As a vaccine advocate, I encourage vaccination and support vaccination programs without hesitation. However, I fear that rallying calls for compulsory vaccination will only entrench vaccine opposition, and I want to explore what is known about people who don’t vaccinate and what evidence exists for strategies to improve vaccination. Getting more people vaccinated is a … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Heard of the herd? How vaccines protect our communities
Recent measles outbreaks and infant deaths from whooping cough have seen a renewed public interest in vaccination. Usually, vaccination is seen primarily as an act of personal protection – getting yourself vaccinated against measles, for example, will (in most cases) protect you from catching the measles. Vaccines also protect from disease through the action of … Continue reading
Enforced Extinction: Disease Eradication
I want to take a step back from the details of particular human diseases – how they are transmitted, what they do when they infect, how they can be prevented – and talk about one of the broader goals of disease control, eradication. Eradication of a disease in simple terms means completely removing a disease … Continue reading
Have you heard of Hepatitis A? It may be in your berries
An outbreak of Hepatitis A in Australia in recent weeks has been linked to frozen berries imported from China. The most recent figures show that 20 people have been infected, and up to 450,000 exposed. But what is Hepatitis A, and what can be done about it? Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis can … Continue reading
Whooping cough – A deadly irritant
100 days. That’s over 3 months. A relatively long time, but an especially long time to have a terrible cough. Whooping cough, also known as the 100 days cough, is caused by the bacteria Bortedella pertussis. It is highly infectious and, like measles, spread by coughing and sneezing. One of the major causes of childhood … Continue reading
Battling measles (and why vaccination is critical)
It always strikes me that a strident movement against vaccinations is only possible in a society where vaccine-preventable diseases are mostly invisible. I want to talk about measles, one of the most contagious viruses known and which, thanks to a very effective vaccine, is on the path to eradication. Australia was officially declared measles-free last … Continue reading
shot of sanity 