Mainly administered in children, the MPRV tetravalent vaccine can also be offered to adults, if these had not been vaccinated or had not yet contracted one of these infections. Let’s find out why his role is fundamental in the prevention of serious complications
MPR vaccine and Mprv vaccine: what do they protect and what are the differences? Are they mandatory? When should they be administered?
Let’s start by saying that these are very important vaccines because they protect from particularly contagious infectious diseases who, in some cases (babies, immunosuppressed people, pregnant women), can also have serious consequences.
We therefore answer the most frequently asked questions about the subject.
MPR vaccine and Mprv vaccine: from which diseases do they protect?
The MPR trivalent vaccinealso called Morbillo-Parotitis-Rosolia vaccine, protects precisely from exanthematical diseases measles, parotitis and rubella. A combined vaccine has also been available for some years tetravalent (or quadrivalent)or the MPRV vaccinewhich also protects from chickenpox.
But why is it important to protect yourself from these diseases?
Morbillo vaccine?
The measles It is an exanthematic infectious disease caused by a family virus of Paramyxovirus. It is transmitted by air through the respiratory droplets that spread to the air when the patient counts or sneezes. It is among the most contagious infectious diseases: it is estimated that a sick person can infect between 12 and 18 people.
The first symptoms are similar to those of a cold (cough, nose that cola, conjunctivitis) and high fever. In the following days, white dots appear inside the mouth (similar to a pin head, are called “Koplik stains”). After three to four days, the characteristic skin eruption (exanthema) appears, consisting of bright red dots, first behind the ears and on the face, then on the rest of the body.
The eruption lasts four to seven days and disappears gradually, starting with the neck. Sometimes, a desquamation of the skin can remain for a few days.
THE infants and the immunosuppressed people They are the subjects at the greatest risk of complications, among which the most frequent are otitis media (7-9% of cases) and diarrhea (6%). In one case, every 20 patient of measles you can get to have pneumonia, while in one case the encephalitis appears every 1,000. Morbillo is estimated to cause death in one case every 1,000-3,000 patients.
An extremely rare complication (one per 100,000) is the Subcuta Sclerosante Pancencephalitis (Pess) which develops 7-10 years after the infection and which leads to death.
Parotite vaccine
Also the mumps (in jargon called “ears”) it is an infectious disease of viral origin and is transmitted through saliva or mucus from the upper airways. A person with infection can therefore transmit the virus through cough and sneezing, or sharing with other cups, glasses, cutlery.
Parotite is initially manifested with pain during chewing or swallowing, followed by the painful swelling of a salivary gland placed in front and under the ear, the parotid. They can enlarge one or both parotids and other salivary glands, and there are often other symptoms such as chills, headache, belly pain and fever.
In children, the disease is resolved in most cases in a few days, while in adults some complications are more frequent: in 20-30% of males who get sick after puberty, the onset of theorcitecharacterized by the swelling of one or both testicles. Although rarely, this complication can lead to sterility.
Vaccino for Rosolia
Like measles and parotitis, also the rubella It is an exanthematic disease caused by a virus (Rubivirus) and spreads through the respiratory droplets spread in the air from the patient or direct contact with nasopharyngeal secretions.
The most common symptoms are mild and evident in a period between five and 10 days, but the infection is asymptomatic.
In adults, during the first five days of course, the main symptoms can include: mild fever and headache; skin eruption consisting of small pink spots that appear first behind the ears, then on the forehead and on the whole body and last two to three days; Light swelling of the lymph nodes at the base of the neck, on the back of the neck and behind the ears; joint pain; conjunctivitis.
If contracted during pregnancy, rubella can be transmitted to the fetus and cause abortion or malformations (cardiac defects, blindness, deafness, mental retardation).
Chickenpox vaccine
There chickenpox It is a disease due to Virus chickenpox-zoster And it is among the most contagious infectious diseases, especially in the early stages of the eruption. The transmission from person to person takes place by air by means of the respiratory droplets spread in the air when a person slices takes off or sneezes, or through direct contact with an chickenpox or zoster injury.
The disease begins with a skin exantem, not high fever and slight general symptoms such as malaise and headache. For three to four days, small itchy papules appear on the head, trunk, face and limbs, with later waves. Papules evolve into vesicles, then in pustules and finally in crusts, destined to fall. Chickenpox is generally a benign disease that heals within 7-10 days. The disease tends to have a more aggressive course in the adolescent and adult, and can be particularly serious If it affects immunosuppressed people, or with HIV infection, or subjected to chemotherapy or care with corticosteroid drugs for asthma or other diseases.
The infection produces an immunity that lasts all life and rarely a person can develop the chickenpox twice. However, the virus is not eliminated by the body, but remains latent (hidden) in the ganglia of spinal nerve roots. In 10-20% of cases the virus awakens years or decades, usually after 50 years of age, giving rise to Herpes Zoster, commonly known as “Fire of Sant’Antonio”.
If the chickenpox is contracted by a woman at the beginning of a pregnancy (in the first two quarters of gestation) it can be transmitted to the fetus, causing the so -called Congenital chickenpox syndromecharacterized by the presence of skin scars, eye injuries (for example cataracts), reduced size of the skull (microcephaly) and delay of cognitive development.
The chickenpox vaccine is mandatoryas well as those for measles, parotitis and rosolia, which are among the mandatory vaccinations for all new born. The only peculiarity lies in the fact that it can also be administered individually, since there is a specific monovalent vaccine. Consequently, as mentioned, you can choose between two options:
- the MPRV quadrivalent vaccine, which simultaneously protects against measles, parotitis, rosolia and chickenpox;
- The mpr -measuring vaccine (measles, parotitis and rosolia), to which can be added separately the monovalent vaccine for chickenpox.
The choice between single or combined vaccine depends on age, the patient’s vaccination state and medical recommendations.
What do MPR and MPRV vaccines contain and when do they do?
The vaccines contain altitude vivo strains of the viruses that cause the four diseases. They are strains that can cause a very slight shape of illness. Since, however, that they are still live viruses, vaccination cannot be carried out in immunosuppressed subjects: the reduced response of the immune system may not be able to eliminate the virus.
MPR/MPRV vaccines are administered in two doses: the first between 12 and 15 months of age and the second between 5 and 6 years of age.
As mentioned, they can be administered together (MPRV quadrivalent vaccine), or in the MPR vaccine mode and an anti -ritarian monovalent vaccine, always in the same seat, but in two separate offices.
If the vaccines are carried out by a teenager or an adult, the administration is in two doses, with the second carried out at least a month from the first.
Since these are vaccines containing attenuated live viruses, the immunity guaranteed by the vaccine is long -lasting and it is not necessary to carry out calls.
THE’Effective vaccines is very high: in the case of the measles vaccine, more than 98% of the subjects who made two doses is protected from the disease.
Mpr/Mprv vaccine and adults
Even adults who have not sick of measles, parotitis, rosolia and chickenpox and who are not already vaccinated should make this vaccination. In fact, these infectious diseases have a higher frequency of complications in adulthood, in particular parotitis and chickenpox.
This vaccination is extremely important for women of fertile: rosolia and chickenpox, if contracted during pregnancy, can in fact be transmitted to the fetus and cause malformations or problems for fetal development. For caution it is necessary to let at least 30 days spend the vaccination at the time of conception.
«I am in the third month of gestation and in the past I have already had measles, parotitis and chickenpox. I can do the Vaccine for pregnancy in pregnancy? » For the same reason explained a little while ago, MPRV vaccines are contraindicated in pregnant women, since they are vaccines that contain attenuated live viruses. They are also contraindicated in immunosuppressed peopleboth for pathology and for taking drugs (for example anticancer, immunosuppressors).
Side effects of the Morbillo-Parotite-Rosolia vaccine
The side effects that may appear following the administration of the MPR vaccine are:
- swelling and pain in the injection site;
- fever (generally one-two days);
- appearance of exanthema;
- feverish convulsions (one case every 2,000-3,000 vaccinated);
- decrease in the number of platelets (plateletopenia, one case out of 30,000 vaccinated).
Extremely rare cases of encephalitis have also been reported after the administration of the MPR vaccine, with a frequency of one case every million vaccinated (much lower than the frequency with which the encephalitis appears in subjects with measles).
Contrary to what happens for other vaccines, in which the fever generally appears in the first 24 hours from the administration, in the case of the MPR vaccine, the fever appears 5-12 days after vaccination.
Side effects of the chickenpox vaccine
The Side effects of the vaccine against chickenpox They are similar to those of the MPR vaccine, or fever (generally one-two days), swelling and pain in the injection site, appearance of exanthema, feverish convulsions (with a risk lower than that of the MPR vaccine, or 4-9 cases on 10,000 doses).
The MPRV vaccine is associated with a greater probability of having fever compared to the separate administration of MPR and anti -artivaricella. There are, however, at the moment final data to evaluate whether the risk of feverish convulsions has also increased compared to the separate vaccines.
Does the measles vaccine cause autism?
No. There are scientific tests that are sufficiently solid for exclude an association cause-cause between the measles vaccine (and consequently the combined MPR and Mprv vaccines) and autism.
There false belief On the vaccine as the cause of autism, he originated in 1998 from a study published in the scientific journal Lancet. The study, in reality, was not planned to investigate if there was an association between vaccine and autistic disorder, but described 12 children with autism and chronic enterocolite. It was one of the authors of the article, Andrew Wakefield, to support the existence of this bond after the publication of the study. Subsequently, numerous studies were conducted that did not observe differences in the risk of autistic spectrum disorders, and Wakefield’s article was withdrawn by the magazine that had published it as they had emerged from the data and the conduct of the researchers had been judged as non -ethical.
