Vaccination against a range of bacterial and viral diseases is an integral part of communicable disease control worldwide.  Vaccination against a specific disease not only reduces the incidence of that disease, it reduces the social and economic burden of the disease on communities.  Very high immunization coverage can lead to transmission interruption for many vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). The worldwide eradication of smallpox and the near eradication of polio from many countries provide excellent examples of the role of immunization in disease control.

More information on vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccine Preventable Diseases page. 

Surveillance for notifiable vaccine-preventable diseases in the US Virgin Islands currently include:

• Acute flaccid myelitis  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Anthrax  |  CDC Bioterrorism Agents General Fact Sheets
• Coronavirus |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Diphtheria  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Haemophilus influenzae  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Hepatitis A  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Hepatitis B  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Influenza  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Measles  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Meningococcal disease  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Mumps  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Pertussis  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Poliovirus  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Rabies  |  CDC Podcasts and Presentations
• Rubella  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Smallpox  |  CDC Bioterrorism Agents General Fact Sheets
• Tetanus  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Tuberculosis  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Typhoid fever  |  CDC General Information
• Varicella  |  CDC Fact Sheets
• Yellow fever  |  CDC Fact Sheets

Vaccine preventable diseases requiring enhanced surveillance in the US Virgin Islands include:

• Acute flaccid myelitis
• Meningococcal disease
• Varicella

Resources

• Cistern Water Study
• Classroom Handbook of Vaccine Preventable Diseases
• CDC Pink Book Webinar Series
• CDC Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
• Video Presentation: Current Guidelines for Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
• APHL/CDC Vaccine Preventable Disease Reference Centers
• Viral Culture Specimen Collection Guide
• How to send information about a suspected AFM case to the VIDOH
• Leptospirosis Awareness
• What you need to know about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) | Spanish | Chinese | Videos