Polio and Measles from India

[anewmama]

It appears that the two most recent outbreaks of measles were from travelers from India. One was an Indian child and one was an adult of undisclosed nationality. The former led to the Penn cases and the later to the DC case (they are waiting to see if more cases will appear.


DC: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...042002556.html

Penn: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/...5911240256432/

So, with two cases recently brought from India, I wonder if Polio might be next? Does anyone know how many cases of measles they have in India compared to Polio? ANd the vaccination coverage for both of them?

[carriebft]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/he...tml?ref=health

Despite more than 20 years of eradication efforts, two strains of polio have spread out from northern Nigeria and northern India — both places where many Muslims have resisted vaccines because of rumors that vaccine efforts are a Western plot to sterilize them.

Particularly worrisome, Dr. Aloudat said, is that polio has again reached Port Sudan, a ferry port on the way to Mecca. From 2004 to 2006, pilgrims are believed to have spread polio from Port Sudan to Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Indonesia and Yemen, outbreaks that cost more than $150 million to smother.

More in the link about how previously polio free countries are suffering a resurgence.

Looking at the maps and the WHO info, the outbreaks are happening in areas of very low vaccine uptake. I assume the NYT article has some truth to it that there has been rejection of the vaccine in those areas for religious and other suspicion reasons.

[carriebft]

http://www.polioeradication.org/casecount.asp

They definitely have a lot more measles cases than polio.

[an_domhan]

The District man contracted the virus during a three-week trip to India but did not show symptoms until after he returned home,

Those receiving MV may also be asymptomatic. Just because the virus was grown in eggs doesn't mean it can't be virulent in *some* recipients, at least do the degree of actually developing "measles-like" symptoms. Oops, sorry, this is ok.

Although most people recover within a week, measles can lead to pneumonia and, in rare cases, can be fatal.

So, don't suppress the fever, treat with Vitamin A and get lots of fluids and rest. And for crying out loud, stay home until you are well.

Outbreaks often begin when an unimmunized person visits a country where the disease is still prevalent and then returns with the infection.

LOL, that's right because if you find genotype "x" in another country, it can't possibly already be in the US.

A fourth man learned he had measles earlier this month, but his case is not related to the others.

Must have been vaccinated since they didn't focus on his vaccination status.

[KLM99]

We're in DC, so I've heard about the measles "outbreak" for which I am wholly unconcerned. As usual, anyone who has contracted the measles in the story recovers in a week. I think I'll do a check to make sure we're all eating healthy and getting enough vitamin A.

But polio from foreign countries scares me a bit. I know that something like 98% of cases are mild or asymptomatic. Is this true of polio in general (as in, true of the strains from India)? I think I need to go back to the researching on polio and measles again... I'll be watching this thread.

[anewmama]

Carrie, I saw that article which made me start to wonder.

[anewmama]

What the cases of measles seem to in fact illustrate is how travelers really can bring diseases. I think this has been always the case, but these cases are clear examples of it.
And although I do not see my father more than once year, he travels all the time to these countries and although he is vaccinated, I wonder what he might bring back asymptomatically and pass to my daughter. Luckily, I don't see him much in this regard.

So while measles itself might not be "alarming", the thought that this could just have been a case of polio given to the the two unvaccinated Penn children is noteworty.

[carriebft]

Originally Posted by anewmama

Carrie, I saw that article which made me start to wonder.

I thought the same thing because I read the news on the source of the VA/DC outbreaks and then this polio article and also remembered the source from the PA one.

But I am not sure what to make of the WHO news yet concerning the polio spread. I saw some of the chart material on vaccine coverage and it does seem to show that less vaccinated areas spread it more readily, but I haven't seen anything on the areas it spread to in Africa.

[Deborah]

I keep seeing newspaper articles about children in India who have been repeatedly vaccinated and still get polio. As in 5 or 10 doses!

[anewmama]

Yes, I have read that and theories that the state of their gut and immune systems are so taxed from other things, that they are less responsive to the vaccine. Who knows.

[JBaxter]

I live not to far from the dc "outbreak" I found it funny that the TV said if you think you have measles NOT to go to the dr or hospital but call instead they would tell you how to treat them and then to call and report it to the health dept.

[KLM99]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...pid=sec-health

Update on the VA/DC measles "outbreak". I love how they say that no one born before 1957 has to worry since it's assumed they all had measles anyway and are therefore immune for life. The article says it was considered a normal childhood disease in those days. So what's all the hysteria about? And why do none of these articles let the public know what they should do if they do contract measles? As in, how to take care of yourself if you get it...

[anewmama]

Info from MMWR on Polio and imported cases from India.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5814a1.htm