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Original poster

inquest rules Gareth Colfer-Williams death was complications of measles

109 replies

meditrina · 04/07/2013 06:38

I thought I'd post this here as this poor man's death has been mentioned on a number of threads in this forum.

On 1 July, his inquest found that he died of natural causes, from disease: specifically giant cell pneumonia, a complication of measles.

(The Welsh epidemic is officially over, as there were no new cases in June).

OP posts:
bruffin · 04/07/2013 18:21

His health status is totally irrelevant. He died because measles. Measles is preventable. There was an outbreak because of low take up because of scaremongering like we get constantly on these boards.

JakeBullet · 04/07/2013 18:26

He was not a healthy young man and almost any illness would have been risky for him given his health.

He would also not have had the MMR because he was born before it was introduced.

Poor man.

At least the epidemic is now over in Wales.

ILikeBirds · 04/07/2013 18:33

I'm 33 and have had the MMR. A 25 year old would have been born in 1987/1988 and as routine vaccination is at 1 year old would have had been due to be vaccinated after the MMR was introduced.

Crumbledwalnuts · 04/07/2013 18:41

But Bruffin, we hear too often with vaccine complications that there was an underlying disorder, as if the vaccine complication then doesn't matter. Why is it different here?

Ilikebirds: the follow-on from that is that unless his Mum was very opposed to vaccinations he probably had it. There was no controversy then.

curlew · 04/07/2013 18:44

"But Bruffin, we hear too often with vaccine complications that there was an underlying disorder"

Do we?

bruffin · 04/07/2013 18:46

Vaccine complications are extremely rare and most of the complications that are supposed to be attributed to mmr are based on false science ie Wakefield.

Crumbledwalnuts · 04/07/2013 18:48

I'm talking about vaccine complications which are accepted, not based on Andrew Wakefield's findings.

Crumbledwalnuts · 04/07/2013 18:50

Like I think Hannah Poling, I think her name was? Her autism was accepted as being caused by vaccines but because she had a previously undetected mitochondrial disorder (really hope I'm remembering this right,k I should look it up) which might never have manifested otherwise, the vaccine complications are somehow dismissed.

JoTheHot · 04/07/2013 19:21

You appear not to have taken the trouble to understand my post crumble. On re-reading it, does it still appear to you that I asked if alcohol abuse or malnutrition increases the risks of measles?

I asked what bearing it has on anything that the man who died had other problems? When you're making the decision about MMR, how do you know whether you're child will one day suffer form malnutrition, alcohol or anything else?

Complications happen. They happen to healthy people. They happen more often to less healthy people. There's no way of telling whether your child, currently healthy or not, will one day draw the short straw. But if you vaccinate, they very likely won't.

curlew · 04/07/2013 19:42

New aren't land a journal of Medicine on Hannah Poling Interesting reading.

curlew · 04/07/2013 19:55

New England Journal of Medicine- obviously.

Interesting stuff about the Vaccine Court on that link too.

bumbleymummy · 04/07/2013 22:18

Jo, I see that you jumped to the conclusion that people on this thread were saying that you shouldn't vaccinate. Nobody was. You really need to stop jumping to the anti-vax conclusion on every thread. It's a bit sad really.

Some of us were pointing out that his ill health contributed to the likelihood of him suffering complications from measles. His death is being used in 'see, people die from measles' kind of way (which is disgusting IMO) but he was not an otherwise healthy young man. The fact that he had all these underlying conditions when he contracted measles should have made the doctor even more cautious rather than just sending him home to die :(

Beachcomber · 11/07/2013 10:39

Surely this is a case of medical neglect?

A severely underweight alcoholic adult who has embarked on detox and who has asthma (and therefore more likely than not takes corticosteroids) presents to medical professionals with what is probably measles. And they sent him home.

What the actual?

What is the point of all this hand wringing over the dangers of measles if the result is that when a person presents with a big red flag of circumstances that shout "At Risk For Complications" he is not monitored extremely carefully?

Poor man and his family. Of course this poor man's death is all over the press. If he had died after flu or some other virus, the press and the general public wouldn't give a shit. Let's be honest.

And I can't believe that people are asking if asthma is considered a risk factor for measles. It is a risk factor for pneumonia - which is known to be a complication of measles. (Plus as an asthma sufferer a person is likely to be taking immunosuppressive drugs.)

Plus alcohol abuse is known to adversely affect vitamin A status.

Poor soul.

Beachcomber · 11/07/2013 10:51

Oh and alcohol abuse is also a risk factor in pneumonia.

bruffin · 11/07/2013 11:03

He didnt present with typical measles Hmm read other links

Crumbledwalnuts · 11/07/2013 12:15

He was covered in a rash and had a high temperature in the middle of a measles outbreak. Not sure how dumb GPs have to be to think - great scott perhaps this man has measles.

bruffin · 11/07/2013 13:18

When he went to the gp he didnt have rash on arms and shoulders, it wasnt a typical presentation and could have been as a result of his meds.

Crumbledwalnuts · 11/07/2013 15:09

He had a rash from head to foot, and in the middle of a measles outbreak they didn't check. Did he not have Koplik's spots?

bruffin · 11/07/2013 15:23

He wasn't completely covered in a rash when he went to see GP, mentions it in both links that he did not have rash on arms and shoulders, koplik spots are not mentioned.

Crumbledwalnuts · 11/07/2013 15:33

To be honest I can't believe that you think it's entirely reasonable not to check out a rash covered person in the middle of a measles outbreak when that person would be very susceptible to complications if it was indeed measles.

bruffin · 11/07/2013 15:47

I cant believe you are arrogant enough to believe you know more than the gp who saw him. You werent there Hmm

Crumbledwalnuts · 11/07/2013 20:16

Don't be ridiculous, it's not arrogant, it's common sense, it's wildly stretching things to say there's so little reason to think it might be measles that it's actually arrogant to suggest it. Weird!

Crumbledwalnuts · 11/07/2013 20:17

Weird was an exclamation. I don't mean you're weird. I'm sure you're not! We just disagree that's all.

CatherinaJTV · 11/07/2013 21:48

it is called "arrogance of ignorance"

I would actually agree that it would be stupid not to test someone who presents with a typical case of measles, however, it seems the presentation was not typical, which is something Crumbled is ignoring in her judgement...

AuntieStella · 11/07/2013 22:14

He didn't have ordinary pneumonia - he had Hecht's.

That is associated with measles, AIDS and leukaemia. Nothing to say he had either AIDS or leukaemia. Nor a second strain of pneumonia as well.

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