Ped telling me how many meningitis cases there USED to be?

[JavaFinch]

During our last visit the doctor was hassling me a bit about not vaxing and gave me this story about how the hospital in Madision used to have meningitis every week and now they rarely see it, thanks to the vaccine. I thought I saw some stats that showed the cases really haven't changed at all, since other strains moved in? Can someone direct me to that link?

[Gitti]

It was on this site -

http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/

[MissRubyandKen]

Sorry no links, but I'd be inclined to ask ped how many cases of the meningitis cases were viral and how many bacterial, as viral is much more likely. And if the cases were bacterial does he have numbers on how many of the cases were caused by bacteria that could have been prevented by a vaccine vs cases that wouldn't have been prevented by a vaccine. If he doesn't have actual numbers and facts to back up his statements he shouldn't be making them.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by MissRubyandKen

Sorry no links, but I'd be inclined to ask ped how many cases of the meningitis cases were viral and how many bacterial, as viral is much more likely. And if the cases were bacterial does he have numbers on how many of the cases were caused by bacteria that could have been prevented by a vaccine vs cases that wouldn't have been prevented by a vaccine. If he doesn't have actual numbers and facts to back up his statements he shouldn't be making them.

: It's funny I have heard of soooooooooo many mamas whose ped tells them the same story. (mine included). It s a miracle we all survived if there were that many cases os menegitis before the vaccine!

[mamatoElias]

I am an RN and have talked to nurses who worked peds during hib meningitis outbreaks. In my experience, we just don't see many cases of hib meningitis anymore. Yes, that is anecdotal, but its still powerful to talk to people who witnessed first-hand the effects of these outbreaks. I think doctors and nurses tell those stories because they have seen children die or leave the hospital with brain damage and want to protect children from this. Reactions to the hib vaccine are rare, so if parents are open to even delayed or partial vax, it is one I recommend getting.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by mamatoElias

I am an RN and have talked to nurses who worked peds during hib meningitis outbreaks. In my experience, we just don't see many cases of hib meningitis anymore. Yes, that is anecdotal, but its still powerful to talk to people who witnessed first-hand the effects of these outbreaks. I think doctors and nurses tell those stories because they have seen children die or leave the hospital with brain damage and want to protect children from this. Reactions to the hib vaccine are rare, so if parents are open to even delayed or partial vax, it is one I recommend getting.

I don't think anyone disputes that fewer of the cases of bacterial meningitis are due to Hib. But if there aren't fewer overall cases of bacterial meningitis, then the vaccine isn't really helping. And that's one of the biggest concerns people have with Prevnar and Hib, that the serious illnesses that used to be caused by these particular strains of bacteria are not decreasing in total number because other types of bacteria are stepping in to take the place of those that are now gone. The link Gitti posted has a lot of discussion of this, with links back to original studies.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by mamatoElias

In my experience, we just don't see many cases of hib meningitis anymore.

I believe that. But what about meningitis overall? Has it gone down? From what I have read, it has not. What about serotype replacement? There is no void in nature.

[JavaFinch]

Originally Posted by Gitti

I believe that. But what about meningitis overall? Has it gone down? From what I have read, it has not. What about serotype replacement? There is no void in nature.

This is what I had read. Which doesn't go wtih what the Ped said - making it sound like they hardly see meningitis anymore due to the vaccine working so well.

(Also, thanks for the pm and other links)

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by Marnica

: It's funny I have heard of soooooooooo many mamas whose ped tells them the same story. (mine included). It s a miracle we all survived if there were that many cases os menegitis before the vaccine!

We still ARE surviving . How many adults do you know who are current on their meningitus shots LOL?!