The MMR vaccine is an vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella that is used in children and, in some cases, also in adults. The MMR vaccine protects against these three diseases at the same time. They are very contagious and have serious complications. Find out when to get the MMR vaccine, the side effects of the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella), and whether MMR can cause autism?

MMR vaccinetovaccinationagainst measles, mumps and rubella. The MMR vaccine is a combined vaccine, i.e. one that protects against several diseases at the same time - in this case against three. Measles, mumps, and rubella are highly contagious diseases with serious complications, and MMR vaccination prevents their occurrence.

MMR vaccine (against measles, mumps and rubella) - protects against 3 diseases at the same time

MMR vaccination protects against three diseases:

  • measles

Measles is an acute, viral, highly contagious disease that occurs primarily in children. Their first symptoms are fever, catarrhal symptoms, cough, and photophobia. After 3 days, a rash appears on the skin - behind the ears, on the face and on the body. Complications of measles are pneumonia, bronchitis, laryngitis, middle ear inflammation, and diarrhea. Neurological complications (meningitis and encephalitis) are very serious.

  • piggy

Mumps, or common parotitis or widespread inflammation of the salivary glands, is an acute infectious viral disease in childhood. Its main symptoms are pain and swelling in the ear area, fever.

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Mumps has serious complications such as meningitis, inflammation of the testicles (sometimes leading to infertility or sterility), inflammation of the pancreas, less commonly arthritis, myocarditis, or the auditory nerve, leading to permanent deafness. Complications of mumps are more common in boys than in girls and can lead to permanent disability (e.g. infertility, deafness).

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  • rubella

It's a rash infectious disease caused byrubella virus. Rubella can cause complications such as rubella neuritis or encephalitis, rubella purpura, rubella arthritis (most often of the small joints of the hands). Rubella is especially dangerous in pregnant women, as it can lead to birth defects and even miscarriage.

MMR vaccine (against measles, mumps and rubella) - types

The MMR vaccine contains live viruses, but they are weakened and modified so that they do not cause disease in he althy children, but stimulate immunity.

  • MMRVAX Pro vaccine - is a live measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Contains antigens: attenuated strains of measles, mumps and rubella
  • Priorix vaccine - live measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Contains antigens: attenuated strains of measles, mumps and rubella
  • Priorix-Tetra vaccine - live vaccine against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella. Contains antigens: attenuated strains of measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox
Worth knowing

MMR vaccine against measles mumps and rubella - when to give?

According to the compulsory vaccination schedule in force in Poland, in order to obtain long-term immunity, the MMR vaccine is administered to children:

  • aged 13-14 months (first dose)
  • at age 10 (second dose)

Vaccination with MMR vaccine is also recommended:

  • adults who were not vaccinated against childhood measles
  • people who received only one dose of the vaccine in the past
  • young women, especially those working in children's environments (kindergartens, schools, hospitals, clinics).

Vaccines are given by injection under the skin or into a muscle.

MMR vaccine to be administered together with other vaccines, e.g. varicella vaccine (in separate sites) or as a combined vaccine against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMR-V).

Source: www.szczepienia.pzh.gov.pl

The MMR abbreviation comes from the English names of the diseases that the vaccine protects against: Measles-Mumps-Rubella, meaning measles - mumps - rubella.

MMR vaccine (against measles, mumps and rubella) - contraindications for administration

Contraindications to the use of MMR include:

  • allergic to any ingredient of the preparation, e.g. to neomycin
  • known hypersensitivity reaction after previous vaccination
  • pregnancy
  • fever (the presence of a mild infection is not a contraindication tovaccinations)
  • taking medications that reduce the activity of the immune system
  • blood diseases and cancer

MMR vaccine (against measles, mumps and rubella) - is it effective?

If MMR vaccine is received as recommended (i.e. 2 doses)

  • rubella - effectiveness 97-99 percent.
  • measles - effectiveness>90%
  • piggy - effectiveness around 69-81 percent.

About 5-10% of children do not develop measles immunity after the first dose, so a second, supplemental dose is recommended. All vaccines available in Poland are equally effective and it is rare for children to get sick despite vaccination. However, when it does, the disease is much milder.

MMR vaccine (against measles, mumps and rubella) - side effects

The MMR vaccine, like any vaccine, may have side effects. After giving it,

may appear

1. local reactions:

  • pain at the injection site
  • redness or swelling

2. general reactions:

  • low-grade fever or low fever (5-10% of children), which usually occurs 6-12 days after vaccination and lasts for about 2 days
  • skin rash (5% of children), which usually appears 6-12 days after vaccination and lasts for about 2 days
  • unusual cry
  • mild enlargement of the lymph nodes (more often in children)
  • swelling of the parotid gland that rarely appears 10-14 days after vaccination
  • joint pain (0.5%, especially in young people and women)
  • arthritis (10% of vaccinated women) that occurs between days 7 and 21 after vaccination

Severe vaccine adverse reactions may occur very rarely:

  • allergic reactions (1 in approximately 200,000 - 1,000,000 doses)
  • febrile seizures most often occur between days 7-12 with a frequency of 1 episode in 3,000-4,000 doses), usually after the first dose, seizures disappear without lasting consequences for the child's development
  • hemorrhagic spots on the skin (ecchymosis), appear up to 2 months after vaccination, usually disappear without a trace after 2-3 weeks
  • mild encephalitis (1 in 1,800,000 doses), resolves without sequelae

All NOPs should be reported to the Department of Monitoring Adverse Effects of Medicinal Products, Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products, Al. Jerozolimskie 181C, 02-222 Warsaw, phone: + 48 22 4921 301, fax: + 48 22 49 21 309, e-mail: [email protected].

According to an expertDr. Ewa Duszczyk, MD, PhD, Department of Infectious Diseases in Children, Medical University of Warsaw

Can the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine cause autism?

The suspicion that measles virus could cause enteritis and autism after both measles and MMR vaccination was made by Wakefield and colleagues in the mid-1990s. The work was published by Lancet in 1995. Numerous studies on the relationship between MMR and autism have not confirmed the relationship between MMR and inflammatory bowel disease or autism. Numerous studies have failed to confirm any link between vaccinations and allergic, autoimmune and neurodevelopmental diseases.

Source: www.zasz tendsiewiedza.pl

Child immunization - side effects

Many parents choose not to vaccinate their children due to possible side effects from the vaccinations. Alicja Karney, a pediatrician from the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw, tells about what reactions may occur after vaccinations.

Category:

Infectious diseases