Open AccessThe role of vaccination in global health
Author(s) -
Keegan Guidolin,
Gaby Meglei
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
uwomj/medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2560-8274
pISSN - 0042-0336
DOI - 10.5206/uwomj.v83i2.4431
Subject(s) - smallpox , vaccination , measles , global health , medicine , smallpox vaccine , infectious disease (medical specialty) , globe , disease , immunology , economic growth , public health , vaccinia , biochemistry , chemistry , nursing , pathology , gene , economics , ophthalmology , recombinant dna
Perhaps the greatest medical advancement in history was the development of the vaccine. While previously helpless to stop the spread of deadly infectious diseases, humanity has since harnessed the power of vaccination and decreased the incidence of infectious disease across the globe. Smallpox was the first disease to be eradicated—the greatest of our triumphs. This success was due to the global coordinated effort of the Intensified Smallpox Eradication Program. Presently, measles is the top cause of vaccine-preventable death in the world, and despite enormous vaccination efforts, eradication is still distant. This is due in part to the antivaccination movement, which was fueled by an article by Wakefield, published in the Lancet in 1998. The future of vaccination is an ambitious and unclear one—with tremendous financial support and involvement, the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) aims to eliminate vaccine preventable illness within what they call the “Decade of Vaccines”.