"INFANRIX" - vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough
Acellular vaccine, three-component, adsorbed, liquid
Manufacturer: GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Belgium.
Protects against diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough.
For use: in children aged 6 weeks to 7 years.
Included in the national vaccination calendar.
IMPORTANT: vaccinations with the Infanrix vaccine are not carried out in clinics
To vaccinate or not?
The issue of childhood vaccinations causes perhaps the most heated debate among modern parents. “Vaccinators” appeal to the fact that vaccination is the only proven way to train the immune system to fight deadly infections, and it is obviously safer than a previous illness. “Anti-vaxxers” point out the unwanted side effects that are possible with vaccination. In fact, blindly following everything that is prescribed at the district clinic and categorically denying all the achievements of modern medicine are equally meaningless. Most parents would still like to make a balanced, informed decision. This means that each specific vaccine should be considered separately.
In this case, we are talking about vaccinating a child under one year old against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. Is vaccination aimed at preventing these diseases justified?
Why vaccinate your child against tetanus?
Tetanus is extremely dangerous: the mortality rate from this disease reaches 80% of the number of cases, among newborns - 95%. The course of tetanus is very painful: there are known cases of such severe convulsions that the patient’s bones were broken. Even if the patient survives, immunity to tetanus does not develop after the illness, and it can be infected again, but the damage to the central nervous system is irreversible.
The causative agent of tetanus is found in the intestines of humans and animals, from where it enters the ground along with the feces or bodies of dead animals. Hence the widespread belief that it is impossible to become infected with tetanus if you do not play in places of mass burial of people or animals. This condition is unlikely to be met: the tetanus causative agent can persist in the soil for more than a hundred years, and the burial of domestic animals in Russia is often spontaneous.
Vaccine effectiveness
Introduction in 1994 of mass immunization of the country's population against diphtheria with repeated revaccination of adults in 2003-2004. made it possible to provide sufficient specific protection of the population from this infection. Together with many years of surveillance, this led to a decrease in the incidence of diphtheria in Russia from 26.8 in 1994 to 0.01 per 100 thousand population in 2009-2011. During the period 1980-2000. The total number of reported cases of diphtheria has been reduced by more than 90%.
All components of DTP vaccines are capable of forming immunity in almost 100% of vaccinated people.
Why vaccinate your child against diphtheria?
Diphtheria (true croup, also known as “choking disease”) is transmitted by airborne droplets and is highly contagious. This is one of the diseases for which herd immunity is very important. Thus, since 1974, the disease was considered completely defeated thanks to mass vaccination, but in 1997, due to refusals to vaccinate, an outbreak of this disease was again recorded. Children are especially susceptible to diphtheria; about 25% of cases are very severe. As complications, diphtheria can cause paralysis, polyneuritis and myocarditis - inflammation of the heart muscle.
At the same time, diphtheria toxoid is one of the safest vaccines. Severe reactions to it are quite rare.
Why vaccinate your child against whooping cough?
Whooping cough is especially dangerous for children under two years of age because it can cause respiratory failure. At the same time, whooping cough is one of those diseases for which antibodies against which are not transmitted through mother's milk, even if the mother was vaccinated or had whooping cough. Even having whooping cough does not provide lifelong immunity after recovery.
The mortality rate from whooping cough among those ill in the first year of life is 50-60%. In addition, whooping cough can cause complications such as pneumonia, cerebral hemorrhage, and rupture of the eardrum.
FEATURES OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Haemophilus influenzae infection refers to a complex of infectious diseases that develop after the penetration of Haemophilus influenzae into the body. Infection can occur during personal contact with a sick person and carrier, through household items (shared toys, dishes).
Important! According to statistics, up to 40% of children in kindergarten are carriers of Hemophilus influenzae. Therefore, a child who attends children's groups gets sick more often.
The following forms of the infectious process are characteristic of hemophilus influenzae infection:
- ORZ. The most common form of pathology;
- Inflammation of the middle ear. Haemophilus influenzae is characterized by high resistance to traditional drugs, so it is quite difficult to cure the infection;
- Epiglottitis. The pathology develops mainly in children under 4 years of age and is characterized by a sharp increase in body temperature, sore throat, pain during speaking and swallowing. The disease can cause blockage of the airways and respiratory arrest. Therefore, if epiglottitis is suspected, the child needs urgent hospitalization;
- Haemophilus influenzae respiratory tract infection: pneumonia, bronchitis;
- Meningitis. This infectious lesion of the membranes of the brain is particularly dangerous for children under 1 year of age. The disease is difficult to treat. According to statistics, in 20-30% of cases, hemophilic meningitis leads to death;
- Purulent cellulite. The disease leads to purulent-inflammatory processes in the subcutaneous fat;
- Sepsis. The most dangerous form of hemophilus influenzae infection, in which pathogenic agents penetrate the blood and spread throughout the body.
The resistance of the pathogen to antibiotic therapy significantly complicates treatment. Therefore, the optimal way out of this situation is vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae infection. Only this will minimize the risk of developing serious diseases.
How does Infanrix differ from DTP?
“Anti-vaxxers” have perhaps the most complaints about the DTP vaccine among the entire range of vaccines that are administered to children in the first years of life. The reason for this is that DTP is quite difficult for children to tolerate. Many vaccinated people report high fever and poor health for several days after vaccination. Strong side effects are associated with the pertussis component of DTP - this is why neurologists and pediatricians recommend ADS-M instead of DTP for weakened children, that is, only diphtheria-tetanus toxoid, without whooping cough. Infanrix, unlike its domestic analogue, does not contain cells of the whooping cough pathogen.
To form an immune response, only three antigens (out of approximately three thousand) are extracted from these cells, which are used in the vaccine. This does not affect the effectiveness of Infanrix, but it is much less allergenic, much less often accompanied by fever and is easier to tolerate.
It also follows from this difference that during repeated vaccination or revaccination it is possible to switch to Infanrix after DTP, but vice versa is undesirable. If the first vaccinations contained only three antigens, you should not switch your child to a vaccine containing whole cells of the whooping cough pathogen.
WHEN NOT TO BE VACCINED?
The following contraindications for vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae are identified:
- A history of hypersensitivity to the components of the drug;
- Acute course of infectious diseases;
- History of convulsive condition;
- Relapse of chronic pathologies;
- Encephalopathy;
- Recorded unpredictable reactions of the child to previous immunization.
If there is even a slight suspicion that the patient has the described problems, vaccination should be abandoned until the condition normalizes.
Infanrix or Pentaxim?
Infanrix is not the only foreign-made vaccine that uses antigens isolated from the pertussis pathogen instead of whole cells. Pentaxim, also a very well-known foreign analogue of DPT, is produced using the same scheme. Which one should you choose?
They are very similar in composition and action, so it is logical to use the vaccine that is more accessible to you at the moment. However, there is one significant difference to consider. Infanrix contains only tetanus, whooping cough and diphtheria toxoids. Pentaxim, in addition, contains components for the prevention of hemophilus influenzae infection, as well as polio, that is, it is a five-component vaccine. This means that if you have already chosen Infanrix or Pentaxim, at the next vaccination or revaccination you will not be able to replace one with the other, since the vaccination protocol against polio and Haemophilus influenzae infection will not be completed to the end.
Should I combine all five components or get by with three, preferring Infanrix? The choice is up to the parents. Some believe that multicomponent vaccines create too high a one-time antigenic load on the body. Others rely on the National Vaccination Calendar, which provides for simultaneous vaccination against several diseases (without indicating how many vaccines are used). The Infanrix line has additional vaccines - Infanrix IPV (whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, polio) and even Infanrix Hexa (the same four diseases plus hepatitis B and hemophilus influenzae). The domestic DTP also has expanded options: Tetrakok (DTP + polio) and Bubo Kok (DTP + hepatitis B).
Compound
The British company GlaxoSmithKline produces the vaccine at Belgian pharmaceutical plants. European quality standards guarantee a normal composition that does not cause complications. At the moment, all doctors recommend vaccinating a child with this.
The composition includes an toxoid that promotes the production of antibodies to a specific toxin. The active substances are toxoids:
- whooping cough;
- tetanus;
- diphtheria;
- hepatitis B antigen;
- Hib component;
- deactivated polio virus types 1, 2, 3;
- filamentous hemagglutinin;
- shell of the Haemophilus influenzae bacterium.
How is Infanrix administered?
According to the National Vaccination Calendar, the first preventive immunization against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough is carried out at three months. As a rule, it is preceded by an examination of the child by a neurologist, who “gives the go-ahead” for vaccination or, on the contrary, a waiver from it according to indications, and then by a pediatrician.
Infanrix allows for shifts in the timing of vaccination in this case. This will not affect its effectiveness.
The second stage of immunization occurs at 4.5 months.
The third is for six months.
This first course of three procedures builds immunity a month after vaccination. Its effectiveness is 99% for diphtheria and tetanus, 95% for whooping cough.
Revaccination against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus is carried out at 18 months (one and a half years). During revaccination, a secondary response of the immune system is formed, which consolidates the effect of primary vaccination. Revaccination against diphtheria and tetanus is also given to children aged 7 and 14 years. In an adult, immunity against diphtheria and tetanus acquired as a result of vaccination lasts about 10 years.
Possible side effects of Infanrix
The instructions for the drug mention the following side effects of the vaccine as the most common: drowsiness, loss of appetite, irritability, anxiety, fever, itching and swelling at the injection site, vomiting, diarrhea. Infrequently, vaccination may be followed by headache, cough, rash, or lump at the injection site.
Adverse reactions occurring in more than 1% of vaccinated people are considered frequent. Any vaccination can cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, after the vaccination is administered, it is not recommended to leave the clinic for 30-40 minutes: in any office where vaccinations are given, there is a first aid kit for a quick response to possible anaphylactic shock. After this time has passed, an acute allergic reaction to the drug will no longer occur, and you can safely go home.
If a child's temperature rises after vaccination, it is recommended to ventilate the room in which he is located and maintain a humidity level above 70%. At temperatures above 38.5 °C, it is better to give an antipyretic, and if it rises above 40 °C, you should immediately call an ambulance. Be sure to give your child more fluids.
If any of the adverse reactions persist for more than two days, you should consult a doctor. This can happen when vaccinated with a low-quality vaccine (improperly stored or expired) or if the vaccination itself was done incorrectly, with a violation of sterility.
How to prepare for Infanrix vaccination
The likelihood of adverse reactions occurring, as well as their severity, can be reduced by preparing for vaccination. First, you need to make sure that the child is healthy. Even a mild ARVI without fever is a temporary contraindication to vaccination. If the child is healthy, but one of the relatives who had contact with the child for several days before vaccination is sick, it is also better to reschedule the vaccination.
It is better to reschedule the vaccination if it is very hot outside or, conversely, very cold. In general, gentle conditions are indicated on the day of vaccination and for several days after. Stressful factors, including walking in the heat and cold, must be excluded.
It is recommended not to overload the stomach on the day of vaccination; vaccination should be done at least an hour after meals. On the day of vaccination, new complementary foods should not be introduced. It is recommended to pay attention to whether the child had bowel movements during the day before vaccination, and if not, give him an enema to help empty his bowels.
On the day the vaccination is scheduled, you can give your child an antihistamine.
Drug interactions
In accordance with the rules adopted in Russia, Infanrix ® can be administered simultaneously (on the same day) with other vaccines of the National Preventive Vaccination Calendar and inactivated vaccines of the Preventive Vaccination Calendar for epidemic indications. However, other vaccines must be administered to other areas of the body.
Infanrix vaccine with the Hiberix ® vaccine (vaccine against Haemophilus influenzae type b). In this case, the solvent supplied with the Hiberix® vaccine should be replaced with the Infanrix ® vaccine.
