Diseases:
· Measles
Measles (rubeola or hard measles) is a very serious disease that is easily passed from person to person by sneezing, coughing or close contact. It causes a high fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes and a rash lasting one to two weeks. Ear infections and pneumonia can also develop.
In serious cases, measles can cause an infection of the brain, hearing loss, mental retardation and death.
Babies and adults who get measles are more likely to be sicker, suffer longer or die than are school-age children or teen-agers.
· Mumps
Mumps can be serious. It lasts for several days and is easily passed from person to person by sneezing, coughing or close contact. Mumps can cause fever, headache, swollen painful glands under the jaw, swelling of the coverings of the brain or spinal cord and hearing loss.
About one of every four teen-age or adult males with mumps will have painful swelling of the testicles for several days, but this usually does not result in sterility.
· Rubella
Rubella (German measles) is a mild disease that lasts for a short time. However, if a pregnant woman catches the disease, rubella is very dangerous to her unborn baby. Babies born with rubella can have heart disease, be blind or deaf, or have learning problems. The disease is easily passed from person to person by sneezing, coughing or close contact.

People who catch rubella can have a mild fever, swollen glands in the neck, a rash that lasts up to three days, and soreness or swelling in the joints. This soreness or swelling usually lasts for a week or two. In rare cases it may last for months or years, or may come and go. The pain and swelling is more likely to occur in women.
· Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. It can lead to severe illness, a lifelong infection, scarring (cirrhosis) of the liver, liver failure and even death. Hepatitis B virus is a common cause of liver cancer. It is spread easily from one person to another by blood and other body fluids.
Each year in the United States, more than 240,000 people get infected, more than one million people carry the hepatitis B virus in their blood, and about 5,000 people die from hepatitis B.
If a baby is born to a mother who has the virus in her blood, the baby needs to start shots at the time of birth to keep from becoming a carrier. If the baby does not get the shots starting at birth, the baby is very likely to carry the virus for the rest of his/her life.
· Polio
Polio is a very dangerous disease caused by a virus that is easily spread from one person to another by contact with human feces. Some children and adults who get a serious case of polio become paralyzed. They may even die.
Serious cases of polio cause severe muscle pain. Sometimes it can be difficult to breathe without the help of a machine. Mild cases of polio may last only a few days and cause fever, sore throat, stomach ache and headache.
· Diphtheria

Diphtheria is a very serious disease that can make a person unable to breathe, cause paralysis (when a person cannot move some muscles) or heart failure. It is spread by coughing and close contact.
About one of every 10 people who get diphtheria dies from it. Fortunately, only a few cases were reported in the United States during the past few years, but larger outbreaks continue to occur in other areas of the world.
· Tetanus

Tetanus (lockjaw) can occur after a cut or wound lets the germ into the body. Tetanus makes a person unable to open his/her mouth or swallow and causes serious muscle spasms.
In the United States, tetanus kills three of every 10 people who get the disease. Those who survive have a lengthy hospital stay.
· Pertussis

Pertussis (whooping cough) may be mild or serious and is easily passed from one person to another. Pertussis can cause spells of coughing and choking that make it hard to eat, drink or breathe. The coughing can last for several weeks or months.
Pertussis is most dangerous to babies under 1 year of age. Babies with pertussis are so sick that nearly half must go into the hospital. About one baby out of 100 with the disease either dies or is left with permanent brain injury. Serious illness is less likely in older children and adults.
· Haemophilus Influenzae Type b
Hib disease" is caused by a bacterial infection spread by coughing, sneezing and close contact. Hib disease can cause a swelling of the brain that can lead to brain damage, mental retardation, hearing loss, weakened sight, speech problems, middle ear infections and pneumonia. Just a few years ago, Hib infected one of every 200 children before age 5. It is most dangerous for babies under age 1.
· Varicella zoster
Varicella zoster (chickenpox) is a disease caused by a virus that is easily spread from one person to another by touching the open sores, sneezing or coughing. It causes vesicles, aches, pains and fever. Most childhood cases are not severe, but it can be very serious and cause death for individuals with weak immune systems.
· Pneumococcal Pneumonia
This form of pneumonia is caused by a bacteria known as streptococcus pneumoniae. It can cause the lungs to fill with fluid, a bacterial infection of the whole body or a swelling of a certain part of the brain called the meninges. Children under age 2 and adults over age 40 are more likely to have problems with this invasive disease. All adults over the age of 65 should receive a pneumococcal shot.
· Influenza
Influenza is a very infectious disease caused by a virus that is easily passed from one person to another by sneezing, coughing and touching the eyes, nose or mouth. A person who gets influenza will usually have a sudden onset of fever, aches and pains, a sore throat, cough and headache. There are different strains of influenza that can infect people, and the viruses can change each year. Severe head, nose and lung infections can occur in adults over age 65 and in people with weak immune systems.
· Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a virus that infects the liver. The virus enters the body through the mouth by eating something contaminated, grows in the liver and is present in the blood and feces after about two weeks. Most children who get the disease usually do not feel that sick. When someone gets Hepatitis A, they can have a fever, feel poorly, have dark urine and look yellow (jaundice).

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