Vaccination: The Facts, the Fears, the Future

Being healthy per se is no guarantee of protection against polio, diptheria or many other infectious diseases. Perfectly healthy children still die from measles if they are not vaccinated. Yet both sides of the vaccination debate are full of distorted figures and mis-information. So what are the real facts? Immunologist Gordon Ada and paediatrician David Isaacs explain the nature of infectious diseases and the immune system, and how vaccinations work. They trace the history of immunisation and analyse the efficacy and safety of those vaccines currently available to us. Though their approach is pro-vaccination the authors also address the associated risks and the concerns of anti-vaccination lobbyists. Recent developments in vaccination research are described and they speculate on the very real prospects of vaccines against non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and cancer. '.clearly the world's most authoritative, most readable and most balanced book telling the story of vaccines from the very beginning and also peering excitingly into the future' Sir Gustav Nossal, University of Melbourne 'For intelligent parents who have real questions or concerns about vaccination, this is the ideal source ' Stanley A. Plotkin, M.D., Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 'It addresses, with solid science, the concerns of parents and others in the community who have been vocal against vaccination and informs us of exciting possibilities for the prevention of infectious diseases in the future. Fiona Stanley AC, Director, Institute for Child Health Research, Western Australia 'Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask -- and more! . packed with information, down to earth, immensely readable and, above all, accurate. Anyone who cares about the well-being of family, friends and society should read this wonderful book.' Richard Moxon, Action Research Professor of Paediatrics, University of Oxford. Vaccination - draft cover blurb

Table of Contents:
Tables Figures Acknowledgements Preface I Why vaccinate? 1 Infectious diseases of humans 2 A short history of vaccines and vaccination 3 Current vaccines and vaccination procedures 4 How vaccines work: the immune response to infectious agents and vaccines 5 Vaccine efficacy and the variation in individual responses 6 Vaccine safety 7 The crowning achievement - the eradication/elimination of some human infectious diseases 8 Addressing parental concerns II The way ahead 9 New approaches to vaccine development and immunisation practices 10 The challenge of making vaccines against HIV, malaria and chlamydia 11 The potential for the control of non-communicable diseases by vaccination or immunotherapy Part 1 Immunotherapy to control autoimmune diseases Part 2 Immunotherapy to control/cure cancers Part 3 Vaccines to control

About the Author :
Gordon Ada is Professor and Visiting Fellow at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra. David Isaacs is a practicing paediatrician, Staff Specialist in Infectious Diseases at the New Children's Hospital, Westmead, Sydney and Clinical Professor at the University of Sydney.