The 5: Shot hurt around the world

When we hear about people dying from vaccine-preventable diseases, we tend to associate such loss with poorer countries than our own. This assumption is not terribly off-base, as many third-world nations do suffer an enormous amount of preventable human loss due to a lack of access to proper medical treatment. However, such vaccine-preventable loss is not exclusive to these less fortunate countries; an article in Women's Health magazine asserts that 50,000 adult Americans die each year for the same reason.

According to the article, the following is a list of five of the eleven vaccinations that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests getting:

1) Hepatitis A: A virus spread by infected food and water that can cause liver infection. Most often a danger to travelers to foreign countries.

2) HPV: The Human Papillomavirus is a sexually transmitted disease that can potentially lead to cervical cancer in women. Genital HPV is the most common sexual transmitted infection in the United States. About 6.2 million Americans will get infected with genital HPV this year.

3) Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis: These bacterial infections can lead to pneumonia and possibly even death in some cases. The CDC recommends getting vaccinated every ten years.

4) Influenza: Better known as the Flu, more serious cases can cause pneumonia, which can be fatal, particularly in young children and the elderly. The CDC suggests getting a Flu shot once a year.

5) Varicella: While it may have a pretty name, it's more common moniker of Chicken Pox serves as a reminder of how ugly it can be. Pregnant women and those with a suppressed immune system are at highest risk of serious complications. The most common late complication of chicken pox is shingles, caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus decades after the initial episode of chickenpox.

The clear point of the story is to make sure that you are up to date on your shots. We are fortunate to have this preventative medicine at our disposal, so it only makes sense to take full advantage of that fact.