ABSTRACT

Disease prevention using vaccination strategies has been an important public health achievement. Successful vaccination has eradicated smallpox and eliminated poliomyelitis in many areas of the world. A 90 to 100% decline in mortality and morbidity of several childhood infections has occurred since the introduction of vaccines and implementation in routine childhood immunization schedules. The use of appropriate vaccines has prevented 150,000 and 750,000 deaths per year from poliomyelitis and measles, respectively. New technologies including recombinant DNA approaches, peptide synthetic chemistry, and new immunomodulating adjuvants have contributed to the development of novel vaccines and improvement of existing vaccines.