Diseases and vaccines

PATH regularly gathers the most up-to-date, technically accurate information about vaccine-preventable diseases* from international public health organizations, scientific journals, and immunization experts. Specific references for the content presented on the diseases listed below may be found on the respective "In Depth" page for each disease.

Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib)
Hib kills more than 700,000 children each year. A safe, effective vaccine exists, but it is underused in the developing world.

Hepatitis B
Hepatitis B kills about 1 million people each year, and the introduction of hepatitis B vaccine in the developing world is a model for other new vaccines.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)
Each year, 500,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 250,000 of them die from the disease. Eighty-five percent of those deaths occur in the developing world, where cancer screening is uncommon. Cervical cancer is caused by HPV, an extremely common, sexually transmitted infection.

Influenza
Influenza, a seasonally occurring virus, causes approximately 1 billion cases of infection, 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness, and 300,000 to 500,000 deaths annually. Epidemics and outbreaks of influenza have the potential to cause millions of deaths worldwide. Pandemics, worldwide epidemics, generally occur approximately every 40 years with the last pandemic happening in 1968.

Japanese encephalitis
Japanese encephalitis is prevalent in parts of Asia, and illness can be fatal in 30 percent of cases. One-third of those who survive suffer long-term neurological disabilities.

Malaria
Malaria is a parasitic, mosquito-borne disease and is a leading cause of death and illness in developing countries, hitting hardest in resource-poor tropical and sub-tropical areas. It kills more than one million people annually, most of them sub-Saharan African children under age five.

Meningococcal disease
Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening illness that kills 10 to 15 percent of those who develop the disease and leaves 10 to 20 percent of the survivors with permanent disabilities such as epilepsy and mental retardation. The disease mainly affects infants, children, and young adults.

Pneumococcal disease
Pneumococcus may be responsible for up to 20% of child deaths worldwide. It can lead to pneumonia, meningitis, and other serious conditions.

Shigellosis and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
Shigella and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are two of the leading bacterial causes of diarrhea. Each year, Shigella, the bacteria that cause shigellosis disease, and ETEC kill more than one million people, mostly children in the developing world, and cause illness in hundreds of millions more.

Rotavirus
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea, and each year it kills 600,000 children under five years old.

Yellow fever
Yellow fever can be controlled with a safe, effective, and affordable vaccine, yet low immunization coverage has led to increased disease incidence, particularly in West Africa.

*PATH’s Vaccine Resource Library aims to provide useful information on numerous diseases and vaccines. However, the Library is not meant to be a comprehensive resource for information on all diseases and vaccines, but rather reflects those being addressed by PATH projects. There are many great resources on vaccines and immunization offered in our general information section that can provide you with guidance on diseases and vaccines that are not contained in our Library. Please check back as we continue to expand our resources to include additional diseases and vaccines.