|
| |
For Parents : Preventable Diseases
- CDC (U.S. Centers for
Disease Control) information on vaccines for specific diseases includes:
Chickenpox; Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis
(whooping cough); Hepatitis A; Hepatitis B; Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b);
Measles, Mumps and Rubella; and Polio.
- Canada's flu vaccination site Blast the Flu (and in French, Méchante la Grippe) is provided by the National Influenza Immunization Campaign. It carries an especially valuable FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section in both sections.
- The Cancer Research
Institute (CRI) was founded in 1953 to foster the science of cancer immunology, which
is based on the premise that the body's immune system can be mobilized against cancer. The
Institute has been a sustaining force in cancer and immunology research for over 50 years.
- Chickenpox, or varicella, is the focus of The Christopher Aaron Chinnes Foundation,
Inc. website, in memory of a child who lost his life to the disease before any vaccine was available. This is an
advocacy site with a strong message.
- The City of Columbia, Mo.
maintains a website featuring its walk-in immunization service. Other health services are
also described.
- Dr. Reddy's Pediatric Office on the Web is a collection of useful information on children's health, with a heavy emphasis on vaccines and vaccination. The site is maintained by Dr. Vinay N. Reddy, a pediatrician on staff at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. It appears to be quite current on vaccine issues.
- Healthy Living - Immunisation is a page from the website sponsored by the State Government of Victoria, Australia. It gives information on all diseases that should be prevented by vaccination.
- The
Immunization page of the BabyCenter website includes an easy-to-understand rundown on
childhood immunizations and the compelling arguments in favor of them. Vaccines
against individual diseases are addressed.
- "Influenza, The Virus, the Disease, and How to Protect Yourself" is an elegant offering from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and the National Coalition for Adult Immunization. Navigating within this website is quite easy.
- Informed Parents
Against VAPP (IPAV) is a non-profit parent's group representing families afflicted by
Vaccine Associated Paralytic Polio (VAPP) each year from the live-virus, oral polio
vaccine. It supports recent recommendations by the CDC's Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices (ACIP) for an all-IPV (inactivated polio vaccine given by
injection) starting January 1, 2000.
- This Aventis Pasteur Web site provides an excellent overview of
polio. It describes the nature and effects of the disease, and documents the
intensive research efforts that led to the development of the vaccines that
are in use today. The narrative also reports on the progress of the ongoing
global eradication campaign. Since it is provided by a major vaccine
producer, the site does have a distinct marketing orientation. However, that
doesn't obviate the value of this concise, well-written history of the
struggle to overcome a devastating disease.
- PKIDs is a parent group whose highest priority is to seek the best care for their own children and to prevent other children from being harmed by infectious diseases. PKIDs is funded by parents, individuals, foundations and corporations, including unrestricted grants from pharmaceutical companies.
- Rotavirus Online is a multioption World Wide Web
resource dedicated to presenting the latest information about rotavirus disease and
vaccine development. It is maintained by David O. Matson, M.D., Ph.D., of the Center for
Pediatric Research, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA.
- Rotavirus vaccine information is given in
a brief
fact sheet on the website of the Bill and Melinda Gates
Children's Vaccine Program and also in a more
complete statement that discusses the rotavirus problem
in depth.
|
|
