A few days ago, it was reported that a tenant who abducted his landlord's undergraduate daughter and fathered a child by her, has been arrested and the young lady rescued.

However, the story has a sad ending because the 18-month-old baby of the union became deformed because the father restricted the mother from taking her for vaccination. The unnamed baby soon became infected with polio, sequel to which she was paralysed.

The average person reading this might pity the poor baby and blame the father, but many parents sometimes neglect to obtain all the necessary immunisations for their babies. This is dangerous, physicians warn.

Measles

For instance, a new study concludes that children who receive their measles vaccination on time have a lower risk of adverse events than those who do later than the recommended period. In other words, babies must take their vaccines as at when due.

According to the study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, children who received their first dose of a measles-containing vaccine at ages 12 months to 15 months as recommended by physicians, had a lower risk of experiencing fever or seizures shortly after vaccination than those who received the vaccine at ages 16 months to 23 months.

The findings"highlight the importance of timely immunisation of children," the researchers, from Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Centre in Oakland, California, said.

Childhood tuberculosis

Parents can protect their babies from this dreadful disease by making them take the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Vaccine, otherwise called BCG.

According to the World Health Organisation, the deaths of more than 74,000 children due to tuberculosis could be prevented each year if parents take the right steps.

Also called paediatric TB, a physician, Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie, notes that children with TB may die from pneumonia or other diseases, hence the need for proper immunisation.

Hepatitis B

An expert in child health, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, says under normal circumstances, an infant receives the first immunisation for this infection before leaving the hospital; and that if the baby's mother carries the hepatitis B virus, the baby receives the first vaccine shortly after birth.

He warns,"The hepatitis B vaccine protects against hepatitis B, a serious disease that damages the liver. This vaccine is one of the recommended childhood immunisations, but many adults also need to be vaccinated."

He also says that since there are stages to being immunised against this virus, the second injection is given between one and two months of age; while the third dose is given at six months of age.

Pneumonia

Paediatricians say pneumococcal disease is a serious infection caused by a bacterium known as Streptococcus pneumoniae. Rotimi warns that those infected can spread it primarily in droplets from their nose or mouth when they breathe, cough, or sneeze, hence the need to obtain necessary immunisation for babies who may be more susceptible.

He says,"Depending on what organ or part of the body is infected, in addition to causing pneumonia, in children under the age of five, pneumococcal disease will cause any of several serious illnesses, including bacterial meningitis (an infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord that can lead to confusion, coma, and death, as well as other physical effects, such as blindness or paralysis); bacteremia (a dangerous infection of the blood stream) and sinus infections.

Lamenting that a major problem in very young children is that the classic symptoms of meningitis and pneumonia are often not present, making the disease hard to recognise, he says that is why prevention is better than cure.

To save your child, obtain the Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine — PCV for short — which is the vaccine of choice for young children.

Polio

While many parts of the world has been rid of this devastating infection, Nigeria is still one of the few countries that need to wipe it out.

The WHO says Polio (or poliomyelitis) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children.

“The virus is transmitted through contaminated food and water, and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system. Many infected people have no symptoms, but do excrete the virus in their faeces, hence transmitting infection to others," paediatricians warn.

Rotimi says initial symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs.

“In a small proportion of cases, the disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent. Polio can only be prevented by immunisation," the WHO says.

Others

Other childhood diseases that parents must immunise their babies against include diphtheria — a bacterial infection that mainly affects the nose and throat. Children under five are hugely at risk, physicians say.

Rubella — also known as German measles — is another viral infection to worry about, as it is caused by the rubella virus, which is spread in much the same way as a cold or the flu.

Physicians say rubella is spread through droplets of moisture from the nose or throat of someone who is infected."These droplets are released into the air when someone coughs, sneezes or talks," they say