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There are some diseases that can kill infants or cause lasting damage to their health.
Sometimes your child's immune system needs help to fight those diseases. Immunization gives protection against some diseases.
In Nigeria, once they clock 6 weeks, infants are to receive the following immunizations;
| AGE | DISEASE |
VACCINE/
ANTIGEN |
SITE |
| 6 weeks |
Polio
DPT, HIB, Hepatitis B Rotavirus Pneumonia & Otitis Media |
OPV 1
Pentavalent 1 Rotarix 1 Synoflorix 1 or Prevner 13 |
Oral
Upper part of the thigh (right) Oral Upper part of the thigh (left) |
Polio:
Polio mainly affects children under five years of age. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. Among those paralyzed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. OPV is also called oral polio vaccine. This vaccine is administered orally.
Hepatitis B:
Hepatitis B can cause chronic liver disease and put people at high risk of death from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. Pentavalent vaccine is a combination of five vaccines-in-one that prevents diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type B, all through a single dose.
This vaccine is usually administered in the upper part of the baby's thigh.
Rotavirus
Rotavirus typically strikes babies and young children, causing an unpleasant bout of diarrhoea, sometimes with vomiting, tummy ache and fever.
Rotavirus vaccine is an oral vaccine against rotavirus infection, a common cause of diarrhoea and sickness.
Pneumonia
Pneumonia claims the life of a child every 20 seconds and 98 percent of pneumonia-induced deaths occur in developing countries like Nigeria. Viruses or bacteria can cause pneumonia; symptoms include high fever, coughing, and vomiting.
Otitis Media
Otitis media is acute inflammation of the middle ear and may be caused by bacteria or viruses. A major symptom of acute otitis media is ear pain; other possible symptoms include fever, and irritability. Risk factors include exposure to smoke, use of pacifiers, and attending daycare.
A number of measures decrease the risk of otitis media including pneumococcal and influenza vaccination i.e. Synoflorix 1 or Prevner 13, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, and avoiding tobacco smoke.
Your child should receive all the recommended immunizations.
Not all vaccines are provided free by the government and depending on what part of Nigeria you are in or your HMO plan, you may have to pay for some of them.
See the full Nigerian Immunization Schedule here.
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