"unvaccinated babies up north dying from measles"?? - Page 2

[HappyTomato]

Thanks for this thread. Its good to know what to say in response to these doctors. I had to take my 2 (1 vax'd, 1 not vax'd) children to the after hours clinic last Sunday for strep throat. Its the first time the unvax'd child (almost 2 yrs) has needed to see a doctor in more than a year for an illness. The doctor gave us a brief lecture about how my unvax'd dd is putting everyone in our family at risk for diseases. I just nodded my head and thought to myself how could that be true?

[caned & able]

Originally Posted by Turquesa

ANY TIME a doctor says something that makes you raise an eyebrow, don't be shy about asking for sources.

Absolutely

[Asiago]

According to MMWR from the CDC as of May 7, 2010

The burden of disease for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in the United States is very low.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5903a1.htm

[MyBoysBlue]

There is currently a small measles outbreak going on in BC, Canada. Can't get more north than that. But there are no deaths from it.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-col...-outbreak.html

Looks like one case in Alberta too.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/sto...h.html?ref=rss

[caned & able]

When a parent tells a story of a child having a vaccine reaction, it is anecdotal evidence.

When a doctor tells a story of a child dying from a VPD, it should be considered anecdotal evidence, but for some reason, it is given more weight. Why?

[Gypsy.Momma]

I'm pretty far up north ( Canada) and we are having a measles "outbreak" no one has died here and there's I believe over 14 cases now. Sounds like she is trying to scare you

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by yara1

With cases like this, a doctor should present each "dying baby" case:

1)Name
2)Age
3)Living conditions
4)Previous health history
5)Immune system status
6)Accompanying current diseases
7)e.t.c.

It would be illegal for a doctor to share such information if they had it.

[Jugs]

I think some doctors take for granted that these stats are available to the public; gone are the days when they can pull random numbers out of their pockets.

[SunshineJ]

Wow she must be affiliated with the dr we saw once in our old town - the one who's seen "hundreds of children" die from chickenpox!

[Hey Mama!]

Originally Posted by SunshineJ

Wow she must be affiliated with the dr we saw once in our old town - the one who's seen "hundreds of children" die from chickenpox!

Wow I had that ped in Hawaii! Ridiculous!

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by Bokonon

It would be illegal for a doctor to share such information if they had it.

Generally speaking, if the "identifying information" is separated out, then no.

I think that everything the CDC recommends a vax for is a reportable disease, so some of that information would be available through the state as statistics, and I would expect some sort of "outbreak" report at some point.

[CallMeMommy]

Hey, maybe your doc is psychic, because apparently there's been ONE (1) confirmed case of measles in Minneapolis. Haven't confirmed first-hand but my coworker is on a mailing list that got a memo from our infection control department notifying of the case.

[caned & able]

To tell the truth, very few doctors have ever seen a true case of measles, so how would any of them know?

If a child is fully vaxed and has measles, most doctors will not diagnose measles because it makes them and the vax look bad.

[SilverMoon010]

I live in southern NJ and remember hearing about a measles outbreak a few months ago (I think the outbreak was in NY). Anyway, I didn't hear of any deaths and I also heard that 70% of the individuals who contracted the measles during the outbreak were actually vaccinated for the disease.

All in all, I think she is trying to scare you.

[JBaxter]

Originally Posted by caned & able

To tell the truth, very few doctors have ever seen a true case of measles, so how would any of them know?

If a child is fully vaxed and has measles, most doctors will not diagnose measles because it makes them and the vax look bad.

Or chickenpox for that matter! I know of 2 cases where they misdiagosed them 2 different doctors

[caned & able]

Protocol in diagnosing a VPD and procedures in reporting the case varies from state to state in the US. Many doctors are reluctant to go through the paperwork and reporting protocol. It may involve much time and therefore $, so it would be cost effective to report each particular case as something else as a viral fever or rash with fever, for example.

[MyBoysBlue]

MandyF, the outbreak you mentioned was of mumps not measles.

[SilverMoon010]

Originally Posted by MyBoysBlue

MandyF, the outbreak you mentioned was of mumps not measles.

Now that you mention it, it was the mumps. thanks for clearing that up.

[thepeach80]

We had a little boy visit here a few wks ago who ended up w/ measles. Huge scare, everyone worried. AFAIK he didn't even pass it to anyone here and he was at the zoo, MANY people there. We're more Midwest though than up North.

[MyFillingQuiver]

Yes, one of the very last times we saw a ped for a "well baby" checkup, which then in my mind and heart is forever changed to, "pressure you to vax by fear mongering and distributing mis-information" our kind ped informed me that, "It ain't gonna be those crazy anti-vaccination hippies standing by your child's bedside when he or she is dying from chicken pox illness...it'll be me..and where will your hippie ways have gotten you then"... Yeah, he was actually sweating he took it so badly. Never did he cite actual examples, or experiences, just raged with hatred at anti-vax'ers.

I suppose there are about as many incorrect assumptions on his part in that statement as there are syllables, but to knit pick, I thought it was funny that he lumped me in with "crazy hippies." I'm a conservative independent Christian quiverfull mom. Don't get any more "non hippie" than that. I guess we aren't allowed to have a free-thinking brain, though...we should just go mainstream and line up for shots cause' others do?

We are up in Northern Idaho, close to the Canadian border. I haven't heard of any outbreaks, except for the whooping cough outbreak the local news is blaming on a resurgence of the disease due to people who haven't gotten their kids vaccinated.