My solicitors asked Dr. SP Conway to provided expert testimony. Copied below are sections of one of his reports that you may find useful:

Diptheria

Diptheria is an acute infectious disease. It is caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Diptheria causes a greyish membrane in the respiratory tract usually on the fauces which can cause respiratory obstruction. There is local multiplication of bacilli and spread of the diphtheria toxin. This particularly affects the heart muscle, nervous system and adrenal tissues. Spread is by droplet infection and through contact with articles contaminated by infected persons.

The infection causes an acute inflammatory reaction of the superficial tissues. Dialated blood vessels pour out fluid and white cells and there is necrosis of the mucus membrane. The diptheria membrane itself is firmly adherent and usually on the nasal, laryngeal and tracheal surfaces but can occur on any external or internal body surface.

In the heart there can be fatty degeneration of muscle and involvement of the conducting tissue leading to a dilated and flabby heart. Fibrosis and scarring of the heart can result in congestive cardiac failure. There can also be damage to the cardiac nerve supply.

Treatment is mainly supportive with rest, intravenous feeding, ventilation and intensive care. Anti-toxin and penicillin therapy is of unproven benefit once the disease is established.

Effective protection is provided by active immunisation. Introduction of immunisation on a national scale took place in 1940 and resulted in a dramatic fall in the number of cases from over 46,000, with over 2,000 deaths to 37 cases and 6 deaths in 1957.

Diptheria still remains a risk and outbreaks have been recorded especially in eastern Europe recently.

Tetanus

Tetanus is caused by the bacteria Clostridium tetani which is an ubiquitous organism. Tetanus is an acute disease during which the patient suffers rigidity of muscles with very painful contractions. Tetanus spores are found in soil and even a minor injury can be enough for the spores to be introduced into the body.

The symptoms include muscle rigidity and spasm, dysphagia and occular paralysis, cardiovascular collapse, hyperpyrexia, brain stem intoxication. Complications include aspiration pneumonia, fractures during contractions, unstable blood pressure, hyperpyrexia, renal failure and gut dilatation.

The aim of treatment is to keep the patient alive until the toxic effect has abated with cleansing of the wound, antibiotic and antitoxin. Once the disease is established the benefit of antitoxin and antibiotic are questionable. The patient is likely to need sedation, paralysis and ventilation.

Effective protection is provided by active immunisation.

Pertussis (whooping cough)

Pertussis is highly infectious and caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. It is spread by droplet infection. Treatment is only effective when antibodies are given in the very early stage. Unless there is a whooping cough epidemic this window of opportunity is likely to be missed because in the early stages whooping cough presents like a typical upper respiratory tract catarrhal illness.

Before the introduction of immunisation there was an average annual incidence in England and Wales of 100,000 cases. Where vaccine acceptance is over 80% this is reduced to about 2,000.

Whooping cough is characterised by paroxysmal coughing which can last for 2 - 3 months. In young children and especially babies the coughing spasms can be followed by periods of apnoea and death. Other complications include secondary pneumonia and because of the force generated by the coughing herniae of various sites and subconjunctival haemorrhage. It is a very distressing illness.

The illness is prevented by vaccination with pertussis vaccine.

Poliomyelitits

Poliomyelitis has almost been eradicated from the world but immunisation is still recommended at this point. It is an acute illness with an infection ranging from subclinical illness through a non paralytic fever to a septic meningitis or paralysis. The virus has a high affinity for nervous tissue and replicates in motor neurones.

Complications include hypoxia, hypercapnia (high carbon dioxide levels), hypertension, hyperpyrexia, acute gastric dilatation, ileus (failure of gut motility), gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding, damage to heart muscle, bladder paralysis and muscle paralysis.

If a patient develops the paralytic symptoms, paralysis still present at one month is likely to remain with muscle atrophy, antagonistic action of undamaged muscles and deformity of limb growth. This will need constant physiotherapy and orthopaedic supervision with no specific therapy to aid recovery.

The treatment is essentially supportive with rest, passive movement of paralysed limbs, splint, hydrotherapy, analgesia and rehabilitation.

The only effective therapy is prevention by vaccination. This can be given by a live oral vaccine or an inactivated killed vaccine by intramuscular injection.

Haemophilus influenzae type B

This bacterial infection before the advent of effective immunisation was one of the three commonest causes of bacterial meningitis at all ages and especially in babies and young children. It is also responsible for other significant and potentially fatal illnesses such as acute inflammation of the epiglottis with respiratory arrest, and inflammation of the lining of the heart (endocarditis). It can also cause significant pneumonia.

Antibiotic treatment is available for the acute illness with haemophilus infection but this may not avoid a fatal outcome in the more serious infections.

Effective protection is given by the Hib vaccine. This is an extremely safe vaccine with very limited side effects.

Meningitis C

This vaccination has now been included in the initial childhood immunisation programme given with the diptheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib and polio vaccines. Catch up programmes have been introduced for older children. Only one dose is necessary for the older child. Meningitis C vaccine protects against one type of the meningococcal bacteria. Meningococcal infection can cause meningitis and/or septicaemia. It is one of the three most common causes of meningitis. There is a fulminating form of meningococcal septicaemia which invariably results in a fatal outcome. Effective antibiotic therapy is available for the meningococcal infection but where infection is established even the most prompt antibiotic therapy may not save life or prevent neurological sequelae. The meningococcal C vaccine has been shown to be very safe since its introduction.

Measles

Measles is an acute viral infection. It is transmitted by droplet infection. The acute illness will last for about two weeks and is characterized by coryzal symptoms, conjunctivitis, bronchitis, rash, fever and general misery. Complications include secondary infection and bacterial pneumonia, otitis media, bronchitis, convulsions, encephalitis, croup and enteritis. If the measles virus seeds in the central nervous system there is a possibility of later subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. This is inexorable degeneration of the nervous system for which there is no cure and inevitably leads to death after what will be a very stressful and painful illness. Immunisation is effectively prevented by the measles component of the MMR vaccine.

Mumps

The mumps virus can cause an acute febrile illness, which in young children may be mild or associated with moderate discomfort and gland enlagement. The main significant consequences are irreversible sensori-neural deafness and aseptic meningitis.

If the mumps infection is contracted after puberty this can result in inflammation of the ovaries or the testicles and a small proportion of such people will have subsequent sterility.

Rubella

Rubella is a mild viral infectious disease. The main reason for immunisation is to prevent the congenital rubella syndrome. This occurs when rubella infection occurs in the mother in the first 8 - 10 weeks of pregnancy and results in foetal damage in up to 90% of infants. Multiple defects are common. These include mental handicap, cataract, deafness, cardiac abnormalities, intrauterine growth retardation, inflammatory lesions of brain, liver, lungs and bone marrow. Protection of the mother with rubella vaccine prevents the development of rubella and these complications during pregnancy.