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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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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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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


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DO MMR VACCINE CAUSE AUTISM?

BMJ: Wakefield Paper Alleging Link between MMR Vaccine and Autism Fraudulent

January 6, 2011 by Project Staff
In the wake of a paper published in the Lancet in 1998, vaccination rates in Britain plummeted. The lead author of the paper, Andrew Wakefield, rose to prominence as a result of his claims that the combination measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine had caused autism in the 12 children in the study, and frightened parents began to delay or completely refuse vaccination for their children, both in Britain and the United States. Since then, outbreaks of previously eliminated diseases have sickened and killed children in both countries.Over the next twelve years, the possibility of a link between MMR and autism was studied exhaustively. No reputable, relevant study confirmed Wakefield’s findings; instead, many well-designed studies have found no link between MMR and autism.In 2004, the Lancet stated that it should not have published Wakefield’s paper, with then-editor Dr. Richard Horton noting that Wakefield had a “fatal conflict of interest” when conducting the research. The majority of the co-authors of the study subsequently retracted the findings in the paper, and in 2010, the Lancet formally retracted the paper itself.Three months later, in May 2010, Britain’s General Medical Council banned Wakefield from practicing medicine in Britain, stating that he had shown “callous disregard” for children in the course of his research. The council also cited previously uncovered information about Wakefield’s research being partially funded by lawyers hoping to sue vaccine manufacturers on behalf of parents of children with autism.

On Wednesday, January 5, the British Medical Journal published a report by Brian Deer, a British journalist who had previously reported on flaws in Wakefield’s work. For this new report, Deer spoke with parents of children from the retracted study and found evidence that Wakefield actually committed research fraud by falsifying data about the children’s conditions.

Specifically, Deer reports that while the paper claimed that eight of the study’s 12 children showed either gastrointestinal or autism-like symptoms days after vaccination, records instead show that at most two children experienced these symptoms in this time frame. Additionally, while the paper claimed that all 12 of the children were “previously normal” before vaccination with MMR, at least two had developmental delays that were noted in their records before the vaccination took place.

After examining the records for all 12 children, Deer noted that the statements made in the paper did not match numbers from the records in any category: the children having regressive autism; non-specific colitis; or first symptoms within days after receiving the MMR vaccine. The Lancet paper claimed that six of the children had all three of these conditions; according to the records, not a single child actually did. (See a table that breaks down the comparison between the Lancet numbers and the medical records here.)

In an accompanying editorial, BMJ editor in chief Fiona Godlee and co-authors Jane Smith and Harvey Marcovitch examine the damage to public health caused by a tiny study based on parental recall with no control group – a study that turned out to be almost entirely fraudulent, but whose impact continues to this day.

Although the findings of Wakefield’s paper have long been discredited by scientists, the evidence that the data itself was falsified makes this report by the BMJ a landmark moment in the history of vaccines. Evidence is strong that this study should not have been published not merely because it was poorly conducted, but instead because it was a product of research fraud. After more than 12 years of panic, fear, and confusion over the possibility of autism being linked to vaccines, this “MMR scare” chapter of vaccine history may finally draw to a close.

In addition to the British Medical Journal’s report and accompanying editorial, news outlets worldwide have devoted time to coverage of this story. Links to some of this coverage are provided below.

Brian Deer’s report at the British Medical Journal, “How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed” —http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5347.full

Accompanying editorial by Fiona Godlee, Jane Smith, and Harvey Marcovitch, “Wakefield’s article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent” — http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452.full

MedPage Today’s coverage of the BMJ report by John Gever, “BMJ Lifts Curtain on MMR-Autism Fraud” —http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Autism/24203

CNN’s coverage via Anderson Cooper 360:

ABC News:


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TRUTH ABOUT VACCINES

For the record, we have vaccinated our kids.

Now read to understand the truth behind vaccines.

  1. MERCURY: Thimerosal, a preservative containing about 50% mercury, prevents contamination by bacteria. It can be found in most flu shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, since 2001, thimerosal has not been present in routine vaccines for children younger than 6. And, both the flu shot and some vaccines for adults and older children can be found in thimerosal-free versions, or with only trace amounts.
  2. AUTISM: A small 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield claimed to find a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, setting off a panic that led to dropping immunization rates, and subsequent outbreaks. Since then, the study’s been deemed flawed, and it’s been retracted by the journal that published it. In 2004, the Institute of Medicine released a report that found no scientific evidence of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. In September 2010, the CDC published similar results.
  3. SIDE EFFECTS: Vaccines aren’t risk free. The most common side effects are soreness at the injection site and fever, which are best treated with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Less common are seizures (defined as “jerking or staring”), and risks vary depending on the vaccine. For example, 1 in 14,000 children suffer a seizure after receiving the DTaP shot; it’s 1 in 3,000 with the MMR vaccine. Some kids are at higher risk for side effects than others. In these cases, it may be best to proceed with caution or skip them, according the CDC.
  4. PROTECTION; Vaccines are not a 100% guarantee you won’t get sick. But they are a huge help. Take the flu vaccine; you may still get the flu if you get the jab, but it is likely to be less severe. Or, take the chicken pox vaccine. Dr. Brown says it is 80% effective against preventing infection and 100% effective in protecting against serious illness. For the best protection, experts rely on “herd immunity”—the more people who are vaccinated in the population, the better chances of protecting everyone, including people who can’t get shots due to age, health, or religious reasons.
  5. IMMUNE SYSTEM: Too many shots does not weaken the immune system. “Each dose allows the body to mount an immune response and make defense [antibodies] so the body can fight off a real infection if it showed up,” she says. Children are given multiple vaccinations at a time to provide as much protection as early as possible. Both the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that vaccinations be given to children simultaneously when appropriate.
  6. NOT JUST FOR KIDS: There are numerous vaccines that can help keep adolescents and adults, both young and old, healthy. Most obvious is the flu shot, which is given annually. College students should get a meningitis vaccine before living in a dorm, and elderly adults can benefit from pneumonia vaccines. Adults also need boosters for tetanus and pertussis. Children aren’t fully immunized against pertussis until age 4, Dr. Nelson says; smaller babies are at high risk, and pertussis can be transmitted to babies by adults with waning immunity.
  7. NATURAL IMMUNITY: Dr. Nelson says infections are more likely than vaccines to trigger lifelong immunity. (An exception is the flu; it changes strains every year.) But you may think twice about taking your little one to a chicken pox party. The problem with natural immunity is the risk of complications. Chicken pox can lead to encephalitis, pneumonia, or, if kids scratch too much, skin infections like MRSA. A polio infection can cause permanent paralysis; mumps, deafness; and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), brain damage. The only infectious human disease that has been eradicated worldwide is smallpox, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Even today there are outbreaks of conditions like measles, mumps, and pertussis. Vaccines can protect you when you’re around those who aren’t vaccinated, either in the U.S or elsewhere. According to the WHO, less than 95% of people in many parts of Western Europe receive vaccines, and that’s where 82% of measles cases occurred in 2009.
  8. DOCS LOSE MONEY OFF VACCINES: Vaccines aren’t a cash cow for docs. “It’s probably more of a money loser than anything,” says Dr. Nelson, because they’re labor intensive. Some doctors do receive financial incentives from HMOs, but “the bonuses are there to support high-quality practice and help the physicians justify the manpower that goes into administering them,” she says. Vaccines are about 1.5% of total pharmaceutical revenues, says VaccineEthics.org, a website run by the Penn Center for Bioethics. “We’ve had problems with vaccine supply because so few pharmaceutical companies are making vaccines anymore,” Dr. Nelson says. (Three decades ago, more than 30 companies produced vaccines; today about five companies account for 80% of the market.)

Source: http://www.health.com