Policy and Practice
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Policy and practice Vaccination greatly reduces disease, disability, death and inequity worldwide FE Andre,a R Booy,b HL Bock,c J Clemens,d SK Datta,c TJ John,e BW Lee,f S Lolekha,g H Peltola,h TA Ruff,i M Santosham j & HJ Schmitt k Abstract In low-income countries, infectious diseases still account for a large proportion of deaths, highlighting health inequities largely caused by economic differences. Vaccination can cut health-care costs and reduce these inequities. Disease control, elimination or eradication can save billions of US dollars for communities and countries. Vaccines have lowered the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma and will control cervical cancer. Travellers can be protected against “exotic” diseases by appropriate vaccination. Vaccines are considered indispensable against bioterrorism. They can combat resistance to antibiotics in some pathogens. Noncommunicable diseases, such as ischaemic heart disease, could also be reduced by influenza vaccination. Immunization programmes have improved the primary care infrastructure in developing countries, lowered mortality in childhood and empowered women to better plan their families, with consequent health, social and economic benefits. Vaccination helps economic growth everywhere, because of lower morbidity and mortality. The annual return on investment in vaccination has been calculated to be between 12% and 18%. Vaccination leads to increased life expectancy. Long healthy lives are now recognized as a prerequisite for wealth, and wealth promotes health. Vaccines are thus efficient tools to reduce disparities in wealth and inequities in health. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2008;86:140–146. الرتجمة العربية لهذه الخالصة يف نهاية النص الكامل لهذه املقالة. .Une traduction en français de ce résumé figure à la fin de l’article. Al final del artículo se facilita una traducción al español Introduction far safer than therapeutic medicines.2,3 search over the past five years using the Modern research has spurred the devel- keywords “vaccine risks” scored approxi- Vaccination has greatly reduced the bur- opment of less reactogenic products, mately five times as many hits (2655 den of infectious diseases. Only clean such as acellular pertussis vaccines and versus 557) as a Medline search using water, also considered to be a basic rabies vaccines produced in cell cul- “vaccine benefits” as keywords.7 This 1 human right, performs better. Para- ture. Today, vaccines have an excellent reflects the fact that negative aspects of doxically, a vociferous antivaccine lobby safety record and most “vaccine scares” vaccination get much more publicity thrives today in spite of the undeniable have been shown to be false alarms.4,5 than positive aspects. success of vaccination programmes Misguided safety concerns in some How one addresses the antivaccine against formerly fearsome diseases that countries have led to a fall in vaccina- movement has been a problem since are now rare in developed countries.2 tion coverage, causing the re-emergence the time of Jenner. The best way in the Understandably, vaccine safety gets of pertussis and measles.6 long term is to refute wrong allegations more public attention than vaccination Putative vaccine safety issues are at the earliest opportunity by providing effectiveness, but independent experts commonly reported while reviews of scientifically valid data. This is easier and WHO have shown that vaccines are vaccine benefits are few. A Medline said than done, because the adversary a Rue du Moulin, 23, 1330 Rixensart, Belgium. b National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Children’s Hospital Westmead, Sydney, Australia. c GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Rixensart, Belgium. d International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea. e Department of Clinical Virology and Microbiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. f Department of Paediatrics, National University of Singapore, Singapore. g Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. h Helsinki University Central Hospital, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki, Finland. i Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. j Departments of International Health and Paediatrics and Center for American Indian Health and Health Systems Program, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America. k Department of Paediatrics, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. Correspondence to FE Andre (e-mail: [email protected]). doi:10.2471/BLT.07.040089 (Submitted: 1 January 2007 – Revised version received: 1 June 2007 – Accepted: 22 June 2007 – Published online: 27 November 2007 ) 140 Bulletin of the World Health Organization | February 2008, 86 (2) Policy and practice FE Andre et al. Vaccination and reduction of disease and inequity in this game plays according to rules regimen. Combined measles, mumps For society that are not generally those of science. and rubella (MMR) vaccine could also Ehreth estimates that vaccines annually This issue will not be further addressed eliminate and eventually eradicate ru- prevent almost 6 million deaths world- 11 in this paper, which aims to show how bella and mumps. Increasing measles wide.19 In the USA, there has been a vaccines are valuable to both individuals immunization levels in Africa, where 99% decrease in incidence for the nine and societies, to present validated facts, coverage averaged only 67% in 2004, diseases for which vaccines have been and to help redress adverse perceptions. is essential for eradication of this dis- recommended for decades,20 accompa- Without doubt, vaccines are among the ease. Already, elimination of measles nied by a similar decline in mortality most efficient tools for promoting in- from the Americas, and of measles, and disease sequelae. dividual and public health and deserve mumps and rubella in Finland has been Complications such as congenital better press.8 achieved, providing proof in principle rubella syndrome, liver cirrhosis and of the feasibility of their ultimate global cancer caused by chronic hepatitis B Disease control benefits eradication.12 It may also be possible to infection or neurological lesions sec- eliminate Haemophilus influenzae type b ondary to measles or mumps can have a Eradication (Hib) disease through well implemented greater long-term impact than the acute Unless an environmental reservoir ex- national programmes, as experience in disease. Up to 40% of children who ists, an eradicated pathogen cannot re- the West has shown.13 survive meningitis due to Hib may have 13 emerge, unless accidentally or malevo- Local elimination does not remove life-long neurological defects. lently reintroduced by humans, allowing the danger of reintroduction, such as in In field trials, mortality and mor- vaccination or other preventive measures Botswana, polio-free since 1991, with bidity reductions were seen for pneu- importation of type 1 poliovirus from mococcal disease in sub-Saharan Africa to be discontinued. 21,22 While eradication may be an ideal Nigeria in 2004,14 and in the United and rotavirus in Latin America. goal for an immunization programme, States of America (USA) with measles Specific vaccines have also been used to protect those in greatest need of to date only smallpox has been eradi- reintroduced to Indiana in 2005 by a 15 protection against infectious diseases, cated, allowing discontinuation of traveller from Romania. such as pregnant women, cancer pa- routine smallpox immunization globally. For diseases with an environmental tients and the immunocompromised.18 Potentially, other infectious diseases reservoir such as tetanus, or animal res- with no extrahuman reservoir can be ervoirs such as Japanese encephalitis and eradicated provided an effective vaccine rabies, eradication may not be possible, Mitigation of disease and specific diagnostic tests are avail- but global disease elimination is a fea- severity sible objective if vaccination of humans able. Eradication requires high levels of Disease may occur in previously vacci- (and animals for rabies) is maintained population immunity in all regions of nated individuals. Such breakthroughs at high levels. the world over a prolonged period with are either primary – due to vaccine adequate surveillance in place.9 The Control of mortality, morbidity and failure – or secondary. In such cases, next disease targeted for eradication is the disease is usually milder than in the 10 complications polio, which is still a global challenge. non-vaccinated. In a German efficacy Although high coverage with oral polio For the individual study of an acellular pertussis vaccine, vaccine (OPV) has eliminated type Efficacious vaccines protect individuals vaccinated individuals who developed 2 poliovirus globally, transmission of if administered before exposure. Pre- whooping cough had a significantly types 1 and 3 continues in limited areas exposure vaccination of infants with shorter duration of chronic cough than 23 in a few countries. OPV-caused paralytic several antigens is the cornerstone of controls. Such findings were confirmed 24 disease, directly or by reversion to viru- successful immunization programmes in Senegal. Varicella breakthroughs lence, and persistent vaccine-virus ex- against a cluster of childhood diseases. exhibit little fever, fewer skin lesions 25 cretion in immunodeficient individuals Vaccine efficacy against invasive Hib and fewer complications than unvac- are problems yet to be solved. Global use disease of more than 90% was demon- cinated