Prof. M.B. Raghu, MD, DCH

Introduction

Prior to 1974, there was no organized immunization programme. Expanded programme on immunization (EPI) was introduced in 1974 by the WHO and adopted by India in 1978 without measles vaccination. Due to poor performance and results of EPI, Universal Immunization programme was introduced in 1985 globally and also in India. Now all our efforts are directed towards protection against six common communicable diseases, namely poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, tuberculosis and measles, which account for nearly 2.1 million deaths. Simultaneously, efforts have been made to contain other equally dreaded diseases like typhoid fever, Hepatitis B virus infection, pneumococcal infection, meningococcal infection and Japanese B encephalitis infection with vaccines. This lesson discusses the various vaccinations currently available for routine purpose and also for special circumstances.

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