There is still time to protect yourself from the flu and the North Shore Health Department has scheduled two additional clinics to help you out.

The first clinic is on Nov. 4, Election Day, so that it will be possible to protect your health after you cast your vote.  Just visit the Health Department in the Brown Deer Village Hall at 4800 W. Green Brook Drive anytime from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM.  No appointment is necessary.

A second clinic has been scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM.  This clinic is also at the Brown Deer Village Hall and, again, no appointment is necessary. 

Please call the Health Department at 371-2980 if neither of these clinic times fit your schedule.

The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control continues to recommend a flu shot for everyone over the age of six months and there is ample supply of flu vaccine this year.  The vaccine is considered to be a "good match" for the predominant influenza virus that is circulating.  Vaccination against the flu is a simple and very effective way to protect yourself from serious illness.  In addition, people around you will benefit because you won't be spreading the flu to others. 

Please take the time out of your very busy schedule to do something for your health.  It's more important than you might think!

As much as we would like to deny it, the end of summer is fast approaching and that means school will soon be starting.  We want to remind you to include a review of your child's immunization record in your preparation for school.  There have been some changes in the Wisconsin immunization requirements for the coming school year and your child may need some booster shots. 

The first change is that a second dose of varicella vaccine for chicken pox is now required for five year old kindergarten, sixth grade, and twelfth grade.  As children in the other grades move on, they, too, will be required to have the second dose.  This change resulted from "breakthrough" cases of chicken pox that have occurred after immunization.  A similar situation occurred with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) immunization in the past and now two MMR doses are required by the time a child enters kindergarten.  Of course, if your child has ever had chicken pox disease, no vaccination is needed because there is natural immunity.

A second change to the immunization requirements involves a relatively new vaccine called Tdap.  This is a combination of the regular tetanus/diptheria vaccine and acellular pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine.  You may recall the recent pertussis outbreaks in the last year or two that resulted from waning immunity in adolescents and young adults. Unfortunately, pertussis is an infection that does not result in permanent immunity and it was decided that additional immunizations are needed.  A single dose of Tdap is required for students in the sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades.  However, if your child has had a tetanus (Td) booster shot (without the pertussis) in the last five years, Tdap is not required at this time. 

It is also recommended that adults get one dose of Tdap, especially if they have close contact with infants.  Pertussis can be dangerous for the very young and the elderly.  If you have contact with an infant, you can get a Tdap shot as early as two years after a tetanus booster.  Normally, a tetanus booster is recommended every ten years unless there is an injury after five years. 

You can get any needed immunizations at one of the three monthly North Shore Health Department clinics (call 371-2980 for clinic information or if you have questions) or you can call your family doctor.  Just please make sure your children are properly immunized.  Even though the number of cases of many diseases has been drastically reduced since the development of vaccines, these diseases are still "out there" and can result in serious complications.

Visit these websites for more information (the CDC website has some very good links):

http://cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/basic/parents.htm          http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/pdf/parent_fs.pdf

http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/pdf/PPH4021_02_08.pdf

Spring will truly be here someday soon!  People will be doing home projects, yard work, and gardening.   They will be out with their pets.  As the temperature gets even warmer, shoes and socks will come off.  Everyone will be enjoying the seasons of spring and summer.  They will also be increasing their risk of exposure to the disease of tetanus, commonly known as lockjaw. 

Tetanus is caused by a poison that is produced by bacteria and attacks the nervous system.   The bacteria live in the soil and enter the body through a break in the skin.  Most people associate tetanus with rusty nails and puncture wounds.  However, it can also be caused by animal scratches and bites, splinters, bug bites, burns, cuts and scrapes, etc.  It is not transferred from person to person. 

Although there are under fifty cases of tetanus in the U.S. every year, almost all of them occur in people who have not been vaccinated or who have not had a booster immunization in the past ten years.  There was an 18% fatality rate in the U.S. from 1998-2000.  Most deaths occur in people over 60 years of age.  Unfortunately, less than fifty percent of the adult population is current with tetanus booster shots which are needed every ten years for life.  If there is an injury after five years, evaluation for a booster shot is recommended as soon as possible.  Infants and children are protected from tetanus by their "baby shots" if they have had the complete series.

It is very fortunate that tetanus can be prevented with a safe and effective vaccine.  The tetanus vaccine also protects against diphtheria which is a dangerous respiratory infection.  There is a new tetanus vaccine available for adults that includes protection against pertussis (whooping cough), another potentially dangerous respiratory infection.  This vaccine was developed after frequent outbreaks of pertussis in the adolescent/adult population over the past several years.  It is recommended that every adult under the age of 65 get one dose of the tetanus vaccine that includes pertussis. 

Tetanus vaccine for adults is available at the North Shore Health Department for a cost of $15.00.  You can attend one of three monthly clinics or schedule an appointment if the clinics are not convenient.   Contact us at 371-2980.

You will be ready for spring only after you have checked your immunization record and received a tetanus booster if one is needed.  Then you can really enjoy the outdoors knowing you are protected against tetanus. 

Check out these websites for more information about tetanus:

http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4220.pdf           http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tetanus/DS00227/DSECTION=1

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tetanus.html#cat1

The recent cases of measles in Milwaukee provide a timely lead in to National Infant Immunization Week, April 19-26, 2008.  Measles is a highly infectious disease that is vaccine preventable.  Before the measles vaccine was available, there were approximately 450,000 cases of measles every year and an average of 450 measles associated deaths a year in the U.S.  Americans are fortunate to have a 99% reduction in measles cases since the vaccine was developed. 

Measles is just one of fourteen potentially serious diseases that can be prevented by vaccines.  Even though vaccine preventable diseases are at an all time low in the U.S., these diseases still exist and can cause an outbreak with unnecessary and heartbreaking consequences.  Some of the diseases that are rare in the U.S. are common in other parts of the world and are only a plane ride away.  It would be a mistake to assume that a child is completely safe from these diseases just because they are not common in the U.S.

Infants are particularly vulnerable to infectious disease which is why it is so important to protect them through immunization. Granted, the risk of exposure might be low.  But if there would be an exposure, there is a good chance that they would get the disease because they would be unprotected.  They could get mildly ill, very sick resulting in hospitalization, or at the very worst, they could die.  Parents need to ask themselves if their child's health is worth the risk.

Immunizations are one of the most important ways parents can protect their children.  Infant vaccines are very safe and 90-99% effective.  Like any medicine, they can occasionally cause a mild reaction.  A serious reaction would be rare.  The most comprehensive scientific studies and reviews have not found a link between vaccines and autism.  Children's vaccines do not contain thimerosal, a mercury derivative used as a preservative.  It may help to remember that getting the disease is much more risky than getting the vaccine.  In addition to protecting the immunized child, vaccines protect the larger community by preventing and reducing the spread of infectious diseases. 

Approximately one million children in the U.S. are not fully immunized by the age of two.  Don't let your child be one of the them.  For maximum protection, follow the recommended guidelines for childhood immunizations. 

The North Shore Health Department has three immunization clinics every month: 

• Clinics at the Health Department:  2nd Tuesday from 10:00 - 11:00 AM; 3rd Wednesday from 3:30 -- 4:30 PM
• Clinic at the North Shore Library:  Last Tuesday from 4:00 -- 5:00 PM

 There is no charge for children's vaccines as they are provided through the Vaccine for Children (VFC) program.

Also, please keep in mind that adolescents and adults need immunizations throughout life, too, many of which are available at the Health Department for a fee.

Check out these websites for more information on immunizations:

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines               http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/index.htm               http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentVaccinations.aspx