Posted: 7/10/2008 8:18:45 AM EDT
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www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,379388,00.html This is what happens when parents don't get their kids vaccinated. Having grown up during the days when these diseases were prevelant I am for vaccinating and always have been. A measles outbreak has sickened more than 120 people in 15 states – making it the biggest outbreak in the U.S. in more than 10 years, Reuters is reporting. According to federal health officials, most of the victims were not vaccinated against the highly contagious virus. In a statement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak has been traced to travelers who became sick overseas, returned to the U.S. and infected others. The news comes on the heels of public health officials stressing the importance of immunizing children. "What concerns me is the trend of more and more people not vaccinating their children because of fears that vaccines cause autism — although no studies have proven this to be true, Dr. Joseph Rahimian, an infectious disease specialist at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, told FOXNews.com in May. Last month, British health officials said measles had again become an epidemic in that country for the first time since the mid-1990s due to parents not getting their kids vaccinated. "The primary reason for lack of vaccination is personal belief exemptions," the CDC's Dr. Larry Pickering told a news conference. "Until better global control is achieved, cases will continue to be imported into the United States and outbreaks will persist as long as there are communities of unvaccinated people," Pickering said. Measles is caused by a virus that normally grows in cells that line the back of the throat and the lungs. "It’s actually one of the most communicable infectious diseases in the world," Rahimian said. Typical symptoms include: — Coughing — Runny nose — High Fever — Rash (which usually starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body) About 1 in 5 measles sufferers experiences more severe illness, which can include diarrhea, ear infections, pneumonia, encephalitis, chronic neurological deficits and even death. The virus also remains a leading cause of death among children in poor countries, killing about 250,000 people a year globally. Details of the outbreak first surfaced in May when more than 70 people came down with the virus in nearly a dozen states. States with cases now include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington state, as well as Washington, D.C., according to the CDC. This latest outbreak comes eight years after the virus was declared practically dead in the U.S., thanks to a vaccination program that began in the 1960s. |
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Do you have kids? Did you know if you get vaccinated, you still have the same chance of developing shingles as if you got the measles? Also, even if you get vaccinated, you can still get the measles later in life... The vaccination just reduces your chances. Did you know if you don't get vaccinated and don't get the measles, you have zero chance of developing shingles? |
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Bah, I had measles when I was kid, as did all the other kids. Not that big a deal. ETA What's really dumb is that they don't give smallpox vaccinations anymore, like we all had to have when i was a kids. Yeah, Smallpox is a "Dead" disease until some illegal immigrant from some third world shithole brings it over and starts a Smallpox pandemic in our unvaccinated population. |
This is wrong Herpes zoster is not the measles |
Chicken Pox is Herpes Zoster and can cause Shingles, not measels. |
Yep had that and Mumps too. |
You're thinking chicken pox, not measles. |
Nope part of the MMR shot given at 12 months and around 5 years old. This is the one skeptics now thinks causes autism since thimersal use has be discontinued but autism rates didn't drop like they thought. |
They're still routinely given, but some parents refuse to have their children vaccinated because a) they bought into the bogus autism link, or b) they don't think it's necessary anymore because "nobody gets __________ (insert disease here) anymore". Of course, the reason nobody gets it anymore is that people were vaccinated...and if you're not vaccinated, you're not protected in case you do come into contact with it. And then you become the carrier, to infect all your little friends who also didn't get vaccinated. There's an article about the issue in this month's Popular Mechanics that's pretty good. |
Whether I have kids or not is not the issue. I grew up when vaccinations were mandatory to go to school. That is how these diseases were eradicated. However you must maintain vaccinations to keep it that way. As far as the risks go it was worse back in the 60's risk wise than it is now so that doesn't cut it with me. Life itself is a risk. |
From the article: "Until better global control is achieved, cases will continue to be imported into the United States and outbreaks will persist as long as there are communities of unvaccinated people," Pickering said. My dad works in an ER, which is basically like a free clinic for some groups, and he routinely says that he sees diseases that have no place in a developed nation. |
Not me. I caught in the summer. If you would have beat me with a stick for an hour at a time I would have been grateful. It would have reduced the itching. i was on miserable SOB |
I caught it the weekend that started the two-week Christmas vacation from school, and was better just in time to go to back to school. I was also 12. Miserable. Lots of scars, which have generally faded pretty well. |
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Measles eh? Hmmm... Hypochondriac Powers - ACTIVATE!!! I've had a horrible sore throat, a funky red rash on the inside of my right elbow that just cleared up, mild headaches and have been lethargic for a week. Now I have what feels and looks like a crusty zit in the back of my throat that's bothering the hell out of me. Screw it, I'm still not going to the doc's.  |
Doah! I sit corrected. Perhaps I should have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night. |
Thats because smallpox really is pretty much eradicated. Last I heard there were only 2 sources for the disease, both frozen samples, one at the CDC and one with russia. Wikipedia cites the LAST case of smallpox as in 1978. |
+1 My kids are vaccinated. I dont want my children to run into Juan Valdez at WalMart and catch some third world plague. Doesnt the linked article above say it's one of the largest causes of death among children in 3rd world shit holes? Like 250k dead a year. God Bless America and pass the vaccine. |
True 120 cases isn't extreme but how many people did they infect and how many will those infect? |
Yes, it's dead, but the threat of a some terrorist posing as an illegal immigrant bringing in smallpox was what caused the .gov to immunize several million first responders and critical medical/public health personnel (including me) in late 2002/early 2003. We simply don't know how carefully the Russkies have guarded their stocks. We do know that if smallpox does show up somewhere, it's pretty certain due to a terrorist attack. |
The thimerisol thing was always deeply suspect. It's nasty stuff, and kids are more likely to suffer heavy metal damage, but lots of people got far larger doses than the ones suspected of causing problems and did just fine. |
The simple answer is "not very". There are still some strong suspicions that Saddam had been able to get ahold of some smallpox. |
| I am not and do not claim to be any sort of expert on the subject, but my understanding is that 'weaponized' smallpox is considered to be a very likely biological weapon and that Russia alone (not to mention others) was / is suspected of making tons of it at Biopreparat which have all neither been found nor destroyed. Anyone in the know on this? Truth or BS? |
Truth. The Soviets had an extensive BW program that included smallpox. The Japanese tried to weaponize smallpox in WWII. We even dabbled in it. The gray area starts when you try and find out who else got their hands on it. As mentioned before, the US government was sufficiently convinced that Saddam had it that they restarted vaccine production and immunized millions of Americans before the Operation Iraqi Freedom started. |
Ken Alibek would say it's the truth. |
Wasn't thimerisol in contact lens solutions for a while? This might explain my diminished mental capacity. 
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Fewer than 10 people per state doesn't set alarm bells off for me. Let me know when 10,000 people have it in one state and I'll START to worry. |