Details for: PROQUAD

The doctor has recommended or administered ProQuad^® to help protect your child against measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox . The vaccine can be administered to persons 12 months through 12 years of age.

Measles (rubeola) is a serious infectious illness that is very easily passed from one person to another. It causes a high fever, cough, and a rash and lasts for 1 to 2 weeks. One out of every 10 children who catch measles will also have an ear infection or pneumonia. On rare occasions, measles can also cause an infection of the brain that could lead to seizures, hearing loss, mental retardation, and even death. Babies and adults who catch measles are often much sicker for a longer time or are more likely to die than elementary school children and teenagers who catch measles.

Mumps is an infectious illness that is easily passed from one person to another and causes fever, headache, and swollen, painful glands under the jaw (salivary glands). It can sometimes be a very serious disease and usually lasts for several days. Mumps can cause a mild inflammation of the coverings of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) in about 1 person in every 10 who catch it. About 1 out of every 4 teenage or adult males with mumps will have a painful swelling of the testicles for several days (this does not usually affect their ability to father children). Teenagers and adults, especially males, who catch mumps are often much sicker and more likely to suffer longer than children do.

Rubella (German measles) is usually a mild disease that causes a mild fever, swollen glands in the neck, pain and swelling in the joints, and a rash that lasts for a short time but is very dangerous if a pregnant woman catches it. Women who catch rubella when they are pregnant can have babies who are stillborn, or have heart disease, blindness, deafness, or problems with learning.

Chickenpox (varicella) is an infectious illness that is easily passed from one person to another and occurs most often in children 5 to 9 years of age. It is primarily spread from person to person through the air by sneezing or coughing. Symptoms of chickenpox include mild headache, moderate fever, and general discomfort. These are followed by a rash of itchy, little red spots which usually start on the chest, stomach or back, but can appear anywhere on the body. There may be only a few spots or clusters of spots, or even hundreds of spots that develop over the next 3 to 5 days. The spots will change into clear blisters filled with fluid which then become cloudy, break open, dry, scab, and heal, usually within 5 to 20 days. The most common complications are bacterial skin infections. Less frequent but very serious complications include pneumonia, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), Reye Syndrome (inflammation of the liver associated with disturbances of consciousness), and death. Severe disease and serious complications are more likely to occur in adolescents and adults. Disease and accompanying complications of chickenpox have significantly fallen since the introduction of a varicella vaccine in 1995.