http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28814862/
Minn. meningitis cases worry CDC officials
Hib vaccine aversion, shortage may have led to 4 illnesses and 1 death
updated 12:33 p.m. CT, Fri., Jan. 23, 2009
ATLANTA - Five Minnesota children have grown sick and one of them died from a germ that can cause meningitis, causing U.S. health officials to warn of the importance of a common childhood vaccine.
The Hib vaccine, which is given to babies, has succeeded in reducing U.S. cases of the bacterial illness to about only 20 a year in children younger than 5. But a cluster of five cases occurred in central Minnesota last year in young children. One child, who was 7 months old, died of meningitis in November.
No other states have reported such an increase. But Minnesotas disease surveillance is unusually good, so problems in other states could be developing, said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Three of the five children including the dead child had not received any vaccine, due to a decision by their parents. But a shortage of Hib vaccine may also have contributed, CDC officials said.
Haemophilus influenzae Serotype b (Hib) can cause meningitis, pneumonia and other dangers. Because of a Hib vaccine shortage that started in 2007, CDC officials say doctors should defer for most children a booster dose given at 12 to 15 months. But they say theres enough for children to get necessary doses at ages 2, 4 and 6 months.
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I am old enough to have begun my training in Pediatrics before the Hib vaccine was available. In addition to a particularly bad form of meningitis, this organism can cause another horrific disease that we thankfully almost never see anymore - epiglottitis. These children can (and did) completely obstruct their airway in a matter of seconds, and there was very little, short of emergency tracheostomy, that could save them.
Minn. meningitis cases worry CDC officials
Hib vaccine aversion, shortage may have led to 4 illnesses and 1 death
updated 12:33 p.m. CT, Fri., Jan. 23, 2009
ATLANTA - Five Minnesota children have grown sick and one of them died from a germ that can cause meningitis, causing U.S. health officials to warn of the importance of a common childhood vaccine.
The Hib vaccine, which is given to babies, has succeeded in reducing U.S. cases of the bacterial illness to about only 20 a year in children younger than 5. But a cluster of five cases occurred in central Minnesota last year in young children. One child, who was 7 months old, died of meningitis in November.
No other states have reported such an increase. But Minnesotas disease surveillance is unusually good, so problems in other states could be developing, said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Three of the five children including the dead child had not received any vaccine, due to a decision by their parents. But a shortage of Hib vaccine may also have contributed, CDC officials said.
Haemophilus influenzae Serotype b (Hib) can cause meningitis, pneumonia and other dangers. Because of a Hib vaccine shortage that started in 2007, CDC officials say doctors should defer for most children a booster dose given at 12 to 15 months. But they say theres enough for children to get necessary doses at ages 2, 4 and 6 months.
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I am old enough to have begun my training in Pediatrics before the Hib vaccine was available. In addition to a particularly bad form of meningitis, this organism can cause another horrific disease that we thankfully almost never see anymore - epiglottitis. These children can (and did) completely obstruct their airway in a matter of seconds, and there was very little, short of emergency tracheostomy, that could save them.
or maybe criminally negligent homicide? Refusing to vaccinate basically killed their kids.
