This chart, obtained from the CDC, gives you an overview of vaccine-preventable diseases. For more information, click here.
Author : Diba Tillery RN, BSN, IBCLC, CPST
| Disease | Caused by | Spread by | Signs and Symptoms | Complications |
Diphtheria | Bacterium — Corynebacterium Diphtheriae | Air, direct contact | Sore throat, mild fever, membrane in throat, swollen neck | Heart failure, paralysis, pneumonia, death |
Hepatitis A | Virus — Hepatitis A | Personal contact; contaminated food or water | Fever, stomach pain, loss of appetitie, fatigue, vomiting, jaundice, dark urine | Liver failure, death |
Hepatitis B | Virus — Hepatitis B | Contact with blood or body fluids | Fever, headache, malaise, vomiting, arthritis | Chronic infection, cirrhosis, liver failure, liver cancer, death |
Hib disease | Bacterium — Haemophilus | Air, direct contact | May be no symptoms unless bacteria enter blood | Meningitis, epiglotittis, influenzae type b pneumonia, arthritis, death |
Influenza ("Flu") | Virus — Influenza | Air, direct contact | Fever, muscle pain, sore throat, cough | Pneumonia, Reye syndrome, myocarditis, death |
Measles | Virus — Measles | Air, direct contact | Rash, fever, cough, runny nose, pinkeye | Pneumonia, ear infections, encephalitis, seizures, death |
Mumps | Virus — Mumps | Air, direct contact | Swollen salivary glands, fever, headache, malaise, muscle pain | Meningitis, encephalitis, inflammation of testicles or ovaries, deafness |
Pertussis ("Whooping Cough") | Bacterium — Bordetella pertussis | Air, direct contact | Severe cough, runny nose, fever | Pneumonia, seizures, brain disorders, ear infection, death |
Pneumococcal ("Pneumonia") | Bacterium — Streptococcus Pneumoniae | Air, direct contact | Pneumonia (fever, chills, cough, chest pain) | Bacteremia (blood infection), meningitis, death |
Polio | Virus — Poliomyelitis | Person to person | May be no symptoms, sore throat, fever, nausea | Paralysis, death |
Rotavirus | Virus — Rotavirus | Person to person, contaminated food or water | Diarrhea, vomiting, fever | Dehydration electrolyte imbalance |
Rubella | Virus — Rubella | Air, direct contact | Rash, fever, lymphadenopathy, malaise | Encephalitis, arthritis/arthralgia, hemorrhage, orchitis |
Tetanus ("Lock Jaw") | Bacterium — Clostridium tetani | Exposure through breaks in skin | Stiffness in neck, difficulty swallowing, rigid abdominal muscles. Muscle spasms, fever, sweating, elevated blood pressure | Broken bones, breathing difficulty, death |
Varicella ("Chicken Pox") | Virus — Varicella Zoster | Air, direct contact | Rash, fever | Bacterial infections, meningitis, encephalitis, pneumonia, death |
