As recently as 100 years ago, Americans lived vastly different lives than they do now. Life spans were shorter and infectious diseases were common. Thanks to public health activities, however, we now take a lot for granted. Each day most of us just expect that the water coming out of our sinks is clean enough to drink; the air outside is clean enough to inhale without wearing a mask; and we won't have to die unnecessarily from polio, rabies, or smallpox because of immunization efforts.

New vaccines are being developed all the time, and nowadays many diseases are not as serious as they once were, thanks to the availability of a wide range of vaccines. Today, two new vaccines are available.

The first vaccine is for shingles, a painful skin rash that often is accompanied by blisters. A singles rash usually appears on one side of the face or body and lasts up to 10 days. Its main symptom is pain, but can also include fever, headache, chills and upset stomach. This vaccine is already available at the Health Department, and is specifically intended for people 60 years and older because shingles is far more common in older people than in younger people.

According to the Health Department's public health nurse Kay Robertson, RN, if an adult had chickenpox as a child, there's a 20 percent chance of getting shingles as an older adult. The varicella zoster virus, which causes chickenpox, becomes dormant within the nerves following exposure to or a case of chickenpox. It can reactivate later in life, causing shingles.

Getting a shingles vaccine is a good way to prevent infection and lingering effects of the disease, including severe pain. "This vaccine represents an important medical breakthrough aimed at improving the health of older people," she said.

The second vaccine is for human papillomavirus, otherwise called HPV, which is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are about 40 types of HPV, and about 20 million people in the U.S. are infected, while an additional 6.2 million get infected each year. HPV is spread through sexual contact.

Most HPV infections don't cause any symptoms, and go away on their own. But HPV is important mainly because it can cause cervical cancer and genital warts in women. Every year in the U.S. about 10,000 women get cervical cancer and 3,700 die from it. In Montana, cervical cancer is the fifth leading cause of death from cancer in women, according to information from the Health Department's Breast & Cervical Health Program.

The HPV vaccine protects against the four types of the virus, and is administered in three doses: Once at the initial visit, 1-2 months later, and 6 months after the first visit. The vaccine is licensed for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26 years, but the series is recommended between 11 and 13 years of age.

The news about the HPV vaccine comes at a good time: January is National Cervical Health Awareness Month. Health departments around the country will highlight issues related to cervical cancer, HPV disease, and the importance of early detection. For updated information about vaccines and travel shots, call your health care provider or the public health nurses at the city-county health department at 443-2584.

Immunizations are a service of the Lewis & Clark City-County Health Department, whose mission is to improve and protect the health of all Lewis & Clark County residents.