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BREAKING NEWS: RISE OF PREVENTABLE DISEASE

This year, the U.S. is experiencing a multi-state measles outbreak believed to have started at Disneyland this past December, as well as three other unrelated outbreaks in Illinois, Nevada, and Washington, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of March 6, 173 people from 17 states and the District of Columbia were reported to have measles, with most linked back to Disneyland. Measles is a highly contagious virus that can be serious or even fatal. It starts with a fever that can last a couple of days, followed by a cough, runny nose, and pink eye. A rash develops on the face and neck then spreads to the rest of the body. In severe cases, pneumonia and encephalitis can develop.

A Montgomery County, Pa. high school is dealing with an outbreak of whooping cough. Pertussis is easily spread, and can mimic a common cold in its early stages. But much more serious respiratory problems can develop, especially in those who have not been vaccinated.

ONE WORD – VACCINATE


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LETTER FROM A FATHER

The current US measles outbreak is the country’s worst for 20 years. As of January 30, there were 102 cases of measles reported across 14 states.

Attached below is a letter from Ronald Dahl. A poignant letter about his daughter. Read the full letter here: http://roalddahl.com/roald-dahl/timeline/1960s/november-1962


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MEASLES OUTBREAK RAGING IN ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA AND ILLINOIS

If there was one message I would shout till I am hoarse, it would be “The measles vaccine doesn’t cause autism.”

There are an an enormous number of studies have found that the measles vaccine is overwhelmingly safe. But people who are paranoid or believe that “everyone lies” are

bringing about a resurgence of this deadly disease back in America. If you argue that a whistleblower is trying to blow open the measles cover-up at CDC, read this.

Most of the 100+ measles cases in the United States right now stem from an outbreak centered at Disneyland. You don’t believe we have a measles outbreak? Look at the stats below.

And what makes it dangerous: It has the highest transmission rate of any known killer virus to mankind. In fact, if someone who has not yet shown symptoms of measles

leaves a room and you arrive after 2 hours, you could still catch the disease.

My heartfelt recommendation: Vaccinate you child, save your baby and your community.


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RESURGENCE OF A DEADLY PREVENTABLE DISEASE

according to a recent paper in the New England Journal of Medicine, Globally, more than 20 million people still get measles each year; about 122,000 of them die.

Troublingly, The number of people unvaccinated for "non-medical" reasons is creeping up.

The non-vaccination folks are causing a resurgence of measles in US.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases humanity has ever seen. While each case of Ebola, for example, leads to about 1-2 additional cases, a single case of measles can cause up to 18 secondary infections.

PARENTS – Think hard. Don’t BLINDLY subscribe to the Conspiracy theory on vaccines. Vaccinate.

Source: BI, NEJM, NPR


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NEWS: EPIDEMIC IN CALIFORNIA

Whooping cough, or pertussis, has experienced a resurgence this year with more than 3,400 cases reported between January 1 and June 10, 2014, per California Department of Public Health. Los Angeles county accounts for around 350 of the new cases so far this year. Two-thirds of pertussis hospitalizations have been from children four months or younger. Two infant deaths have been reported.

Pertussis is a highly infectious bacterial disease that can be spread to others by coughing. Infants may not have typical pertussis symptoms and may have no obvious coughing. Parents describe episodes in which their infant’s faces shifted to a red or purple color.

Takeaway

all pregnant women should get vaccinated.

We also urge parents to vaccinate infants as soon as possible.


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THE FIRST ALL ENCOMPASING STUDY ON VACCINES

Latest research from the University of Sydney did the world’s first analysis of ALL available studies pooled all available studies on links between autism and vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, as well as the MMR shot for measles, mumps and rubella. The data covered more than 1.25 million children from the US, UK, Japan and Denmark.

No industry funding was taken for the study.

Their key find, “There is no evidence whatsoever linking the development of autism to childhood vaccines”.

The lead researcher Guy Eslick said that he understands that some parents whose children had developed autism would remain skeptical. “It’s an emotional topic … they want reasons for why their child is the way they are, and the unfortunate thing is they’ll cling onto misinformation and spurious studies.”

Hope the concerned parents talk to your Pediatrician before you decide not to vaccinate.


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POLIO IS RESURFACING. READ BEFORE YOUR TRAVEL.

Polio is resurfacing worldwide.

Polio, short for poliomyelitis, is a highly contagious virus spread in feces. It has no cure. The disease primarily strikes children.

Unlike influenza or other winter viruses, polio thrives in hot weather. Cases start rising in the summer and often explode when the monsoon rains break.

The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on Monday for only the second time.

Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon have recently allowed the Polio virus to spread — to Afghanistan, Iraq and Equatorial Guinea, respectively.

The WHO declaration imposes travel restrictions on the three countries.

Health officials recommend immunization for people traveling to or from 10 countries affected by polio.


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NEWS FLASH: MUMPS RESURGING.

Mom of unvaccinated kids: Hope you are not coming in contact with someone who has traveled to Columbus Ohio area.

Read on…..

Officials have confirmed 230 cases of the contagious Mumps viral illness Ohio State Columbus area this year. This number has steadily risen from 13 cases

Officials are warning that children without mumps vaccinations might have to miss weeks of school if an outbreak of the illness hits classrooms.

Make sure you have been inoculated with two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.


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FIRST IT WAS MEASLES, THEN PERTUSSIS, AND NOW….MUMPS IS RESURFACING

Latest Flash News (MARCH-2014):

A mumps outbreak at The Ohio State University has grown to 28 cases.

Mumps is a contagious disease that causes painful swelling of the salivary glands. The number of cases reported annually in the United States has dropped 98 percent since the mumps vaccine was introduced in the 1960s, according to CDC. In 2006, a multi-state outbreak led to nearly 6,600 cases with more than 80 percent of the people saying they were attending college.

TAKEAWAY: Vaccinate or Live in a bubble without social contact.


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ANOTHER DAY – ANOTHER WARNING TO THE UNVACCINATED

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed two cases of measles in a suburb of Boston and issued a warning for other Framingham residents: You may be exposed to the highly contagious disease.

Those who were vaccinated as children are immune from the disease. But those who weren’t could see symptoms soon. Medical experts say it doesn’t take long for the disease to set in once the person’s been exposed. Watch out for symptoms such as cough, runny nose, pink eye, high fever and a rash covering the body.

NOT CONVINCED YET?

According to the California Department of Public Health, there are 15 reported cases of measles in California. The 15 cases in California have shown up in Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties. North of the Central Coast, cases have been documented in Contra Costa, Alameda and San Mateo counties.

The CDC says there are 20 million cases and more than 164,000 deaths each year worldwide from measles.

MORE TO COME
A case of measles has been confirmed in an Orange County NY now.

The measles’ confirmation comes just after California health officials reported up to 25 cases of paralysis in children due to a polio-like illness with similar symptoms.

KEY QUESTION

Are you ready to take the chances with your child’s health? Check out our views:

We have two options:

a) Either raise our kids in a bubble so that they are never exposed to such deadly killers

b) Immunize and protect them.

Your Call!

Source: Multiple including WashingtonTimes


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BREAKING NEWS FROM CALIFORNIA: IF YOU NOT IMMUNIZED, READ…

This follows a recent outbreak in Fortworth Texas: http://txnaturalpediatrics.com/2013/08/20/news-break-refused-mmr-vaccine-stay-at-home/

And another http://txnaturalpediatrics.com/2013/11/04/news-flash-2013-child-disease-update/

Health officials are trying to get the word out that a University of California, Berkeley, student may have exposed classmates and strangers to measles. A student who contracted measles, likely during a trip overseas, had spent time in and around campus and commuting to and from his home on Bay Area Rapid Transit. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes, measles spreads through coughing, sneezing or breathing and "any child who is exposed to it and is not immune will probably get the disease." Measles start out much like a common cold, with high fevers, red eyes and a telltale rash. Children are particularly susceptible: About 10% of them who get measles come down with ear infections, and roughly 5% end up with pneumonia. One or two of 1,000 children with measles die, according to the CDC.

Since we cannot raise our kids in a bubble, we recommend that you consider vaccinating your child.

Read:

http://txnaturalpediatrics.com/2014/01/06/vaccination-basics/

http://txnaturalpediatrics.com/2013/06/05/do-mmr-vaccine-cause-autism/

http://txnaturalpediatrics.com/2013/03/25/truth-about-vaccines/


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VACCINATION BASICS

As a parent, you may be protective and may not like seeing your baby being pricked by a needle several times. However, vaccination is an important step in protecting your child against a range of serious and potentially fatal diseases.

Measles, mumps and whooping cough may seem like quaint old illness confined to past. However, more and more children are being exposed to them, especially in schools, day-care centers, parks and malls where large numbers of people are together in close quarters. Diseases like measles, which were on their way out in the U.S., are making a comeback in (North East & Fort worth) via travelers and guests visiting from other countries. If kids are immunized it won’t spread quickly.

Vaccinations are quick, safe and extremely effective. Once your child has been vaccinated against a disease, their body can make antibodies to fight that disease more effectively if they come in contact with it. If a child isn’t vaccinated they will be at a heightened risk of catching the illness. There will always be some children, who are unavoidably unprotected because,

• They can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons.

• They’re too young to be vaccinated.

• They can’t get to the vaccine services.

• For a rare few, vaccination doesn’t work.

If more parents have their children vaccinated, then more children in the community will be protected against catching an illness. This lowers the chance of an outbreak of the disease.

How does vaccine work?

A vaccine is made from a tiny amount of the disease causing germs (virus and bacteria). For example, measles vaccine is made from the measles virus. The germ in the vaccine is killed or weakened version to ensure that the person does not contract the disease. When the vaccine is given, the body produces antibodies against the small amount of the germ protein in the vaccine. These antibodies fight off the disease when the person is exposed to the disease anytime in the future. Vaccines are a safe way of developing immunity in our children.

Are vaccines safe?

Vaccines are safe. Before the vaccine is approved for use, it undergoes years and years of testing and research. The Public Health agency continues to monitor all vaccines after they are approved.

Like any medicines vaccines may also has minor side-effects like soreness, redness and swelling in that area. Receiving one is far safer than getting the killer disease it prevents. Statements that vaccines causes autism is bunk and fraudulent science. Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.

Can you overload a child’s immune system?

Studies have shown that vaccines do not weaken a child’s immune system. In fact, the immune system is strengthened by immunization. Every day our body come in contact with millions of germs that rev our immune system to work overtime to protect us. The killed/weakened germs in the vaccines are very few when compared to the millions of germs fought every day by our immune system. A single cold virus presents greater challenge to the immune system than the number of antigens in virus. Today, we immunize against great number of diseases and because of advances of vaccine production, there are fewer antigens in vaccines today than there were 40 or 100 years ago.

More on Vaccines in our Part 2 later…..


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NEWS FLASH: 2013 CHILD DISEASE UPDATE

Polio can be avoided with a vaccine:

The World Health Organization say there’s been an outbreak of the potentially deadly disease polio in Syria. They confirmed ten cases of Polio have been identified in young children, the first time in 14 years that the disease has been found there.

Encephalitis, or swelling of the brain has a vaccine too

Health officials in northern India are battling to confront a new outbreak of encephalitis, a disease that has this year killed at least 350 children in one state alone.

WHOOPING COUGH is another disease that has a vaccine prevention

Last year, the United States had the highest number of whooping cough cases since 1955, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During 2012, the CDC received reports of 48,000 cases and 18 deaths, with most of the deaths occurring in infants. Researchers compared areas with significant numbers of parents who chose not to vaccinate their children for nonmedical reasons to areas that were affected by the 2010 whooping cough outbreak in California. They found that people living in areas with high nonmedical vaccine exemption rates were 2.5 times more likely to also be located in an area with high levels of whooping cough.

How about the outbreak of Measles in Fort Worth

The outbreak in Texas is the perfect example of how contagious measles is. The recent situation is strikingly similar to a 2005 case in Indiana, Offit said, in which a teen went to a church picnic with 500 people after visiting an orphanage in Romania. Of the 465 people at the picnic who had been vaccinated or previously infected, three people got sick. Of the 35 who had not been vaccinated, 31 got measles.

Would you rather have HiB?

Before the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae type B existed, its meningitis killed 600 children a year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. And many who survived suffered from brain damage, seizures or deafness.

The good news is that these types of outbreaks are rare and, in some cases, preventable. For example, make sure your family is up-to-date on their vaccinations and remember to read up on the latest flu season information every year so that you are immunized against the latest flu strains.


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NEWS FLASH: Vaccine Refusal Contributes to Whooping Cough Outbreaks

By Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer 4 hours ago

The 2010 whooping cough outbreak in California may have been fueled, at least in part, by clusters of parents who refused to vaccinate their children, a new study suggests.

Researchers analyzed local rates of children entering kindergarten with "non-medical" vaccine exemptions, meaning parents or guardians applied for an exemption from school policies requiring vaccines due to personal beliefs, rather than for medical reasons. They compared these rates with rates of whooping cough in 2010, the year the state experienced awhooping cough outbreak that caused 9,120 cases and 10 deaths from the disease.

The researchers identified 39 areas, or clusters, with high rates of non-medical exemptions, as well as two large clusters of whooping cough (also called pertussis) cases.

More cases of pertussis occurred within the exemption clusters than outside of the clusters, the study found. [7
Devastating Infectious Diseases
]

In addition, areas within exemption clusters were more than twice as likely to overlap with pertussis case clusters than areas outside of exemption clusters.

The results held even after the researchers took into account factors that could affect disease rates, such as population density.

San Diego County had a particularly high degree of overlap between clusters of exemptions and pertussis cases. There were 980 pertussis cases in the county, and the area in and around Escondido, a city in San Diego County, had more than 5,100 exemptions.

Many factors likely contributed to the 2010 California pertussis outbreak, including increased detection of cases, the fact that pertussis activity increases and decreases in cycles, and that protection offered by a new version of the pertussis vaccine wanes more quickly than that of the previous vaccine.

But the new findings suggest that vaccine refusal played a role as well, the researchers said. Although the overall rate of vaccination in California remained high (90 percent of kindergartners in 2010 were fully vaccinated), some regions had lower immunization rates, the researchers said. In 2010, some schools reported non-medical exemption rates as high as 84 percent.

"Our findings suggest that communities with large numbers of intentionally unvaccinated or undervaccinated persons can lead to pertussis outbreaks," the researchers wrote in the Sept. 30 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

"In the presence of limited vaccine effectiveness and waning immunity, sustained community level transmission can occur, putting those who are most susceptible to communicable diseases, such as young infants, at increased risk," said the researchers, from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Emory University School of Public Health and the California Department of Public Health.

The researchers noted that non-medical exemptions for kindergartners are only a proxy for community level vaccination coverage. Future research should study how vaccine refusal contributes to pertussis outbreaks, the researchers said.

Another study published earlier this month found that young children who miss some of their whooping cough shots, or receive the shots late, are at increased risk for catching the disease.

Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.


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ANOTHER KNOCK FOR PEOPLE SKIPPING VACCINATIONS

Takeaway

Skipping DTaP Shot Boosts Pertussis Risk

Study

Researchers found that missing some doses of the diphtheria, tetanus toxoid, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine increases the risk of whooping cough in young children.

Children (ages 3 to 36 months) who missed three doses of the DTaP vaccine were nearly 19 times more likely to develop pertussis than those appropriately vaccinated, and those who missed four doses were 28 times more likely to develop the disease per Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Source: JAMA Pediatrics.

Undervaccination is an increasing trend, for a variety of reasons, including parental choice. And it is an important contributing factor in recent pertussis outbreaks across the country.


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HOW VACCINATION SAVES UNRELATED ADULTS

Need more reasons to believe in vaccines?

Rotavirus is a common cause of gastroenteritis in babies, which can result in severe dehydration and admission to hospital.

Vaccinating babies against a virus that can cause diarrhea and vomiting also seems to protect some adults, a U.S. study suggests.

In Tuesday’s online issue of JAMA, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said they found fewer adults were getting severe cases of gastroenteritis after rotavirus vaccination became standard for infants.

Source: CBC and JAMA


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NEWS BREAK: REFUSED MMR VACCINE? STAY AT HOME

A North Texas church that is part of a large international ministry told its congregation that health officials had confirmed one case of measles there and suspected several more.

The number of measles cases in the Tarrant county grew to 10 Monday, with the health department saying all cases are connected to one person who traveled to a country where measles is common.

What is measles?

Measles is a very contagious (easily spread) infection that causes a rash all over your body.

Measles is caused by a virus. It is spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or shares food or drinks. The measles virus can travel through the air. This means that you can get measles if you are near someone who has the virus even if that person doesn’t cough or sneeze directly on you.

You can spread the virus to others from 4 days before the rash starts until 4 days after the rash appeared. The virus is most often spread when people first get sick, before they know they have it.

What are the symptoms?

The first symptoms of measles are like a bad cold-a high fever, a runny nose, sneezing, a sore throat, and a hacking cough. The lymph nodes in your neck may swell. You also may feel very tired and have diarrhea and red, sore eyes. As these symptoms start to go away, you will get red spots inside your mouth, followed by a rash all over your body.

How is it treated?

Measles usually gets better with home care. Take medicines to lower your fever. Also, get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids. Stay away from other people as much as you can so that you don’t spread the disease. If your child has measles, keep him or her out of school until at least 4 days after the rash first appeared. Keep your child out longer if he or she is not feeling well. Your doctor may suggest vitamin A supplements if your child has measles.

Most people get better within 2 weeks. But measles can sometimes cause dangerous problems, such as lung infection (pneumonia) or brain swelling(encephalitis). In rare cases, it can even cause seizures or meningitis.

Source: Web MD, CBS News