By Thomas H. Maugh II / For the Booster Shots blog

April 19, 2012, 10:58 a.m.
The United States logged 222 measles cases last year, well above the median of 60 cases a year that has been the norm during the last decade and the most cases since the 508 cases that occurred in 1996, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Most of the new cases were clustered in 17 outbreaks, about four times the normal number. All were the result of imported virus, either by U.S. citizens returning from vacations or by foreign visitors. About half of the cases originated in Western Europe.

The U.S. achieved measles elimination in 2000 as a result of widespread vaccination with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Elimination means that there were was no year-round endemic transmission of the virus. Nonetheless, cases occur because travelers can bring the virus into the country; the disease is still widespread outside North America. Worldwide, about 20 million people contract measles each year and an estimated 164,000 die from it. Most of those cases occur in developing countries, but the industrialized world is not exempt. Last year there were 37,000 measles cases reported in Europe, primarily in France, Italy and Spain. Susceptible people traveling to those countries thus have a distinct risk of contracting the disease.

Of the 2011 cases, according to a report in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 141 were among people who were eligible for the MMR vaccine but, for one reason or another, did not receive it. Children under the age of 6 months are not eligible to receive it, as are those with leukemia and certain other severe diseases. People born before 1957 also do not typically receive the vaccine because it is assumed they were exposed to the virus before immunization programs began that year. Fifty of the patients had exemptions from receiving the vaccine. Until recent years, many parents sought exemptions because they feared -- without foundation -- that the vaccine is dangerous and could produce autism. More recently, according to Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Infectious Diseases, many harried parents simply sign the exemption application because that is easier than actually procuring the immunization. Many parents, she added, "simply don't think there is a threat of disease."

So far this year, she added, there have been an additional 25 cases.

While most people think of measles as relatively benign, that is not the case. It is extremely infectious and can be transmitted by coughs and sneezes, even before the typical rash appears. "You can catch it just by being in a room where a patient has been," Schuchat said. Even with the medical treatment available in the U.S., as many as three of every 1,000 people who contract it die. About a third of the 222 people who contracted measles in 2011 had to be hospitalized, although there were no fatalities.

The CDC recommends that all college students, healthcare personnel and anyone traveling outside the country have two doses of the MMR vaccine. All other adults should have at least one. Further information about guidelines for immunization is available here.....  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/


http://www.latimes.com/health/boostersho...0513.story

My daughter contracted measles one week before she was booked in to have her vaccination, from some unvaccinated older children in daycare.  Apparently the parents of these older children didn't want them to "catch autism".  Luckily my baby sailed through the measles infection unscathed, but not all children are so lucky.
Alison

Wakefield did more damage than even he could imagine

That country in the back of my mind... vaccination is compulsory

But surely (to judge by your views which can be found on other threads), if God wants you to have measles, he'll give it to you regardless of the vaccination?

I tried linking the Wakefield article for its flaws.... yet somehow I failed that semester of English 102.

I don't believe in that. People should have the freedom to do what they want with their bodies. Even parents with their children (within reason). But all parents should have to be educated about the safety of vaccines.

Luke, can you try to keep debates in their appropriate threads please?

This.

Dragging arguments out of one thread and into others across the forum is just bad form.

I agree with you up to a point here.  The point I differ on is in how the unvaccinated children are then let to mix (in daycare, for instance, and schools and parks) with children who are going to be vaccinated but due to youth, have not yet been.

That's how my daughter got measles.  I had her booked in with the doctor for a Friday and she came down with measles on the Monday of that week after being at daycare the week before and mixing with older unvaccinated kids.  

Alison

Even if the public good suffers and some unvaccinated baby gets it from an unvaccinated child. How about civil remedies for victims of unvax kids? That would get those parents' heads on straight really fast.

Can you say wrongful death suit?

This post was last modified: 04-21-2012 04:59 AM by Shrek.

His research appears to be have been a powerful force in the UK.  My understanding is that vaccine rates are about 80% in England.

Doesn't appear like many people took his research seriously enough in the US to significantly effect vaccinations rates.  Per the CDC site, rates are maintained at 95% in the US, matching the World Health Organizations, standards for overall community immunity.

"Infowars", based in the US pushes the anti-vaccine government conspiracy theories almost on a daily basis.  Alex Jones reaches several hundred thousand people a day worldwide live, and several million per other forms of media, on a daily basis.

It is extreme right wing stuff.  Interestingly the CDC reports increased exemption requests for vaccination, that are legal in all 50 states, in the western states, which are more likely to be of the conservative element, as well as devoted listeners to Infowars conspiracy theories.

Wakefield has been discredited, but apparently many people in the UK, are still not buying it, per the vaccination rates.  

I really don't know if Infowars, or the government conspiracy theories, are something people buy into in the UK, or the rest of Europe, but fortunately in the US neither Wakefield or Jones have put significantly more fear into the folks in the US, than the actual risks of going unvaccinated, per CDC statistics.

No chance for civil remedies in the US, since anyone can apply for a legal exemption from Vaccinations for their children, based on religious, philosophical, or medical reasons.  

The educational forces, though, that support vaccines and the benefits that outweigh the risks for most, appear to be winning the pro-vaccine war in the US, to the dismay of those that still propogate the government conspiracy theories, for financial gain.

I think part of the problem is that in countries where general health is good and vaccination rates are fairly good, parents don't see these diseases and the impact if a child contracts one of these largely preventable diseases. I grew up in Africa where my dad was a missionary doctor and we saw children die or permanently brain damaged from measles and meningococcal. As an occupational therapist here in Australia I have worked with a kid who has been brain damaged from pneumococcal infection and it is devastating. I've also worked with people who have had amputations due to meningococcal. Some parents are just ignorant about how the risks of contracting these diseases are greater than the risks associated with vaccinations. And i know of a lot of parents of kids with autism who are convinced the MMR vaccine "caused" their child's autism despite the lack of evidence for this connection.

@ Katie1;

Alex Jones is extremely anti -neo-con and anti- Bilderberg....dont see how he can be considered far right.

I myself have never been able to figure where he stands on the political spectrum

I do consider him in  the same ilk as Rush Limbaugh. In that he will say anything he can to gain more publicity and notoriety.

He's also in the category of Glenn Beck often referred to as part of the radical far right in the mainstream media, whom refers to himself as a libertarian or a constitutionalist.  But in real life, Glenn Beck has provided interviews with USA Today, that contradict his public views, such as a personal belief that there is a problem with Global warming.  He says what his target audience wants to hear.

Jones is commonly described in the mainstream media as a far right conspiracy theorist,  radical far right, far right, or radical libertarian far right.  But, the commonly understood group of folks known as the right, don't claim him.  Even Fox news is currently embroiled in a battle with him over a controversy over whether or not his website was promoting violence.

It appears that he's out to make a buck, and will do what it takes, as far as whatever conspiracy he can push.  

He doesn't agree with the far right label that the media has labeled him with, as some of his conspiracy theories have appealed to some on the far left, like the 9/11 conspiracy theories, and he has provided some support to the occupy wallstreet effort. He's identified himself as a libertarian, an aggressive constitutionalist, and a paleoconservative.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Jones_(radio_host)

The Rush Limbough analogy is close; it appears that this guy may be taking his place, as the leader of extreme political ideology.

The link below gives a pretty good analysis of his political views, and addresses his chameleon like character that has appealed to different areas on the political spectrum.

http://irehr.org/issue-areas/race-racism...alex-jones