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Do adults need vaccination?

August 22, 2015 10:50 IST

Infections like pneumonia, measles, and pertussis do not affect just children.

Adults are as likely as children to fall prey to diseases, says Ashfaq Hassan.

Do adults need vaccination?

Ahmed (name changed), a 55-year-old diabetic smoker who was being treated for a heart condition, was referred to my hospital after his chronic bronchitis worsened.

After his infection settled, he underwent a baseline spirometry (lung function test) following which he was advised inhalers for his chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder as well as influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations.

He took neither.

A year later, he arrived at the emergency department of our hospital gasping for breath.

He had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca where he had acquired a respiratory infection.

He self-medicated with antibiotics and felt better, but the symptoms recurred and he went breathless on his flight home.

His chest X-ray showed severe pneumonia.

He was immediately administered oxygen and supportive treatment but when his condition deteriorated, he was placed on mechanical ventilator.

The recovery was difficult and long.

As an adult you might think you were done with all the vaccinations as a child.

There are many adults who have not even been immunised as children.

If you think infections such as pneumonia, measles, and pertussis affect only children, you are mistaken.

Adults are as likely as children to fall prey to diseases that immunisation can potentially prevent.

Today's ambition-driven adults live life on the edge.

Stressful professions, inadequate rest, improper nutrition and unhealthy lifestyles do more harm than good to the body.

The body's immunity begins to wear off around the age of 50, increasing a person's vulnerability to infections.

Other accompaniments of age such as diabetes, heart, kidney and lung diseases and immuno-compromising conditions further lower the body's capacity to ward off infections.

With the possibility of travelling the globe in just one day, it's not hard to imagine how effortlessly infections travel too.

Vaccination is safe and has shown to prevent about 50 per cent of deaths from pneumococcal disease, and 80 per cent of deaths from influenza-related complications in the elderly.

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The author Ashfaq Hasan is head of pulmonary medicine, Owaisi Hospital and Research Centre, Hyderabad.

Lead image used for representational purposes only. Image: Alexandre Normand/Creative Commons

Ashfaq Hasan
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