There are times when infectious disease doctors strongly advise patients to be vaccinated against tularemia. However, today not all people are aware of the existence of such an infectious disease. This pathology is quite rare. Thanks to preventive measures, the incidence of this disease in our country has significantly decreased over the past decades. Many patients are interested in: "Do I need to be vaccinated against tularemia, if such an infection is very rare?" To understand this issue, it is important to understand what this disease is, how it is transmitted and in which cases vaccination is necessary.
What is tularemia?
Tularemia is an infectious disease. The causative agent of this disease is the bacterium Francisella tularensis. The carriers of the infection are infected animals: rabbits, hares, field mice, ground squirrels and water rats. Therefore, other names for this pathology are mouse disease or rabbit fever.
Tularemia is not transmitted from a sick person to a healthy one. The source of infection is infected animals, food, and water contaminated with their secretions. Pathology can also spread through insect bites and inhalation of dust.
Tularemia occurs with very severe symptoms and leads to a sharp deterioration in well-being. The latent period of the disease lasts from 3 days to 3 weeks. Then the patient's temperature rises to 39-40 degrees, severe pain in the muscles, aching joints, headache, weakness occur. With the bubonic form of pathology, a sharp increase and suppuration of the lymph nodes occurs. If the disease affects the respiratory system, then symptoms of bronchitis or pneumonia appear.
Thanks to the use of tetracycline antibiotics, mortality in tularemia decreased to 0.5%. However, the consequences of this infection can be severe. Complications such as meningoencephalitis, pericarditis, peritonitis, abscesses, gangrene are noted. For this reason, tularemia is a particularly dangerous infectious disease.
The transferred illness leaves stable immunity. Repeated cases of infection are not noted.
History of the vaccine
In 1942, Soviet scientists developed a vaccine against tularemia. What it is? A vaccine is a drug containing weakened living bacteria. After its introduction, the formation of antibodies in the body and the formation of immunity. Tests have proven the effectiveness of this tool. The use of the vaccine significantly reduced the incidence of tularemia.
However, this vaccine was not used universally. Vaccination was carried out only in those regions where frequent outbreaks of the disease were noted.
Vaccination product
For the vaccination against tularemia, the drug "live tularemia vaccine" is used. It is a lyophilisate with a live attenuated pathogen. The packaging also contains ampoules with water for injection.
After 20-30 days, the patient develops immunity against tularemia for a period of 5 years.
Do I need a vaccination
Often, the question arises of parents: whether or not to vaccinate children with tularemia? It must be remembered that this vaccine can be given to a child only from the age of 7 years. Tularemia is a rare disease these days. In addition, the pathology responds well to antibiotic treatment. However, doctors often recommend vaccination against tularemia if there is a risk of contracting this infection. This is due to the following reasons:
- In recent years, cases of tularemia have become more frequent in Russia.
- Despite the fact that mortality in tularemia is very low, this disease poses a great danger due to the possible development of severe complications.
- Tularemia responds well to antibiotic therapy. However, the treatment for this disease is very long and can take about 1 month.
- If the disease is accompanied by suppuration of the lymph nodes and the formation of buboes, then the healing process can last up to several months.
- Pathology can go into a chronic form and worsen with the slightest decrease in immunity.
It can be concluded that this disease is easier to prevent than to treat. Therefore, if a person is at risk for infection with tularemia, he should get vaccinated.
Is vaccination included in the vaccination schedule
Patients often ask the question: "Is vaccination against tularemia mandatory or not?". This preventive measure is included in the vaccination schedule. However, it is noted that vaccination is done only according to epidemiological indications.
When do you need to get vaccinations against tularemia? Timing is also determined by the vaccination calendar. Children are given a prophylactic drug at the age of 7 years. Further vaccination is repeated every 5 years. Adults can be vaccinated at any age.
The tularemia vaccine is not administered to everyone without exception in droves. After all, people living in different regions have a different chance of infection. Vaccination is necessary primarily for patients in areas that are disadvantaged by tularemia. Next, the main indications for vaccination will be considered.
Indications
A vaccine against tularemia is given to those patients who are at risk for contracting this infection. These include:
- people permanently living in areas where there is a high incidence of disease;
- Persons arriving in infected areas
- workers conducting sanitary measures at the source of infection;
- employees of microbiological laboratories in contact with the causative agent of tularemia;
- agricultural workers in the outbreak;
- tourists going on vacation to countries with a high incidence of tularemia;
- hunters and fishermen.
People living in the infected region are vaccinated as planned. Emergency vaccination is carried out for people who have arrived at the site of infection.
Whether to be vaccinated against tularemia, it is up to the person himself. But it is better to protect yourself from an unpleasant disease, which is severe and can result in serious complications.
Contraindications
However, vaccination is not indicated for every person. In some diseases and conditions of the body, the vaccine must be postponed or completely abandoned. Contraindications to the introduction of the vaccine are as follows:
- The vaccine is not given to people who have experienced tularemia in the past, since they have already formed immunity.
- Vaccination is strictly contraindicated in pregnant women and nursing mothers. In such cases, the administration of the drug should be postponed until childbirth and the end of lactation.
- In acute infectious diseases, vaccination is delayed until the patient recovers.
- You can not vaccinate against tularemia for children under 7 years of age.
- Vaccination is contraindicated in patients with immunodeficiency: patients with tuberculosis, malignant tumors, HIV infection, as well as after a course of radiation and chemotherapy.
- Vaccination is not done in severe forms of allergies and a tendency to anaphylactic shock.
Vaccination rules
If the vaccine is administered for the first time, then a special skin test is first performed with tularine (the antigen of the causative agent of the disease). If a person has a positive reaction to this test, then this means that in the past he suffered from tularemia and he has already formed immunity. In this case, vaccination is not carried out. If a negative reaction to the test is detected, then a person is vaccinated.
Vaccination is carried out once. After 5-7 days, a second test is done with tularine or a blood test for antibodies to the pathogen. If a negative result is noted, then this indicates that the person has not formed immunity. In this case, the vaccination is repeated.
A positive test result with tularine or the detection of antibodies in the blood after vaccination indicates the formation of immunity against tularemia. In this case, vaccination is repeated if necessary after 5 years.
On average, the process of forming immunity after vaccination takes about 1 month.
Injection site
The drug is injected into the shoulder area. Vaccination is allowed in two ways:
- Cutaneous. Two drops of the drug for vaccination are applied to the skin in the shoulder area. Then, 2 parallel scratches (1 cm long) are made in the treated areas using a scarifier or syringe, through which the solution enters the body.
- Subcutaneous. Using an injection syringe, 0.1 ml of the drug is injected under the skin of the shoulder.
The method of vaccination does not affect the timing of the formation of immunity. Antibodies in the body are formed with any method of drug administration.
In childhood, the vaccine is preferable to be administered by the skin route. This method is almost painless and less likely to cause an adverse reaction in the form of a general malaise.
After vaccination, the patient should remain under medical supervision for 30 minutes. This is necessary for timely assistance in case of anaphylactic shock.
What should not be done after vaccination
After vaccination against tularemia, the injection site should be protected from exposure to water. You can not take a shower or swim. This rule must be observed within 24 hours after vaccination. Exposure to water can lead to inflammation and skin irritation at the injection site.
Antiseptics should also not be applied to the injection site or incisions. If swelling and redness are observed in the area of drug administration, then this is a natural reaction and does not require the use of disinfectants. If vaccination was carried out by the cutaneous method, then after 2 weeks the scratches become covered with a crust. It must never be ripped off.
Unwanted effects
The vaccine is generally well tolerated. In rare cases, the following side effects of the tularemia vaccine are noted:
- 2-5 days after administration of the drug, a reaction at the site of the injection or incision may be noted. It is characterized by redness and swelling of the skin. Sometimes along the scratch (with cutaneous administration), small pustules form.
- Near the injection site, a slight increase and soreness of the lymph nodes can be observed. Such a symptom is noted quite rarely.
- People with hypersensitivity to the components of the vaccine may experience allergic reactions.
- If the drug was administered subcutaneously, then a slight malaise is possible. It manifests itself in the form of a headache, fever, weakness.
These manifestations are natural and should not cause concern. So the body reacts to the formation of antibodies to the causative agent of the disease. If a patient 5 days after vaccination against tularemia does not have a skin reaction and a slight increase in temperature, then this indicates that immunity to pathology is poorly formed. In such cases, the vaccination is repeated.
However, if the patient has an increase in temperature of more than +39 degrees, an excessive increase in lymph nodes and signs of severe allergies, you should consult your doctor. Such a strong reaction to the vaccine is observed in patients who have experienced tularemia in the past or when revaccinated.
Compatibility with other vaccines
On the day of vaccine administration, plague and brucellosis vaccinations can be given. These drugs do not interact with each other. However, they cannot be mixed in the same syringe. Injections should be carried out in different parts of the body.
Vaccination Reviews
Reviews of vaccination against tularemia indicate its effectiveness. Vaccinated people have not been infected. Experts believe that the vaccine reliably protects against a dangerous disease.
However, some patients are wary of vaccination. It should be noted that their fears are groundless. In the absence of contraindications, vaccination in most cases is well tolerated.
In patient reviews, you can find different messages about the reaction to the vaccine. Many people did not feel any side effects after the administration of the drug. Some patients showed skin manifestations at the injection site and a slight malaise in the first days after the injection. It must be remembered that the reaction of the human body to the vaccine is individual. If vaccination is carried out by the cutaneous method, then usually only swelling and redness are observed at the injection site, and fever is rare.
Often, parents are interested in the question of whether a child recently vaccinated against tularemia is not dangerous for other children. Experts say that a vaccinated person cannot pass on a living pathogen to anyone. After vaccination, the neutralized bacteria are only inside the patient's body, while their release into the external environment does not occur. In addition, tularemia is never transmitted from person to person.
It is important to remember that the increase in tularemia in recent years is largely due to the lack of compulsory vaccination. Therefore, if there is a risk of infection, it is better to protect yourself in advance from a particularly dangerous infection by vaccination.