It is common practice nowadays to vaccinate against these three diseases, as well as a couple of other diseases, at the same time by using a vaccine called the pentavalent vaccine.
Diphtheria
A bacterium called Corynebacterium diphtheriae causes diphtheria, which affects the nose, tonsils, pharynx, and throat. As a result of the bacteria secreting a powerful toxin, epithelial cells are destroyed, resulting in dangerous symptoms such as suffocation and breathing difficulties. In recent decades, only five cases of the disease have been reported in the State of Israel as a result of the vaccine.
Tetanus
A bacterium called Clostridium tatani secretes a toxin that causes scurvy (pertussis or tetanus). In the early stages of the disease, there is a significant contraction of the jaw muscles, a contraction of the back and neck muscles, a contraction of the abdominal muscles, and later on, a significant contraction of all of the muscles in the body. Eventually, the disease leads to muscle tears, which are associated with a fifty percent mortality rate.
Whooping Cough
Whooping cough (pertussis) is another infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Bordetella Pertussis, and it is one of the deadliest diseases in existence. Prior to the development of the whooping cough vaccine in the 1930s, millions of children worldwide were killed by the disease every year. As a result of the disease, there may be severe coughing, convulsions, cerebral hemorrhages, bleeding in the digestive system, ruptures of the diaphragm, and other symptoms.
DTap+IPV+Hib Vaccine
Vaccines containing five compounds in one shot are known as pentavalent vaccines. As well as the diseases listed above, it also contains vaccines against meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae bacteria and against polio.
Since 2002, the vaccine has been routinely administered in the State of Israel and many studies have shown that its effectiveness is the same as the effectiveness of the vaccines previously administered separately for each of the five diseases.
In what form does the DTap+IPV+Hib Vaccine come?
- As a result of exposure to these altered toxins, the immune system develops antibodies against the bacterium. Vaccinated individuals may contract the disease and transmit it to others, but they will not develop symptoms of the disease.
- Toxins modified from the scurvy bacterium.
- Components of the pertussis bacterium's protein.
- The polio virus is killed by three different strains. The outer envelope of the Haemophilus influenzae bacterium contains certain components.
How is the vaccine administered in Israel?
In Israel, the vaccine is administered in four doses. A child is given the first dose at the age of two months, the second at the age of four months, the third at the age of six months, and the fourth at the age of one year. Booster doses of the vaccine are administered during the school years and on the day of enlistment into the Israeli Defense Forces.
At the age of seven, when the children reach the second grade, it is customary to vaccinate them against whooping cough, scurvy, whooping cough, and tetanus, and at the age of 13, when the children reach the eighth grade, it is customary to vaccinate the children only against pertussis, tetanus, and pertussis. Only measles and tetanus are included in the vaccine given to recruits.
Vaccines are administered by injection into the arm muscle.
How long does the vaccine take to take effect?
Two to three weeks after the initial injection at the age of two months, the body begins to produce antibodies against various bacteria, but optimal effectiveness is not achieved until the third injection.
Booster vaccines that are administered later stimulate the production of antibodies and prolong the period of resistance. The vaccine provides protection against pertussis for ten years, against whooping cough for decades, and its effectiveness against this disease declines only as people age, and against tetanus for five to ten years.
The side effects of the vaccine
Some side effects may occur one day after vaccination, including redness, pain, and swelling at the injection site. In the vaccinated, these phenomena, which may also include swelling in the joints, occur with a frequency of less than ten percent and typically disappear without any treatment within 48 hours.
Also, side effects such as diarrhea, sleepiness, vomiting, nausea, lack of appetite and dizziness and headaches may occur, but these symptoms usually pass within a few days.
Also, side effects such as diarrhea, sleepiness, vomiting, nausea, lack of appetite and dizziness and headaches may occur, but these symptoms usually pass within a few days.