measles parties, do they still happen?

[hairymclary]

just wondering if anyone still does this kind of thing any more. Obviously there are fewer kids who actually get measles these days, so therefore fewer parties. but just wondering really

I'm worrying about the people who were near him at the school run on Monday... I took DD in and him to the docs after. I was actually expecting a very definate "non-specific viral rash" - what I actually got was "It looks a lot like german measles... but it could still be a nsvr... so we won't contact infectious diseases [or whatever the right term is for those people].. but make sure you keep him away from any pregnant women and treat him like he has GM"

So then obv I had to pick up DD later and take him out amongst people again

that assumes that all pregnant women are also unvaccinated against it.

Some pregnant women will not be immune to german measles even if they had the vaccination. It doesn't work in a small number of cases. That is why it so important for the rest of the popultaion to be vaccinated to protect those who are unknowingly at risk.

The trouble is - how could anyone tell if someone was 5 or 6 weeks pregnant, and thus avoid them? Hopefully, nowadays the majority of people would be immune to german measles, especially with vaccine being offered to secondary school pupils, but as has been pointed out - the take up of vaccination is not 100% by any means. Completely isolating children who might be incubating something infectious is unrealistic too. I suppose all I was saying was that if you are in a position to know there is a risk, then do the best you can to minimise the risk to anyone who might be vulnerable - if that makes sense.

ds1 caught german measles from a vaccinated child- big problem is that the vaccine is only about 80% effective, but the illness mild, so a child gets it and a mother assumes it can't be rubella as her child has been vaccinated. Luckily I knew that ds1 had been exposed so kept him off at the vulnerable time- the vaccinated child infected 3 children!

Why is isolating the possibly infected unrealistic. Again only going on my example - they know the dates and won't mix with anyone between them

But you've already been to the GP surgery and to school. I don't think most people would be able to keep their children isolated at the first sign of a rash - unless they had a full time live in nanny IYSWIM.

The ones who are intentionally infecting themselves would have to make it possible.

I would really like to know how many healthy, western children ever die of measels, as opposed to malnourished or immunosuppressed children. The cases highlighted in recent years have all, on closer inspection, involved children who were already ill, ( each still a tragedy). It is really hard to get any hard facts about this.

Measles affectrs healthy children badly as well as malnourished etc.
Roald Dahls daughter died from measles encephalitis in the 60's

he wrote a heart rendering account

www.blacktriangle.org/blog/?p=715

also australian goverment have very good data on the side effects but i can't find the data at the moment

www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-communic-factsheets-measles.htm