Vaccines have been so successful that we don’t see the diseases they prevent every day. As a result, they may not seem as scary as they used to. But, vaccine-preventable diseases still cause a lot of suffering and death worldwide. An infected person can travel to the United States, and we can travel anywhere in the world. There are still documented cases of vaccine-preventable diseases in California each year. By immunizing, together, we will make sure these diseases do not become everyday events again. 

Chickenpox	(also called varicella) was one of the most common childhood diseases. Before the vaccine, there were about 4 million cases a year in the United States. The chickenpox virus usually causes mild illness with a fever and an itchy rash. It also can lead to severe skin infections, scars, and serious problems. About 1 child in 500 who gets chickenpox is hospitalized (about 1 in 50 adults).
Diphtheria	causes a thick covering in the back of the throat that makes it hard to breathe or swallow. About 1 in 10 people with diphtheria die from breathing problems, paralysis, or heart failure. Before the vaccine, about 150,000 people a year got diphtheria in the United States.
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)	is a bacteria that can cause serious problems including meningitis, brain damage, deafness, pneumonia, infections of the blood, joints, bone, and heart covering, and death. As recently as the mid-1980s, it struck 1 out of 200 children under age 5 years old.
Hepatitis A	is a serious liver disease that is usually spread by close personal contact or by eating contaminated food or water. Hepatitis A can cause mild, “flu-like” illness, jaundice (yellow skin or eyes), and severe stomach pains and diarrhea.
Hepatitis B	is another serious liver disease that can cause short-term (acute) illness. Some people develop a long-term (chronic) illness that leads to liver damage (cirrhosis), liver cancer, and death. Even though these people may not feel sick, they carry the virus and can infect other people. The virus is spread though contact with blood and other bodily fluids of an infected person. Pregnant women can infect their newborn.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)	is a group of viruses that is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. About 80% of women in the United States become infected during their lives. Some types of HPV cause genital warts in women and men. Cervical cancer is caused by HPV. About 11,150 women get cervical cancer each year in the United States.
Influenza (flu)	is caused by the influenza virus, which spreads from person to person through coughing, sneezing, or breathing. Influenza can lead to serious complications, like pneumonia. Influenza viruses are continually changing, so the immunity you get in one year may not protect you in future years. In the United States, influenza causes more deaths (about 36,000 per year) than any other vaccine-preventable disease.
Measles	virus causes a rash, cough, runny nose, and fever. It can lead to ear infections, pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and even death. Measles is so contagious that in 1962, the year before the vaccine, almost 500,000 cases of measles were reported in the United States. While once almost eliminated from the United States, there have been recent outbreaks in California and elsewhere.
Meningococcal Disease	is a severe bacterial infection of the bloodstream or meninges (a thin lining covering the brain and spinal cord). Meningococcal disease can progress very fast. A healthy child can move from a rash to a fever, coma, and death in less than a day. Each year, about 2,500 people get meningococcal disease in the United States and 300 die.
Mumps	virus is best known for causing swollen cheeks and jaw, as a result of swollen salivary glands. It also causes fever, headache, and can lead to meningitis in about 1 child in 10 who gets the disease, and, occasionally deafness or death. Before the vaccine mumps was a very common childhood disease, now it is uncommon.
Pertussis	(also called whooping cough) causes coughing spells so bad that it is hard to eat, drink, or breathe. These spells can last for weeks. It can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and death. Pertussis is very contagious, and is fairly common in the United States, even today.
Polio	is a disease caused by a virus which can cause paralysis. It can kill people who get it, usually by paralyzing the muscles that help them breathe. Even though there is no longer wild polio in the United States, it is still common in some parts of the world.
Pneumococcal disease	is a bacterial disease that can cause serious infections of the lungs (pneumonia), the bloodstream, and the brain. It is often thought of a disease of the elderly, but it also causes many health problems in children under 5. Pneumococcal disease accounts for 10 to 25% of the pneumonia cases each year and is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States.
Rubella	(also called German Measles) is caused by a virus that usually leads to mild fever and a rash. The greatest danger from rubella is to unborn babies. If a pregnant woman gets rubella, there is an 80% chance the baby will be born with serious birth defects. Miscarriages are also common. Since the vaccine, the disease has been disappearing.
Rotavirus	is the most common cause of severe diarrhea and vomiting in the world among young children. It kills about 500,000 children a year worldwide. Rotavirus  is easy to spread and is often accompanied by a fever.
Shingles	(also called herpes zoster) causes a rash with painful blisters. Shingles occurs in people who have already had chickenpox. After chickenpox infection, the varicella virus lives silently in a person for many years. As we get older, the virus can reawaken and cause shingles.
Tetanus	(also called Lockjaw) is caused by a bacteria that lives in the soil and enters the skin through a cut. It causes painful tightening of the muscles in the body. It can lead to “locking” of the jaw so the person cannot open their mouth or swallow and death. Before the vaccine, there were about 600 cases of tetanus each year in the United States.