Vaccines are the most effective methods to fight diseases, so much so that their effectiveness has been essential to reduce the impact of many pathologies, some of them fatal.
Although vaccines are considered to be the greatest achievement in biomedical research, responsible for a historic improvement in the quality of life of human beings, they are not infallible, as the mumps outbreak unleashed in Madrid a few weeks ago has shown.
Composition of vaccines
- This medical treatment is a mixture of antigens that are injected into the body and cause the reaction of defensive antibodies. This situation causes the appearance of an immune memory that will defend our system from the attack of pathogens.
- They are generally composed of a live, attenuated or inactive microorganism, which triggers a defensive response when recognized as a foreign agent, but on some occasions it may be ineffective or even harmful.
Mumps outbreak
- Just a few weeks ago, an outbreak of mumps in 21 young people in Madrid sparked the vaccination controversy. Those affected had been immunized as children with the Rubin strain, a low-effective dose that was withdrawn in Spain.
- Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Health has recommended that people between the ages of 15 and 18, and between 25 and 28, review their vaccination record to verify which strain they were treated with
Papilloma case
- One of the most controversial cases in Spain was related to the vaccine against the human papillomavirus. In 2007, the Spanish Government carried out a vaccination campaign that faced strong opposition from professionals due to the possible ineffectiveness of the treatment.
- According to the Association of People Affected by the Papilloma Vaccine, as of January 10, 2012, 737 adverse effects have been reported, some of them serious. The most tragic of all, the death of a 13-year-old girl from an asthmatic attack suffered after vaccination.
The risk of not vaccinating
- But fear and neglect of vaccines can carry serious health risks. In France and other European countries there was an outbreak of measles between January and March 2011 that surprised the health authorities.
- According to the World Health Organization, 4,937 cases were detected during that period in France alone, much higher than the 5,090 that appeared in all of 2010. This measles outbreak was caused by the decline in the immunization rate in Europe, which has reached be 50% in countries like the UK.