title: [History of compulsory immunization].
abstract: Mandatory vaccination was introduced for the first time in the nineteenth century in some European countries following the then sweeping smallpox epidemics. Compulsory vaccination for some diseases is still extant in some countries like Italy, France, Greece, Portugal and Belgium; in other countries, like the United Kingdom and Finland, vaccinations are voluntary but the state pursues a policy of active promotion. In 2007, the Veneto Region of Italy government approved a law allowing the experimentation of the abolition of mandatory vaccination. This experimentation caused an important debate among healthcare workers and scientific society of public health.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Oncologia Umana, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro.
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tafuri
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martinelli
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Germinario
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prato
mesh_terms: D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D007558:Italy