Vaccination program

From Marspedia
(Redirected from Vaccination)
Jump to: navigation, search
Syringe.jpg

Although many infectious diseases, such as hepatitis or influenza, will not be indigenous on Mars, there are still some germs that can not be avoided completely. Moreover, the immune system itself may cause problems. Therefore, a Vaccination Program may need to be defined.

A complete ecosystem is also likely to includes organism that cause diseases.

Adults originated from Earth

Immigrants from Earth come with a fully developed immune system. However ,vaccinations may be required in cases of new pathogens, and is is unlikely that Influenza, for example, will not find it's way to Mars. Immigrants will also import bacteria and viruses that can cause infectious diseases. It is unknown if there is any life on Mars, so knowledge of local sources of pathogens lies in the future.

Children growing up on Mars

There is evidence for the occurrence of an allergy with children growing up in a sterile environment. Statistically, children growing up in frequent contact with other children on Earth have a much lower risk to suffer from allergy in their adolescent or adult years. On Mars the population is much smaller in the beginning, resulting in a significant lower chance for children to be exposed to enough germs to stimulate the developing immune system. A vaccination program should help. Possible vaccinations for babies include:

  • Tetanus
  • Rhinitis (systematic exposure instead of vaccination)
  • Rubeola
  • Roseola