A 6-month-old infant is not vaccinated. The physician recommends a DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) vaccination but the mother is absolutely against this procedure. Choose the most substantial argument in favor of vaccination:

Answer options

1. High quality of vaccines
2. Risk of lethal consequences
3. Epidemic risk for the others
4. -
5. Personal professional experience

Explanation

Diphtheria in unvaccinated persons causes death in 5 to 10 % of cases, mostly due to complications (laryngeal croup and myocarditis). In 2013, the Global Burden of Disease Study estimated mortality due to pertussis in the first year of life to be 400 per million live births or approximately 56 000 deaths. Tetanus mortality rates were still high in several countries in 2015 (more than 1,000 deaths per 100,000 population) were observed in Somalia, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Kenya due to lack of vaccines. So, vaccination with DTP is strongly recommended to reduce risk to a child 1. Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals. Diphtheria. Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://www.who.int/immunization/diseases/diphtheria/en/ 2. Cohen Jonathan. Infectious Diseases / Jonathan Cohen, William Powderly, Steven Opal. – Third edition. – 2010. – Р. 1666 – 1669 3. Kasper Dennis L. Harrison’s infectious diseases / Dennis L. Kasper, Anthony S Fauci. – 12th edition. – New York McGraw-Hill Education, 2017. –Р.418–422