Comments on: 11 Cases http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/ Family, Health, Home and Lifestyles Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:17:28 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Measles Cases on the Rise http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-550016 Measles Cases on the Rise Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:00:59 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-550016 [...] exercising their right under California law not to vaccinate their children, in part because “they fear that vaccines may be linked to autism.” The San Diego Union-Tribune narrates how the measles infection may have spread from one [...] [...] exercising their right under California law not to vaccinate their children, in part because “they fear that vaccines may be linked to autism.” The San Diego Union-Tribune narrates how the measles infection may have spread from one [...]

]]> By: Myth, Science, and Autism: A Message from the AAP http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-549045 Myth, Science, and Autism: A Message from the AAP Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:28:55 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-549045 [...] in the past few weeks, eleven children in the San Diego area have contracted measles; none had been vaccinated, either due to their being [...] [...] in the past few weeks, eleven children in the San Diego area have contracted measles; none had been vaccinated, either due to their being [...]

]]> By: Myth, Science, and Autism: A Message from the AAP http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-549044 Myth, Science, and Autism: A Message from the AAP Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:28:53 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-549044 [...] in the past few weeks, eleven children in the San Diego area have contracted measles; none had been vaccinated, either due to their being [...] [...] in the past few weeks, eleven children in the San Diego area have contracted measles; none had been vaccinated, either due to their being [...]

]]> By: Phil Schwarz http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-551967 Phil Schwarz Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:02:42 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-551967 I had the mumps when I was 8, back in 1964, before there was a mumps vaccine available. I contracted encephalitis as a complication of the mumps. I was relatively lucky: it killed the auditory and vestibular nerves on my left side, but nothing else. I am stone deaf on my left side, compensate with vision for the lack of vestibular input (my brain having learned to notch out the usual right-side signals), and am vulnerable to attacks of vertigo if anything like an inner ear inflammation changes the pattern of signals from my right vestibular nerve (that my brain has learned to notch out). I think anyone who does not vaccinate against the serious childhood diseases is taking a foolish risk. I had the mumps when I was 8, back in 1964, before there was a mumps vaccine available. I contracted encephalitis as a complication of the mumps. I was relatively lucky: it killed the auditory and vestibular nerves on my left side, but nothing else. I am stone deaf on my left side, compensate with vision for the lack of vestibular input (my brain having learned to notch out the usual right-side signals), and am vulnerable to attacks of vertigo if anything like an inner ear inflammation changes the pattern of signals from my right vestibular nerve (that my brain has learned to notch out).

I think anyone who does not vaccinate against the serious childhood diseases is taking a foolish risk.

]]> By: Regan http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-546823 Regan Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:46:35 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-546823 I think to give perspective, it is interesting to go back to archived material starting from the 40's and reading forward from popular press sources such as at Time, where they talk about "Measles years", the contagiousness of measles among the unvaccinated (higher than smallpox) and the complications of bronchialpneumonia, encephalitis, meningitis, severe ear infection which have potential for deafness and corneal complications which have potential for permanent blindness. Description and statistics indicate that the majority of folks who contract measles will be suffer something similar to a severe flu, but the complication estimates range, even in Western Countries with good hygiene range from 7-18%, and as Norah noted, it is not necessarily predictable who will develop complications although infants and those who are immunocompromised at at higher risk, partially as a function of not being able to be immunized and dependent on herd immunity. It was interesting to read that there have historically been various waves of vaccination resistance in the UK, Denmark, Nigeria, and Japan for reasons of philosophical differences, vaccination fear and complacency and at the point where the herd immunity has dipped sufficiently, there has been a subsequent resurgent outbreak of contractable diseases, significant death counts and then public demand for more vigilant vaccination programs. So people may pooh-pooh or disparage the need for vaccination and we can run the social experiment to see whether we have a similar experience to the other countries. Another factor that people should bear in mind that air travel allows one to go to those places which may not have comprehensive immunization programs, and that air travel has the capacity to transport active cases from one place in the world to another. This seems to be borne out in the San Diego outbreak and the woman in Hawaii who also contracted measles in Europe. ----------------------------------------- From the WHO: 345,000 Number of people worldwide who died of measles in 2005, down 60% from 1999, beating a goal set by the United Nations ----------------------------------- I think to give perspective, it is interesting to go back to archived material starting from the 40’s and reading forward from popular press sources such as at Time, where they talk about “Measles years”, the contagiousness of measles among the unvaccinated (higher than smallpox) and the complications of bronchialpneumonia, encephalitis, meningitis, severe ear infection which have potential for deafness and corneal complications which have potential for permanent blindness.
Description and statistics indicate that the majority of folks who contract measles will be suffer something similar to a severe flu, but the complication estimates range, even in Western Countries with good hygiene range from 7-18%, and as Norah noted, it is not necessarily predictable who will develop complications although infants and those who are immunocompromised at at higher risk, partially as a function of not being able to be immunized and dependent on herd immunity.
It was interesting to read that there have historically been various waves of vaccination resistance in the UK, Denmark, Nigeria, and Japan for reasons of philosophical differences, vaccination fear and complacency and at the point where the herd immunity has dipped sufficiently, there has been a subsequent resurgent outbreak of contractable diseases, significant death counts and then public demand for more vigilant vaccination programs.
So people may pooh-pooh or disparage the need for vaccination and we can run the social experiment to see whether we have a similar experience to the other countries.
Another factor that people should bear in mind that air travel allows one to go to those places which may not have comprehensive immunization programs, and that air travel has the capacity to transport active cases from one place in the world to another. This seems to be borne out in the San Diego outbreak and the woman in Hawaii who also contracted measles in Europe.
—————————————–
From the WHO:
345,000 Number of people worldwide who died of measles in 2005, down 60% from 1999, beating a goal set by the United Nations
———————————–

]]> By: Kristina Chew, PhD http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-540143 Kristina Chew, PhD Sun, 17 Feb 2008 21:54:23 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-540143 When a causative agent becomes the super-cause for everything-----starts to make one a bit suspicious about the claims made about it! When a causative agent becomes the super-cause for everything—–starts to make one a bit suspicious about the claims made about it!

]]> By: Liz D. http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-548955 Liz D. Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:19:41 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-548955 Mostly I put the anti-vaccine militants out of my mind. It is in essence a religious belief that can't be shaken. But last week at Schwablearning.com, Dawn2000K took vaccine hysteria to new heights: http://www.schwablearning.org/message_boards/view_discussion.aspx?thread=26401 http://www.schwablearning.org/message_boards/view_discussion.aspx?thread=26625 http://www.schwablearning.org/message_boards/view_discussion.aspx?thread=26715 I guess I had a background of irritation about the whole "my children are too precious to vaccinate" mindset when I read about the measles outbreak in San Diego. Here's what I think: http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2008/02/measles-outbrea.html I'd like it if the parents of the infants too young to vaccinate who suffered economic harm from the outbreak could sue the parents of the index case to recover their costs. Mostly I put the anti-vaccine militants out of my mind. It is in essence a religious belief that can’t be shaken. But last week at Schwablearning.com, Dawn2000K took vaccine hysteria to new heights:

http://www.schwablearning.org/message_boards/view_discussion.aspx?thread=26401
http://www.schwablearning.org/message_boards/view_discussion.aspx?thread=26625
http://www.schwablearning.org/message_boards/view_discussion.aspx?thread=26715

I guess I had a background of irritation about the whole “my children are too precious to vaccinate” mindset when I read about the measles outbreak in San Diego.

Here’s what I think:

http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2008/02/measles-outbrea.html

I’d like it if the parents of the infants too young to vaccinate who suffered economic harm from the outbreak could sue the parents of the index case to recover their costs.

]]> By: Norah http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-540370 Norah Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:21:18 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-540370 My mom had measles and was fine, I don't know how strict they were back then with vaccinations. A friend of mine also had measles as a baby, and almost died of the complications, and developed meningitis afterwards too. This was in another country, if she had lived in our country already as a baby, she would have been vaccinated too. Since not all cases of measles are as easy as my mom's, and you definitely very easily die of the complications, even today, even if you go to hospital very early, vaccinations are very important. You can't know in advance if your child will be one of those to suffer very little from measles, or be one of those to come near death. Despite being vaccinated, I did get the mumps. Perhaps before vaccination, I don't remember that well. I also remember kids my age in our village, who had become disabled because of contracting all kinds of diseases that the rest of us were vaccinated for (including polio, which may not be as eradicated in modern countries as some people like to believe), because they were not vaccinated for religious reasons. My mom had measles and was fine, I don’t know how strict they were back then with vaccinations. A friend of mine also had measles as a baby, and almost died of the complications, and developed meningitis afterwards too. This was in another country, if she had lived in our country already as a baby, she would have been vaccinated too.

Since not all cases of measles are as easy as my mom’s, and you definitely very easily die of the complications, even today, even if you go to hospital very early, vaccinations are very important. You can’t know in advance if your child will be one of those to suffer very little from measles, or be one of those to come near death.

Despite being vaccinated, I did get the mumps. Perhaps before vaccination, I don’t remember that well.

I also remember kids my age in our village, who had become disabled because of contracting all kinds of diseases that the rest of us were vaccinated for (including polio, which may not be as eradicated in modern countries as some people like to believe), because they were not vaccinated for religious reasons.

]]> By: Ms. Clark http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-548900 Ms. Clark Sun, 17 Feb 2008 07:07:55 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-548900 I saw some glib and snarky comments about this out break on a mercury parent bulletin board. The commenters noted how they or someone they knew had had measles and it was no big deal. But they missed that the baby who was at the center of the story was HOSPITALIZED because of the measles that it was too young to have been vaccinated for. That's why we should try to keep up the "herd immunity". I saw some glib and snarky comments about this out break on a mercury parent bulletin board. The commenters noted how they or someone they knew had had measles and it was no big deal. But they missed that the baby who was at the center of the story was HOSPITALIZED because of the measles that it was too young to have been vaccinated for.

That’s why we should try to keep up the “herd immunity”.

]]> By: Marla http://www.blisstree.com/articles/11-cases/comment-page-1/#comment-551822 Marla Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:53:47 +0000 http://www.autismvox.com/11-cases/#comment-551822 We know a lot of people around here who do not vaccinate their children. It never really bothers me until you begin to hear stories like these. We know a lot of people around here who do not vaccinate their children. It never really bothers me until you begin to hear stories like these.

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