Listing of different vaccinations

The tetanus vaccination is carried out with a dead vaccine, so that the body itself does not have to produce antibodies, but is injected directly. Thus, antibodies against the tetanus toxin can be administered without major side effects during vaccination. However, this leads to the degradation of the antibodies after some time, so that a regular refreshment of the vaccination protection is necessary every 10 years.

Tetanus leads to the clinical picture of tetanus and can be fatal. The toxin-forming bacteria are found in the soil and can enter the wound and body through minor injuries and contact with soil. For this reason this vaccination is absolutely necessary and must be renewed regularly.

Similar to the tetanus vaccination, the vaccination against diphtheria is a deadly vaccine, which means that the body itself does not have to produce antibodies. Therefore the diphtheria vaccination is necessary every 10 years. Diphtheria is a very dangerous disease caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

It is transmitted from person to person by droplet infection and usually first affects the throat and pharynx. In addition to sore throat, redness and plaques, the lymph nodes and the entire throat area can swell massively, so that suffocation attacks can occur. Other organs such as the kidneys, heart or liver can also be affected.

Circulatory failure, heart muscle inflammation and severe kidney damage can occur. Even though the disease is very rare in Germany, infection can occur at any time due to the constant travel. Since the treatment of diphtheria is very difficult, every adult should therefore receive a new vaccination every 10 years.The diphtheria vaccination can be administered together with the tetanus vaccination as a combination vaccine, so that only one injection is necessary.

Viral influenza is a worldwide disease that causes a new wave of influenza every year in autumn. Since the influenza virus changes slightly from year to year due to mutations, the vaccine from the previous year does not protect against a disease caused by the current virus! Influenza itself is a very severe disease transmitted by droplet infection, especially of the upper respiratory tract, which is accompanied by high fever, poor general condition, cough, severe pain in the limbs and a massive feeling of illness.

It cannot be compared with a cold or flu-like infection. Healthy and immunocompromised people can be severely weakened and ill for some time due to the flu, but major complications rarely occur. Complications are bacterial superinfections, cardiovascular failure or heart muscle inflammation.

Elderly people and people with risk factors such as a chronic illness (e.g. diabetics, asthmatics, heart patients) are particularly at risk. In addition, pregnant women, or persons with a weakened immune system due to cancer are also at high risk. For this reason, the annual vaccination is recommended to all persons over 60 years of age and all chronically ill persons.

Also pregnant women and people who work in close contact with sick people, like nurses, doctors, etc. should be vaccinated regularly. Pneumococci are bacteria that are transmitted from person to person by coughing or by shaking hands via droplet infection.

They are the cause of severe pneumonia, blood poisoning (sepsis) or meningitis. In immunocompetent persons, the bacteria usually only cause minor infections or no disease at all. However, infants and children, as well as the elderly or chronically ill, are not able to fend off the bacteria properly, which then lead to the most serious infections, some of which are fatal if treatment is not given quickly enough.

For this reason, pneumococcal vaccination was added to the vaccination standard for children several years ago. Today, children are no longer vaccinated with the 6-fold vaccine against polio, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough and haemophilus influenzae, but instead receive the pneumococcal vaccination in addition. However, this was only introduced a few years ago, so that almost all adults today have not received this vaccination.

For this reason, the vaccination is recommended only once to all persons at risk or not immunocompetent persons, starting from the age of 60. Whooping cough is caused by the pathogen Bordetella pertussis and is accompanied by flu-like symptoms and agonizing cough attacks that can last for weeks. Pertussis occurs worldwide and can have a severe course, especially in infants and elderly people and immunocompromised persons, requiring inpatient treatment and sometimes respiration.

Although most children are vaccinated through basic immunization, there are many adults who did not receive this vaccination as a child. Since whooping cough is transmitted by droplet infection and is often not recognized in mild cases, those affected are not treated and can then infect immunocompromised or infants. The risk is particularly high because people are contagious for up to 5 weeks without necessarily showing symptoms themselves.

For this reason the whooping cough vaccination is recommended as a one-time vaccination for adults if they have not yet received immunization. Poliomyelitis is transmitted by polioviruses that attack the nervous system. In more than 95% of cases the disease is overcome without consequential damage.

In about 4% of cases, however, polio passes into a chronic paralysis stage and attacks the nerve cells. n most cases, the leg muscles are affected. More rarely, however, arm, chest or eye muscles are also affected.

In every 200th case, these paralysis symptoms are irreversible; some patients have to be ventilated for the rest of their lives because the respiratory muscles have been attacked by the virus. The disease is transmitted by smear infection and by no means only affects children, but in many cases also adults. Although most countries are now polio-free, there are isolated cases of polio outbreaks that can lead to further spread if people are not vaccinated.

Since recent statistics show that adults in particular are not sufficiently vaccinated today, vaccination is recommended to all persons who have not been vaccinated.It consists of a basic immunization in childhood and a booster vaccination in adulthood. Since the vaccination is the only possible therapy or prophylaxis, every adult should receive the booster vaccination. Early summer meningo-encephalitis, or TBE for short, is transmitted by ticks, which are only found in certain regions of Germany and, as the name suggests, can be accompanied by inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and meninges (meningitis).

The highest density of TBE risk areas is found in the southern half of Germany. So people living in a risk area should always consider a vaccination against FMSE. A more urgent recommendation for the vaccination is directed at people who have a lot of contact with grasses or meadows, such as hikers, forest joggers or people with dogs.

Usually it requires 3 vaccinations to ensure a 99% immunization, which then lasts for 3 years. The disease is severe in 50% of the cases in adults, i.e. encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and not only meningitis. In children, on the other hand, only 25% of cases take a serious course.

For this reason, the risk of neurological sequelae is increased in adults. Since most children in Germany come into contact with the pathogen for chickenpox, the varicella zoster virus, or are vaccinated, only about 5 out of 100 adults are not immune to chickenpox. This is a good thing, because the disease often does not progress as mildly in adults as in children.

They get a stronger skin rash and complain of a stronger feeling of illness. In addition, the risk of pneumonia triggered by chickenpox, a so-called varicella pneumonia, is increased in adults. These pneumonias occur in one in 400 adults with the disease and are almost always life-threatening.

Even with hospital admission and treatment, artificial respiration may be unavoidable. In addition, the risk of central nervous system involvement is increased in adults. Another particularly endangered group are unimmune women who come into contact with the varicella zoster virus during pregnancy and have an even higher risk of pneumonia.

Basically there are different subforms of hepatitis. There are the hepatitis A, B, C, D, E and F. Against hepatitis A and B can be vaccinated. Hepatitis A vaccination is only recommended for certain risk groups.

People who work in medical facilities (hospital, psychiatry, etc. ), people with frequently changing sexual partners and people who need regular blood transfusions (such as people with hemophilia) should be vaccinated. In addition, the recommendation also applies to staff in food preparation, sanitation and travelers to infection risk areas such as Africa or Asia.

Since hepatitis B vaccination is included in the standard vaccination schedule of every infant, the number of adults without hepatitis B vaccination is steadily decreasing. For adults who have not yet received immunization, similar recommendations apply as for the Hepatitis A vaccination. Again, only adults with an increased risk of infection, such as dialysis patients, personnel in high-risk professions or patients in contact with hepatitis B patients, should be vaccinated.