Update on the measles outbreak:

[chicagomd]

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5733a1.htm

From the Illinois section:
"The remaining 29 cases were in persons aged 8 months--17 years, including 25 (83%) school-aged children, all of whom were home schooled and not subject to school-entry vaccination requirements. Because of their parents' beliefs against vaccination, none of the 25 had received measles-containing vaccine."

Highest year-to-date numbers since 1996. The legacy of Wakefield continues...

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[beam me up scottie]

10. Did you see this today?: "Measles Cases At Highest Level In Years"

CBS/AP) Measles cases in the U.S. are at the highest level in more than a decade, with nearly half of those involving children whose parents rejected vaccination, health officials reported Thursday.

Worried doctors are troubled by the trend fueled by unfounded fears that vaccines may cause autism. The number of cases is still small, just 131, but that's only for the first seven months of the year. There were only 42 cases for all of last year.

"We're seeing a lot more spread. That is concerning to us," said Dr. Jane Seward, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

***

Dr. David Namerow, a pediatrician, said it "doesn't surprise me at all, doesn't surprise me, because as you get people who don't fully immunize their children, we're going to see more and more cases like this, and that's a very scary thing."

Pediatricians are frustrated, saying they are having to spend more time convincing parents the shot is safe.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/21/health/main4372081.shtml

Hence my comment re people are idiots...

[beam me up scottie]

2. k&r

People are idiots.

[LeftishBrit]

3. k&r

When Wakefield moved to America, our gain was your loss!

[Hannah Bell]

4. what's wakefield?

[progressoid]

5. Andrew Wakefield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield

[Hannah Bell]

8. thanks.

[progressoid]

6. Yeah, but at least they didn't have to deal with all of those pesky government regulations

[SheilaT]

7. What is the reservoir for measles?

Is it one of those things that's out there and so unprotected (never vaccinated or never had the disease) can simply pick it up? Or does it require person to person transmission, and therefore could be eradicated as was smallpox?

[mzmolly]

9. Response here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=222&topic_id=42237&mesg_id=42237

I meant to respond here but started a thread instead.

[beam me up scottie]

11. kick

g'night all

[DCKit]

12. OMG, how many are dead, blind or permanently disabled?

When will the madness stop?

[beam me up scottie]

13. NYT: Measles Cases Grow in Number, and Officials Blame Parents' Fear of Autism

Measles Cases Grow in Number, and Officials Blame Parents' Fear of Autism
By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: August 21, 2008

More people had measles infections in the first seven months of this year than during any comparable period since 1996, and public health officials blamed growing numbers of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children.

Many of these parents say they believe vaccines cause autism, even though multiple studies have found no reputable evidence to support such a claim. In Britain, Switzerland, Israel and Italy, measles outbreaks have soared, sickening thousands and causing at least two deaths.

***

Public health advocates have become alarmed in recent years over a growing number of people who contend that vaccines cause illnesses, particularly autism. The number of parents who claim a philosophical exemption to mandatory vaccine laws has grown.

Nonetheless, vaccination rates have remained relatively high in the United States. In 2006, 95 percent of school-age children received at least one shot of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, according to the C.D.C. But such surveys are often years behind vaccination trends, and government officials say the growing number of measles outbreaks suggests that overall vaccination rates may be on the decline.

***

Autism and antivaccines advocates are unapologetic about the return of measles.

"Most parents I know will take measles over autism," said J. B. Handley, co-founder of Generation Rescue, a parent-led organization that contends that autism is a treatable condition caused by vaccines.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/health/research/22measles.html?ref=us

[mhatrw]

14. IS there a trend to decreasing vaccination of children for measles?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=222&topic_id=42427&mesg_id=42427