The acellular pentavalent is a vaccine that immunizes the person who receives it against diseases caused by the polio virus, the Haemophilus influenzae type B, the Coryne-bacterium diphtheriae, the Clostridium tetani and the Bordetella pertussis.
This vaccine does not contain cells, but rather parts of the bacteria, viruses or toxins that contain the antigens capable of inducing, in the organism in which it is administered, the antibodies against said bacteria, viruses or toxins..
According to the WHO, a vaccine is understood to be “any preparation intended to generate immunity against a disease by stimulating the production of antibodies”. Immunity is defined as a state of natural or acquired resistance against some infectious agent or some toxin.
An antibody is a substance synthesized and secreted by lymphocytes (blood cells) to fight an infection caused by a bacteria or virus, or to neutralize a toxin. These substances are highly specific.
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The history of vaccines begins in the UK around 200 years ago. There, Edward Jenner observed that some women who milked cows and who had been infected by a virus that causes cowpox appeared to be protected from human smallpox..
In 1796, Jenner conducted an experiment: He first scraped the arm of an 8-year-old boy with material from a cowpox sore taken from an infected woman..
He then repeated the same experiment with the same child, but this time inoculated with material from a human pox pustule. He hoped the procedure would immunize the child against the deadly smallpox infection and, in fact, it did.
Jenner's experiment, while immoral, ushered in the age of vaccines. Almost 100 years later, Dr. Louis Pasteur demonstrated that an infectious disease could be prevented by infecting humans with attenuated or weakened germs.
In 1885, Pasteur successfully used a vaccine to prevent rabies in a child who had been bitten by a rabies dog. Around the middle of the 20th century, Drs. Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin developed the polio vaccine.
The polio vaccine, also called Sabin (oral), has saved countless numbers of children around the world against a disease that often leaves children in wheelchairs or using crutches for life.
The acellular pentavalent vaccine protects against pertussis, diphtheria, polio, tetanus and diseases caused by the Haemophilus influenzae type b such as meningitis, epiglottitis, septic arthritis, pneumonia and cellulitis.
Haemophilus influenzae Type B or Hib is a bacterium that was discovered in 1892 in a group of patients during an influenza outbreak, before it was discovered that the flu (influenza) was caused by a virus. Therefore, at the time it was thought to be caused by Hib, hence the confusion of the name.
The Haemophilus influenzae Type B can cause severe invasive disease in young children. These include meningitis, pneumonia, septic arthritis (joint infections), epiglottitis (infection and inflammation of the epiglottis that can cause closure of the windpipe), and cellulitis (skin infection).
This bacteria is transmitted by healthy carriers or by sick people by close contact through droplets of saliva that come out with coughing. Bacteria do not survive in the environment.
Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the bacteria that causes diphtheria, a highly contagious disease that is transmitted through saliva droplets or “flügge” drops that are emitted with the cough or sneeze of an infected person or a healthy carrier.
Diphtheria mainly affects the nose and throat and in these areas it generates a grayish or blackish, fibrous and hard pseudomembrane that covers the infected area and that can cause obstruction of the airways.
The bacteria also produce a number of toxins that can cause significant damage to various organs such as cranial nerve palsy and myocarditis (inflammation of the myocardium or heart muscle)..
Tetanus is an infectious disease caused by anaerobic bacteria, Clostridium tetani. This bacterium produces a neurotoxin called tetanus toxin, which alters the function of the central nervous system, generating muscle contractions or painful spasms..
These contractions begin in the jaw with lockjaw and then in the muscles of the neck and dorsal wall in the thoracic and lumbar area. This causes a characteristic arched position. It can also cause problems breathing and swallowing (swallowing), irritability, fever, among others..
The bacteria live in the soil, in the feces, and in the mouths of animals. It can remain inactive for decades in the form of spores that can be activated by contact with open wounds and thus generate infection.
It was a frequent cause of death for the mother and her newborn because it was transmitted in childbirth without hygienic conditions..
The bacteria Bordetella pertussis It is the causative agent of whooping cough. The Chinese call it "100-day cough." It is a highly contagious bacterial infectious disease that causes severe coughing attacks that can cause respiratory distress..
Coughing fits may be accompanied by vomiting and a red or bluish discoloration of the face. The illness lasts between 6 and 10 weeks.
Polio or infantile paralysis is a contagious disease caused by a virus. Three polio viruses have been identified and are called viruses I, II, and III. It is a disease that begins with general malaise, headache and cervical and dorsal stiffness.
In severe cases, it produces paralysis of the voluntary muscles, preferably of the lower limbs. When poliomyelitis affects the medulla oblongata its mortality reaches up to 60% of infected patients.
This disease occurs throughout the world, but mass vaccination has considerably reduced the casuistry. Many countries have not registered cases for at least a decade. Pentavalent includes antigens from all three types of viruses.
Normally, the basic vaccination schedule in children consists of four doses administered intramuscularly in the right thigh (for those under 18 months) or the left deltoid (for those over 18 months), provided there is sufficient muscle development.
The first dose is given at 2 months, then at 4 and 6 months the third dose. At 18 months another dose is placed and at 6 years a booster is placed. In adults who have not been vaccinated, three doses are given.
It is used for the prevention of tetanus, polio, diphtheria, pertussis and severe diseases caused by Haemophilus influenzae Type B. As a pentavalent vaccine, it is indicated for children under 7 years of age..
Vaccines can cause side effects just like any medicine. An adverse reaction to a vaccine is a side effect that results from the placement of the vaccine..
Most of the side effects of vaccination are mild. Discomfort, swelling, or redness may appear at the injection site. Fever, skin rash, and local pain sometimes occur.
Serious side effects are rare, but can include severe allergic reactions or life-threatening seizures..
They should not be vaccinated:
- Patients who have had allergic reactions to the vaccine.
- Cases of patients with active neurological disease.
- Fever at the time the vaccine is to be administered or an infectious process with a fever around 40 degrees in the days prior to vaccination.
- Patients with congenital or acquired immunodeficiency or who are receiving immunosuppressive treatment such as steroids or radiotherapy. This can decrease the immune response to the vaccine. In the case of short-term treatments, the vaccination should be postponed to ensure a good immune response..
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