Measles contracted at DLR????

[Mousequake]

I wasn't addressing that. I was addressing that people in the US don't die from measles, it is rare, and that the PP is not sharing accurate information. (The death statistics are from largely 3rd world countries).

He didn't say the US. He said the Americas. The only error was that the number was of actual cases of measles, not deaths. The WHO reports 19 cases (not deaths) in 2005, and 3100 cases (not deaths) in 2014.

 

[starjazz]

Thanks for the advice regarding my prego sister! She is vaccinated (of course), so baby should be protected. Given that it seems to be largely out of DLR, its likely the same risk there as anywhere else. Not likely an elevated risk.

 

[DahliaRW]

He didn't say the US. He said the Americas. The only error was that the number was of actual cases of measles, not deaths. The WHO reports 19 cases (not deaths) in 2005, and 3100 cases (not deaths) in 2014.

Measles in South America is different than Measles in the US in terms of nutrition, healthcare, etc. My assertion that the pp was replying to was about the United States, not "the Americas" as a whole. My statistics are for the United States, which it's the relevant country in this discussion.

As of the end of 2014 there were 317 million people in the US and only 644 cases of measles, that's pretty darn low. No deaths, and very few hospitalizations. Measles in the US in modern day is not as dangerous as the cdc wants you to believe. Now South America, Africa, etc, sure, but it's not measles that is the real issue, its lack of nutrition, sanitation, healthcare, etc that makes measles more deadly. It makes any illness more deadly!

 

[Malcon10t]

See the post below on how easy waivers are.

Vaccinations are required by state law at all schools, public and private; the rates should not be vastly different.

And it only takes one Typhoid Mary to cause an outbreak.



'zactly.

I do know how easy it is to get waivers. I had a school tell me I had 5 days to get my child a vaccine, but our doctor couldn't see them for 2 weeks, so I signed a waiver. But they got the vaccine 2 weeks later.

As for Typhiod Mary, we just had it at Disneyland.

AND because most people are vaccinated, the problem isn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Measles are exceptionally contagious. 90% of unvax people who cross the path of the contagion will contract the disease. The measles germ lives outside the body very easily. It will remain airborn for 2-3 hours and lives on surfaces 3-4 hours. I am sure patient X visited a large area of the park, spreading the germs. Most likely they thought they had a cold (which is how it presents the first 4 days while contagious.) And while they were there, DIsneyland had an attendance of at least 80,000 people. The fact that the count is only at 26 is awesome. It means most people ARE getting vaccinated. Only 1 person was vaccinated that got it, 2 others were only partially vaxed. This is actually pretty good news.

When I contracted measles back in 1967, they closed the school to prevent it from spreading. (21 of 30 in my class got it pre vaccination dates.)

 

[DizMe]

I do know how easy it is to get waivers. I had a school tell me I had 5 days to get my child a vaccine, but our doctor couldn't see them for 2 weeks, so I signed a waiver. But they got the vaccine 2 weeks later.

As for Typhiod Mary, we just had it at Disneyland.

AND because most people are vaccinated, the problem isn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Measles are exceptionally contagious. 90% of unvax people who cross the path of the contagion will contract the disease. The measles germ lives outside the body very easily. It will remain airborn for 2-3 hours and lives on surfaces 3-4 hours. I am sure patient X visited a large area of the park, spreading the germs. Most likely they thought they had a cold (which is how it presents the first 4 days while contagious.) And while they were there, DIsneyland had an attendance of at least 80,000 people. The fact that the count is only at 26 is awesome. It means most people ARE getting vaccinated. Only 1 person was vaccinated that got it, 2 others were only partially vaxed. This is actually pretty good news.

When I contracted measles back in 1967, they closed the school to prevent it from spreading. (21 of 30 in my class got it pre vaccination dates.)

Yep! Agree with this. When I grew up in the 60s, it was pre-vac days and I remember measles outbreaks and how devastating they could be. I was in the hospital for it twice, and very nearly died. Technically, had I died, measles probably would not have been listed as cause of death but rather pneumonia, a complication I sustained both times.

The only reason there are relatively few measles deaths now is due to vaccination. The more unvaccinated individuals there are, the more likely we will see a continued resurgence in measles numbers, which puts the very young and those with weak immune systems at risk. Measles is highly contagious and complications are very common. I don't understand why 600+ deaths is something to shrug off when it is so simple to prevent it.

 

[DahliaRW]

Yep! Agree with this. When I grew up in the 60s, it was pre-vac days and I remember measles outbreaks and how devastating they could be. I was in the hospital for it twice, and very nearly died. Technically, had I died, measles probably would not have been listed as cause of death but rather pneumonia, a complication I sustained both times.

The only reason there are relatively few measles deaths now is due to vaccination. The more unvaccinated individuals there are, the more likely we will see a continued resurgence in measles numbers, which puts the very young and those with weak immune systems at risk. Measles is highly contagious and complications are very common. I don't understand why 600+ deaths is something to shrug off when it is so simple to prevent it.

In the US there were 644 cases and ZERO deaths.

 

[Geemo]

Due to the Measles @ Disneyland in December, is anyone deciding NOT to make a planned trip? I'm glad the reported incidents hasn't continued to grow.

I'm not worried about the measles on our next trip. I'm always worried about getting the flu or a cold when we take a trip or fly.

During flu season, I worry about the germs on a grocery cart or the double seater one at Costco.

We'll continue to get the recommended immunization/vaccinations to stay healthy. It would be nice if everyone else did too. However, it is a free country.

Geemo

 

[WMorganS]

With all the measles news going around, I just want to add a reminder that you NEED to get vaccinated when you're healthy! In addition to DNA, vaccines also contain an immune activator, which you must NOT take if your immune system is already in overdrive fighting something off. This is why all vaccinations ask you to confirm that you haven't had a fever recently.

Do it now.

 

[DizMe]

In the US there were 644 cases and ZERO deaths.

Oops! Sorry. You're right! There have been no deaths from measles in the US since 2003. I remember in the late 80s there was a resurgence of measles followed by a strong effort to get parents to have their kids vaccinated. I guess people, including doctors, forget/never knew how bad some of those nearly eradicated diseases can be and get a little complacent. They might also think the risk from the vaccine is greater than the risk from the disease.

 

[Mousequake]

In 2005 there were only 19 deaths in the Americas from Measles, 2014 had 3,100. 2014 was the worst year in CA in the last 20. There were more cases of measles in the first three months of 2014 than the previous 18 years. (edit: that means the TOTAL of the previous 18 years)

GoBears, your 2014 statistics are not correct (and you're incorrect about 2005 too).

In the United States in 2014 there were 644 cases of measles. There is no way that there were 3100 deaths from measles in the US that year when there were not that many cases. I don't actually see any deaths in the United States from Measles in 2014. If you have a reputable source that says otherwise please correct me, but my information is from the CDC.

http://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html

So seeing as you were wrong about measles deaths in 2004, I looked up 2005. 66 cases of measles in the United States, no deaths that I can find. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5550a2.htm

You may want to check where you got that information.

He didn't say the US. He said the Americas. The only error was that the number was of actual cases of measles, not deaths. The WHO reports 19 cases (not deaths) in 2005, and 3100 cases (not deaths) in 2014.

Measles in South America is different than Measles in the US in terms of nutrition, healthcare, etc. My assertion that the pp was replying to was about the United States, not "the Americas" as a whole. My statistics are for the United States, which it's the relevant country in this discussion.

As of the end of 2014 there were 317 million people in the US and only 644 cases of measles, that's pretty darn low. No deaths, and very few hospitalizations. Measles in the US in modern day is not as dangerous as the cdc wants you to believe. Now South America, Africa, etc, sure, but it's not measles that is the real issue, its lack of nutrition, sanitation, healthcare, etc that makes measles more deadly. It makes any illness more deadly!

You clearly said that GoBears statistics were incorrect, when they were, in fact, completely correct. You go on to say that his numbers for the Americas are incorrect because of the United States numbers. You call into question the veracity of his source and said he was clearly wrong.

Of course cases in South America are different than cases in the US. Nobody claimed otherwise. You were incorrect in calling GoBears numbers wrong. They were not; the only error was saying 'deaths' instead of 'cases.'

 

[Gisele]

There is obviously a huge difference between stating deaths v cases.

 

[DahliaRW]

Oops! Sorry. You're right! There have been no deaths from measles in the US since 2003. I remember in the late 80s there was a resurgence of measles followed by a strong effort to get parents to have their kids vaccinated. I guess people, including doctors, forget/never knew how bad some of those nearly eradicated diseases can be and get a little complacent. They might also think the risk from the vaccine is greater than the risk from the disease.

The issue in the late 80s is that at the time only one dose of MMR was given around 2 years of age. They found that in many cases immunity was literally "gone" by the time kids were hitting late elementary school/early teen years. That is when they added the 4-6 year old MMR to the schedule, and required all older kids to get a 2nd dose. That actual outbreak had nothing to do with the unvaccinated and everything to do with health officials having no idea until then that the immunity derived from the MMR did not last. Because of this, I truly do wonder if most adults have immunity anymore... (Current medical literature states it should last "for more than 20 years", but I had my last MMR 24 years ago, so how much more than 20? And what about 20 years from now?)

As for deaths, only one death was a US citizen and it was a child NOT in good health previously. The other was a man from Israel who was 75. Not typical healthy children or adults. In the case of the 13 year old, it sounds like they have no idea where he got measles! I know that children receiving the MMR have been told to stay away from family members undergoing chemo and those with suppressed immune systems because of the small chance of the virus in the vaccine shedding. I honestly wonder if this is what happened in the case of the 13 year old.

In 2003, two measles-related deaths were reported. The first was attributed to measles encephalitis in a child aged 13 years who had chronic granulomatous disease, received a bone marrow transplant in October 2002, and died in January 2003. Measles was confirmed by a positive serologic test for measles IgM and isolation of measles virus from a brain biopsy. Despite an intensive search, no additional cases were detected in the surrounding area. The second measles-related death was in an international traveler aged 75 years infected in Israel who had measles pneumonitis and encephalopathy. Measles was confirmed by reverse transciptase-polymerase chain reaction from nasopharyngeal swab and urine.

http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5331a3.htm

 

[mom2rtk]

Because of this, I truly do wonder if most adults have immunity anymore... (Current medical literature states it should last "for more than 20 years", but I had my last MMR 24 years ago, so how much more than 20? And what about 20 years from now?)

If that's the case then there should be a lot of adults who were exposed at Disneyland coming down with the measles. I haven't seen a run-down on the cases. Do we know if that happened?

 

[DahliaRW]

If that's the case then there should be a lot of adults who were exposed at Disneyland coming down with the measles. I haven't seen a run-down on the cases. Do we know if that happened?

It'll probably be a few months before the CDC reports come out. That being said, we were there during that time, there were TONS of infants there (obviously unvaccinated for MMR) and I'm not hearing a huge outbreak amongst them either...Just the two originally who seemed to be with the group of people who came down with the measles, not just random guests who may have stood near them in line.

 

[mom2rtk]

It'll probably be a few months before the CDC reports come out. That being said, we were there during that time, there were TONS of infants there (obviously unvaccinated for MMR) and I'm not hearing a huge outbreak amongst them either...Just the two originally who seemed to be with the group of people who came down with the measles, not just random guests who may have stood near them in line.

I'm guessing infants don't come in as close contact with other guests as kids and adults do.

Still, I feel very bad for anyone dealing with this if they were truly unable to be vaccinated (like a too young baby).

 

[ClaraOswald]

When I was pregnant, they checked to see if I was still immune to rubella (I was.) I wonder if that means I would also still be immune to regular measles.

 

[DahliaRW]

When I was pregnant, they checked to see if I was still immune to rubella (I was.) I wonder if that means I would also still be immune to regular measles.

Not necessarily. They are 3 different components of the same vaccine. Immunity to one does not mean immunity to the other two components.

 

[DahliaRW]

I'm guessing infants don't come in as close contact with other guests as kids and adults do.

Still, I feel very bad for anyone dealing with this if they were truly unable to be vaccinated (like a too young baby).

It is also really hard to know the exact vaccination status of the adults and such. There are many case reports/cdc summaries from years ago that statistically combine "unvaccinated" with "vaccine status unknown". "Unknown" can mean fully vaccinated, but lacking records or the vaccine status was never confirmed, to never had the MMR. It is really hard to get an accurate picture of what really is going on when statistics are "lumped" together, and it makes it look like a larger number of unvaccinated individuals were ill than probably were. For example, back in 2003:

Of 155 (72%) cases in U.S. residents, 116 (75%) occurred in vaccine-eligible persons (i.e., aged >12 months and born after 1957); 27 (23%) had received 1 dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV), nine (8%) had received 2 doses of MCV, and 80 (69%) were either not vaccinated or had unknown vaccination status

http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5331a3.htm

We have no way of knowing how many of those 80 people had one or more MMR jab...We can guess, but there is no way to know for sure. I would guess with those born in the 60s, 70s, and early 80s, it probably is difficult to find actual vaccine records (paper) to verify and confirm the vaccine status, and those are the people who are more likely to have the immunity wane if it truly does. I have no idea how I would get a new copy of mine if needed them to verify anything, for example. The only way I know what I had was what is written in my baby book and my mom used that to fill out the form and sign it to prove my vaccine status for college! Hopefully with the advent of keeping medical records digital and state vaccine registries, in the coming years we *might* start to get a better picture of the actual status of those infected in these small outbreaks.