Getting informed about outbreaks?

[Cekimon]

i was advise politely to be informed about outbreaks of diseases that we haven't vax'd against. DD is vax-free and DS had full/regular schedule until 15month check up. I thought it sounded like a good idea. I checked the CDC website but can't seem to find anything on their site. Is there a way to sign up for notifications of outbreaks in your state/area? I don't know that an outbreak would change my mind but it wouldn't hurt to be informed.

[just_lily]

You can probably safely rely on the media to freak out any time there is an instance of a VAD. Apparently only a single case counts as an "outbreak" now.

[Ophelia]

Your state should have a Dept of Health that posts disease outbreaks. Also the CDC MMWR publication.

[Peony]

Our local newspaper runs all sorts of articles when there are "outbreaks". There was a number of pertussis cases this year and they report that another student at x school had it. Also the health dep wrote several articles about the importance of vaxing, there were many vacx clinics set up, etc... I remember it being the same a couple years ago when a college student got measles and when there was another pertussis "outbreak".

[Sunrise07]

: I don't understand why it is important to be informed about "outbreaks". Especially if you don't plan on changing your mind. Would it make you do something else differently? For me, personally, the only thing that that kind of being "informed about" is good for, is causing panic. And I believe (after doing all that I can, to keep my family's immune systems as healthy as possible) the next best thing is staying as stress-free as possible. Seeking that kind of information seems counter-productive to me. But I guess everybody is different in that respect.
...Unless you want to be informed so you can have a "catching-a-disease party". That, I would understand.

[tammyswanson]

Ha, yeah our newspaper prints the 'big news', when there is a couple of 'disease outbreaks'...our latest horror story was 3 people that got (GASP!!) Measles!! The writer of the article said something about how you don't get measles if you are vaccinated..yet they said the health department won't release the names of the people (2 kids and one adult). I bet you anything the kids were vaccinated.

I figure as long as I can give my DS the best nutrition and keep him away from sugar, etc, that will go a long way in keeping him healthy.

[carriebft]

Originally Posted by Cekimon

i was advise politely to be informed about outbreaks of diseases that we haven't vax'd against. DD is vax-free and DS had full/regular schedule until 15month check up. I thought it sounded like a good idea. I checked the CDC website but can't seem to find anything on their site. Is there a way to sign up for notifications of outbreaks in your state/area? I don't know that an outbreak would change my mind but it wouldn't hurt to be informed.

Your state health department website will usually have information on this for things in your area.

The CDC information can be found here:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/ (you can click on "weekly report" and then "current volume"-- if you want to see information by state, it is closer to the bottom of each weekly report)

and here

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/

But, in my experience, outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases usually pop up on the front page as well as here:

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/

And, of course, the media...you can always set google news alerts as well that will tell you when certain diseases pop up in the news.