Just the Vax: 2008: Measles in Dr. Bob Sears' Waiting Room

The continued irresponsibility and danger to the public from "dr" Bob...  Someone should see what it would take to start the paperwork to revoke the license of this guy.  I understand that some people pine for "the way things were" but if you would rather die from easily preventable diseases, I would thank you to not place the rest of us who like reality and science in danger.  And that is exactly what you are doing.  Because of the likes of reality denying miscreants, people like Dana McCaffery are dead, and I see no remorse, just some misplaced smug vindication that is diametrically opposed to common sense.

So I hope that the anti-vax pro-disease nutters are happy with the swath of needless death they are causing.  They are on the same level as the idiots proclaiming the rapture on 21 MAY 11.  Totally disconnected from reality, and totally and 100% wrong.  You would think that they would realize how deluded they are, but then you can't reach this level of delusion with reality.  Instead, I urge parents to ignore these obvious lies and do what is best for their own children as well as all the children their children come in contact with.  Get vaccinated!

2008: Measles in dr. Bob Sears' Waiting Room

I thought this to be a timely topic given the current measles outbreak that is occurring in a very undervaccinated population in Minnesota.  Thus far, there are 14 cases in Hennepin County, 13 of which are epidemiologically-linked in the Somali population there.  This situation highlights the infectiousness of measles and how easily it can be spread to immunologically-naive people, even with overall high vaccination rates.  Uptake of MMR is estimated to be greater than 95% in 70% of U.S. schools, however, private schools are not surveyed and 12 states were below 95% with some as low as 81%.  There is also geographical clustering of "like-minded" people in communities that leave large numbers of susceptible children at risk for measles.  Additionally, lists of "vaccine-friendly" doctors, like this one provided by Dr. Bob can be geographically-linked to large numbers of school exemptions for vaccines.

This is what can, has and will happen again with the current recommendations that these "vaccine-friendly" doctors make:  In 2008, an intentionally unvaccinated 7 year old child came back to the states from a visit to Switzerland with his parents.

In January 2008, measles was identified in an unvaccinated boy from San Diego, California, who had recently traveled to Europe with his family. After his case was confirmed, an outbreak investigation and response were initiated by local and state health departments in coordination with CDC, using standard measles surveillance case definitions and classifications.* This report summarizes the preliminary results of that investigation, which has identified 11 additional cases of measles in unvaccinated children in San Diego that are linked epidemiologically to the index case and include two generations of secondary transmission. Recommendations for preventing further measles transmission from importations in this and other U.S. settings include reminding health-care providers to 1) consider a diagnosis of measles in ill persons who have traveled overseas, 2) use appropriate infection-control practices to prevent transmission in health-care settings, and 3) maintain high coverage with measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine among children.

The index patient was an unvaccinated boy aged 7 years who had visited Switzerland with his family, returning to the United States on January 13, 2008. He had fever and sore throat on January 21, followed by cough, coryza, and conjunctivitis. On January 24, he attended school. On January 25, the date of his rash onset, he visited the offices of his family physician and his pediatrician. A diagnosis of scarlet fever was ruled out on the basis of a negative rapid test for streptococcus. When the boy's condition became worse on January 26, he visited a children's hospital inpatient laboratory, where blood specimens were collected for measles antibody testing; later that day, he was taken to the same hospital's emergency department because of high fever 104°F (40°C) and generalized rash. No isolation precautions were instituted at the doctors' offices or hospital facilities.

READ THE REST OF THE ENTRY HERE.