Measles in 2017

[Beansonapost]

Just saw a tweet by NHS about outbreaks in Leeds and Liverpool ...in people who haven't had the MMR vaccine.

Why is this happening in 2017 Britain?

I know why, but why?!!! I just can't get my head around the no vaccine logic 😐?

I'm worried about my 8 month old and the rest of the population who are immuno compromised ... I grew up in a "third world country" and the last I heard of measles was in the 90s. Chicken pox is still a fairly common illness there, but not measles. Vaccines are non-negotiable and all children must be before entering school... as a "third world country" resources aren't there to manage an outbreak of any sort, hence the policy.

Is this a developed country problem? Or is it that we've forgotten what these diseases are really like?

[thewisestoldelf]

I had this very discussion this morning with my colleague.

No vaccinations should mean you sort your own educational arrangements for your children.

I worked with a woman whose daughter was undergoing chemo for leukaemia and she was terrified her daughter and the docs warned her to try to avoid/limit contact with unvaccinated children

[Bambamber]

I really do feel so sorry for anyone who genuinely can't have vaccines for medical reasons. Things like this must be so terrifying, and it's avoidable

[shouldnthavesaid]

I think it's the latter. I think we don't see the horrible effects it can have so don't worry as much perhaps?

I looked after someone once who's mother had contracted rubella (german measles) in pregnancy. This person was completely deaf, non verbal, virtually blind, immobile, and required 24/7 care. All because of rubella. A vaccine would have prevented that.

It isn't worth the risk. Everyone who can be safely vaccinated should be. These aren't pleasant diseases - there's a reason why we developed vaccines in the first instance. They should be things of the past, along with tetanus, polio, etc.

[c3pu]

Because people are confusing "opinion" with "knowledge", and think vaccines aren't good for their children.

I for one am thankful that my children and I will never get polio...

[AnnabellaH]

The postcode areas for the Liverpool outbreak have the highest number of european immigrants and also unvaccinated children and adults from countries like Romania.

The general consensus from our GPs is that it has been brought over from within those communities.

I currently live in the affected postcode area and I'm fucking furious because my son is under 12m.

Liverpool has one of the highest vaccination uptakes in the country.

[LunasSpectreSpecs]

I think that yes, we've forgotten what measles is like. I'm 45 and was vaccinated against measles as a baby as a single dose. My kids have had MMR. None of my contemporaries at school ever had measles. My parents certainly think of it as a thing of the past.

Complications of measles can be horrendous and quite frankly I have no respect for people who "do their research" coutrtsey of Dr Google and conspiracy theorist websites and put their children at risk. Even worse, they're putting children under 13 months and immunocompromised children at risk too.

Stupid, stupid people.

[Cockmagic]

My child is 8 and caught measels this year. She's up to date with all vaccinations

[moreofaslummythanyummy]

Antivaxxers piss me off ! They rely on herd immunity to protect their kids but don't give a thought to the group's of people that cannot be vacinnated and are more in danger if they catch these deseases . The less people that vaccinate the greater risk to these groups but for some reason this message doesn't sink in !!! Sorry but really winds me up !

[Rebeccaslicker]

I got sucked into a 300 message debate on a friend's Facebook page the other day with his anti vax mates. To be fair they are in the US and the schedule and vaccines are different over there but... citing "study" after "study" without a single qualification to interpret them, when 2 seconds on google proved that the author of each had a transparent agenda... it's mind blowing, the extent to which people will go to justify selfish choices.

[Noofly]

DD caught lab confirmed measles when she was 15 months. She’d caught it from twins who had not been vaccinated and had caught it in France.

Ironically, DD had been due to get her MMR the week before, I think, but she’d been running a temperature and we had to reschedule.

Fortunately, once we realised she had been exposed, we were able to get her vaccinated very quickly so she came down with what was called modified wild measles, but it was bad enough- whould not have wanted her to get the full blown thing!

[hellsbells99]

Rather than slagging off antivaxxers, please read Annabelle's post.
It is not as simple as parents refusing to vaccinate babies.
(Yes my children are vaccinated).

[DJBaggySmalls]

Yanbu, I think people have become insulated from reality in many ways. I have older relatives who were deafened by rubella, their lives would have been completely different had they been vaccinated.

But I also think people are more selfish than they think they are, less empathic, and believe themselves to be more well informed than they really are.

[Rebeccaslicker]

Hells bells - perhaps not. But rabid anti vaxxers telling everyone to "do their own research" and citing stats about how vaccines "do cause autism" certainly do not help!

[Barbaro]

Hellsbells, maybe it is mainly people from other countries who have it and will eventually be vaccinated.

But you cannot deny there are a large amount of morons who are antivaxxers who don't vaccinate because their precious kid might become autistic or get downs syndrome (yes I have heard that one before).

Hey if people don't want to vaccinate their kids, fine. Bury them instead. That will make them feel so much better. I just feel sorry for the kids that get measles or meningitis because the stupid parent thought they knew better.

[Frederickvonhefferneffer]

What about the flu vaccine though. My kids have had all their vaccines but I refuse this one.
My reasons are that it’s a lottery, there are a load of strains and mutations of flu and each year we don’t know which one will strike and are vaccinated against one strain that might not hit.
Also, it’s a young vaccine, we have no idea of any future side effects.
I’m happy to be talked round.

[Rebeccaslicker]

I told the American anti vaxxers to come and take a look at an old English graveyard. Whole families of children buried within a week. There's several reasons why thank god that doesn't happen any more, and vaccines are a big one!

[shouldnthavesaid]

Should vaccination be compulsory then for immigration (or long term wotl and study) into the UK? I think it is in other places.

Certainly when I worked for the NHS I had to prove vaccination status for measles, mumps, diphtheria, hep B etc and had to have a blood test to verify hep B protection, have BCG scar checked. A friend working in Australia had to have a chest x ray before she could work in healthcare.

Perhaps these procedures should be mandatory for all those entering the UK to protect those who cannot be vaccinated on medical or age grounds.

[Sirzy]

The post above shows we need to make sure we have a proper vaccine schedule in place for those entering the country - perhaps upon registering with a GP a blood test to check vaccine status should be the norm?

I think we also need to be careful not to patronise anti-vaxxers many belive their concerns are valid so we need medical staff who are properly trained to be sympathetic to those concerns to sit with these families and discuss them. Ok it may be time consuming and costly but if it helps prevent outbreaks then it is worth it in the long run.

[HerRoyalNotness]

Yes I think they should be compulsory for immigrants. We had to be up to date in The USfor our green card application. I had to have the MMR as i couldn't prove I'd had it as a child, my GC was delayed as I was pregnant and couldn't have it done until after baby was born. They take a very tough line here. Kids couldn't go to school until they were up to date and one of them couldn't attend speech therapy while he was in preschool as it would be heldat the elementary and he was missing one vaccine.

[Rikalaily]

My Dd1 caught German measles (confirmed with throat swab) after she'd had the MMR.

[Caroelle]

A lot of vaccines have a relatively short life (10 years in the cases of whooping cough, polio etc). The theory is that if all children are vaccinated it won’t be a problem. We came back from Russia earlier this month, immunisations have decreased there since the fall of communism because of the cost of medical treatment which was previously free. I have been coughing very badly since then and my GP believes that I have whooping cough. Now off work for the third week, it’s no joke.

[TammySwansonTwo]

This time last year my son was in the HDU with whooping cough, contracted just before his jabs (i was vaccinated during pregnancy, the other twin was fine but he had IUGR and didn't seem to get the immunity). I saw things in that ward that will never leave me. People have no idea honestly.

[TuftedLadyGrotto]

I live in one of the Leeds postcodes and there is a confirmed case in a nursery here. This areas is definitely not an area with high levels of Eastern European immigrants, one of things I'd improve about it would be the multi cultural aspect. Vast majority of people are white, Yorkshire born and bred.

Even if it is being brought in, if every one who could vaccinate did, then it wouldn't be as much of an issue.

[Barbaro]

Frederickvonhefferneffer I doubt giving or not giving your kids the flu vaccine will affect then greatly. I've had it and gotten flu several times. It's a lottery like you say, even the scientists say it. I think it's more relevant for older people than younger.

[carefreeeee]

The postcode areas for the Liverpool outbreak have the highest number of european immigrants and also unvaccinated children and adults from countries like Romania.

The general consensus from our GPs is that it has been brought over from within those communities.

All EU countries have measles vaccines as part of their standard childhood vaccinations so it seems unlikely that these children should be more at risk than our own unvaccinated population. A recent study showed that it was the most deprived areas of Liverpool that were least likely to vaccinate their children, and when they asked parents what their reasons were, it basically boiled down to 'can't be bothered'. (Too difficult to reach the health centre etc - when really it should be a priority). They are now looking at ways of making it more straightforward to get the vaccines to the children, for example by getting midwives and health visitors involved rather than GPs)