Immunizations are crucial for teachers who work with children to prevent the spread of disease from the teacher to the students and vice versa. The immunization requirements for educators varies from state to state, however there are strong trends.
Diptheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (DTaP)
According to the Center for Disease Control, bacteria causes these three diseases. Unlike diptheria and pertusis which travel from person to person, tetanus is a disease you can get from cuts or wounds that break the skin. This immunization is important as the manifestations of each disease are severe: diptheria coats the back of the throat stimulating breathing problems; pertusis causes fits of coughing that also can inhibit breathing and cause a locking of the muscles throughout the body.
Hepatitis B can vary from a mild sickness to chronic liver disease or cancer. Exposure or contact with hepatitis infected blood, semen, and other bodily fluids, using infected needles or transmission from an infected mother to her infant are all ways to transmit hepatitis B.
Haemophilus Influenzae Type B
This immunization prevents diseases which the bacteria Haemophilus influenzae Type B. The most common of these diseases are pneumonia, an infection of the lungs and meningitis, a contamination of the brain and spinal cord.
Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
The measles virus can provoke a rash, flu-like symptoms such as coughing or a fever and eye irritation. It can eventually lead to brain damage and death. The mumps virus, like the measles, causes flu-like symptoms as well as swollen glands. It can eventually cause deafness or meningitis. Rubella also is called German Measles and provokes rash, low fever and arthritis.
Polio is a viral infection that has afflicted humans since ancient times. While polio often has no symptoms, some people contract flu-like symptoms and thus have no idea that they've contracted polio. At its worst, polio can result in paralysis or even death.
Varicella is commonly known as chicken pox, which causes a fever and an uncomfortable rash. This rash usually manifests itself throughout the surface of the skin as small itchy lesions. At its worst, it can infect the brain and cause pneumonia. This disease is highly contagious and can be transmitted by coughing and sneezing, by direct contact and by aerosolization of virus from skin lesions.