or in the shoulder. Shortly such a vaccine called IPV.
2. Live poliomyelitis aktsiny (oral - OPV). It includes several types of attenuated live viruses. Because of the method of administering such a drug (through the mouth), this vaccine is called oral and is reduced as OPV. This vaccine is presented in the form of a pink liquid with a salty-bitter taste. It is given in a dose of 2-4 drops to the baby's palatine tonsils, so that the drug gets on the lymphoid tissue. It is more difficult to calculate the dosage of such a vaccination, therefore its effectiveness is lower than that of the inactivated variant. In addition, a live virus can be released from the intestines of a child with feces, representing a danger to unvaccinated children.

See the next video for some of the features of polio vaccines.

Inactivated vaccine is offered in the form of Imovax Polio (France) and Poliorix (Belgium) preparations.

The polio vaccine may also be included in combination vaccine preparations, including:

• Pentaxim;
• Tetraxim;
• Infanrix Hex;
• Tetrakok 05.

IPV is not administered when:

• Acute infections.
• High temperature.
• Exacerbations of chronic pathologies.
• Skin rash.
• Individual intolerance, including reactions to streptomycin and neomycin (they are used to produce the drug).

OPV is not given if the child has:

• Immunodeficiency.
• HIV infection.
• Acute illness.
• Oncopathology.
• A disease that is treated with immunosuppressants.

The main positive properties of vaccinations against polio are called:

• Polio vaccine has high efficacy. Introduction of IPV stimulates resistant immunity to the disease in 90% of vaccinated children after two doses and in 99% of children after three vaccinations. The use of OPV causes the formation of immunity in 95% of babies after triple administration.
• The incidence of adverse reactions after polio vaccination is very low.

Cons of such vaccinations:

• Among domestic drugs there are only live vaccines. All inactivated drugs are purchased abroad.
• Although rare, a live vaccine can cause a disease — vaccine-associated polio.

The most frequent adverse reactions to IPV administration, occurring in 5-7% of children, are changes in the injection site. It may be a tightness, redness or soreness. It is not necessary to treat such changes, as they themselves pass in one or two days.

Also among the side effects of such a drug in 1-4% of cases, general reactions are noted - increased body temperature, lethargy, muscle pain and general weakness. An extremely rarely inactivated vaccine causes allergic reactions.

The frequency of side effects due to the use of OPV is slightly higher than from the introduction of an injectable form of the vaccine with an inactivated virus. Among them are:

• Nausea.
• Breaking stool
• Allergic skin rash.
• Increased body temperature.

Its appearance is possible after the first injection of a live vaccine, and the second or third vaccine can cause this disease only in children with immunodeficiency. Also one of the predisposing factors of the appearance of this pathology is called congenital pathology of the gastrointestinal tract.

Vaccination against poliomyelitis rarely causes body reactions, but in some babies 1-2 days after an IPV injection or 5-14 days after the administration of the OPV vaccine, body temperature may rise. As a rule, it rises to subfebrile numbers and rarely exceeds + 37.5ºС. Increased temperature does not apply to vaccine complications.

In total, six vaccines protecting against polio are administered in childhood. Three of them are vaccinations with pauses of 45 days, and after them three revaccinations are performed. Vaccination is not strictly related to age, but requires adherence to the timing of introduction with certain intervals between vaccinations.

OPV is used for revaccination. The first revaccination is performed one year after the third vaccination, therefore, most often babies are revaccinated at 18 months. After two months, revaccination is repeated, so it is usually done at 20 months. The age for the third revaccination is 14 years.

A well-known doctor emphasizes that the polio virus seriously affects the children's nervous system with the frequent development of paralysis. Komarovsky is confident in the exceptional reliability of prophylactic vaccinations. A popular pediatrician claims that their use significantly reduces both the incidence of polio and the severity of the disease.

Komarovsky reminds parents that most doctors have not encountered polio in their practice, which reduces the likelihood of timely diagnosis of the disease. And even if the diagnosis is made correctly, the possibilities of treatment of this pathology are not too great. Therefore, Komarovsky advocates vaccination against polio, especially since there are practically no contraindications to them, and the general body reactions are extremely rare.

On whether to vaccinate a child, see the transfer of Dr. Komarovsky.

• Before vaccinating a child, it is important to make sure that he is healthy and there are no contraindications to the vaccine. A pediatrician must examine this child.
• Take a toy or other thing with you to the clinic that can distract your baby from an unpleasant procedure.
• Do not add new foods to your child’s diet several days before vaccination, or for a week after it.
• Try not to interrupt the vaccination schedule, as this will reduce the body's defense against infection.

To prevent infection from vaccinated children, it is important to follow the rules of hygiene, since the main route of transmission of the virus is fecal-oral.