|
|
Article: Only childhood vaccinations can stymie the comeback of once-vanquished diseases.(Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- July 24, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ As an infection control nurse at Vanderbilt University's Medical Center, I've become increasingly concerned that our country may be dropping its guard in the battle against vaccine-preventable diseases.
In the United States, we no longer worry about many of the diseases that routinely crippled and killed Americans at the beginning of the 20th century. We've become so complacent, in fact, that a new outbreak could trigger an epidemic that might overrun our nation's public health system.
Far too many people view childhood diseases like diphtheria, whooping cough, rubella, chicken pox and measles as curiosities from the past.
...