Source: The Mercury, Tuesday, 27 June, 1994, p.1
Source: The Mercury, Tuesday, 27 June, 1994, p.1
By MARY ROSE Health Reporter HANNAH Reason's mum has done the right thing say health experts. She has had her 4 -month-old daughter immunised. As a former Health Department employee, mother Natalie Reason, of Bellerive, says she is "aware of what the best thing is for the baby". "I think parents should be more aware of their babies' needs, as well as the community's needs," she said. Mrs Reason and Hannah were at the launch in Hobart yesterday of a statewide campaign to encourage parents to have their children immunised. GP and immunisation working party chairman Mike Sladden said parents needed to be reminded some children would die of preventable illnesses without immunisation. "It's far better to get the immunisa- tion rather than some of the horrible diseases we're trying to prevent," he said. The theme of the campaign is "Help them every step of the way-please immunise". The television and print campaign stems from a recommendation in the Tasmanian Immunisation Strategy, which has been allocated $180,000 to improve the state's immunisation record. Community and Health Services Minister Roger Groom said the need for full immunisation could not be over- emphasised in the fight to eradicate preventable diseases such as diphthe- ria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, poliomyelitis, mumps, rubella and haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib). "These diseases are still occur- ring widely because a significant proportion of children are not immunised or have not complet- ed the recommended full course of immunisation," Mr Groom said. In Tasmania, measles has increased 25-fold from 32 cases in 1991 and 1992 to more than 800 cases in 1993. Pertussis has increased from 29 cases in 1991 and 1992 to a total of 84 cases for 1993 and 1994. The recent introduction of Hib vaccine has reduced the number of reported Hib cases, which Mr Groom said was an excellent example of the benefits of immunisation.
Where to next?
Student Questions for this article
Teacher Discussion of this article
Index - Data Representation