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The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote & improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, & community efforts.

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Vaccine Preventable Diseases


Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD)

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Measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, varicella, pneumococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, meningococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) are all preventable by vaccine.  These common childhood and adult diseases are highly contagious and are particularly dangerous to very young children who have relatively low resistance to infection and more prone to develop serious complications such as deafness, retardation, brain and spinal cord damage and, occasionally, death.

Florida has a very strong and successful immunization program.  Without assurance of high immunization levels, visitors and Floridians would not be able to enjoy the high quality of life the state offers.  Currently, the maintenance of high immunization levels contributes positively to the state’s economy by lower disease incidence, lower healthcare costs and ensuring travelers may confidently visit Florida without contracting a vaccine-preventable disease.

The program ensures a cause and effect response by monitoring immunization levels in vulnerable populations throughout the state, thereby contributing to strategies to attain and sustain high immunization levels.  This has the effect of increasing herd immunity and lowering vaccine-preventable disease rates.

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Vaccine-Preventable Disease Surveillance Report

March 2018

Pertussis

  • Pertussis activity decreased from last month and is consistent with trends seen in previous years at this time.
  • There were 18 cases and no outbreaks reported in March.
  • Incidence remains highest among infants less than one year old; infants less than two months old are too young to receive vaccinations against pertussis, which is why vaccination of other age groups is so important to help prevent infection inthis highly vulnerable group.

Varicella

  • Varicella activity increased from last month and is slightly higher than activity levels seen in previous years at this time.
  • There were 73 total cases and an outbreak in a school reported in March, to date 17 cases have been identified as a part of the outbreak.
  • Incidence remains highest among infants less than one year old, who are too young to be vaccinated.
  • This month, 60% of cases were not up to date on their varicella vaccinations or had unknown vaccination status, a slight increase from last month.

Mumps

  • Mumps activity increased from last month and is higher than activity levels seen in previous years at this time.
  • There were seven cases and no outbreaks reported in March.
  • Incidence was highest among children age 1-5 years old.
  • This month, 57% of cases were not up-to-date on their mumps vaccinations or had an unknown vaccination status, a decrease from last month.

2018 March VPD Surveillance Report

*Note: This page contains materials in the Portable Document Format (PDF). The free Acrobat Reader may be required to view these files.