Clinical Study Infectious Diseases and Vaccination Strategies: How to Protect the ‘‘Unprotectable’’?

Copyright © 2013 Elena Bozzola et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Introduction. The circulation of infectious diseases puts small infants too young to be vaccinated at risk of morbidity and mortality, often requiring prolonged hospitalization. Material and Methods. We have reviewed the medical records of children not eligible for vaccination because of age, admitted to hospital for pertussis, measles, or varicella from February 1, 2010, till February 1, 2012. Results. Of the case records scrutinized, 21 were hospitalized for pertussis, 18 for measles, and 32 for varicella. Out of them, 42%, 66%, and 78 % diagnosed with, respectively, pertussis, measles, and varicella had a complicated course of the disease. Discussion