Creation of a Hysteria

[bradmedic04]

Whoa, whoa, whoa there sparky. The next thing you'll be claiming is that gluten sensitivity was a fabricated hysteria too.

No way that's true. I don't care what science says. Ever since I went gluten-free I just feel better!

 

[steveh_131]

It's appropriate to be scared because most of us have no experience in dealing with this virus, because it hasn't been endemic in our borders for decades.

Ok. So now that we see how un-scary it really is, would it be appropriate to stop being hysterical?

 

[bradmedic04]

Ok. So now that we see how un-scary it really is, would it be appropriate to stop being hysterical?

Absolutely. People should be worried about the current flu season if they want to be scared of an illness. Flu will kill a lot more people than measles, and will do it again next year and the year after.

I don't appreciate the way news outlets conduct themselves these days.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

I used to get flu shots until Kathleen Sebelius told me I had to.

Haven't gotten one since, and likely never will again.

 

[OakRiver]

Everyone knows bird flu is where the panic is now
California turkey farm quarantined after bird flu detected | Reuters

 

[steveh_131]

Absolutely. People should be worried about the current flu season if they want to be scared of an illness. Flu will kill a lot more people than measles, and will do it again next year and the year after.

You did read my point that the CDC used this same hysterical tactic with influenza, right? Did you read the article discussing how few people actually die from anything related to the flu?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Measles was a small pit-stop on the road to adult-hood. They treated it the way my parents treated chickenpox when I was a kid of the 80's. Take the week off work/school. Get plenty of rest and fluids. Watch for signs of serious danger, but mostly just chill out. No big deal.

No big deal? Measles can be extremely deadly to adults. I can't remember what the kill rate was in the 1920s but it was 33% or higher.

 

[printcraft]

I was vaccinated as a child..... I've not had any kind of flu vac. or similar in decades. I'm still ticking.

 

[eldirector]

Wonder if anyone on here can explain why/how the Measles and the Flu vaccines are different?

 

[bradmedic04]

You did read my point that the CDC used this same hysterical tactic with influenza, right? Did you read the article discussing how few people actually die from anything related to the flu?

Yeah, I'm completely biased on a personal level, though. I'm asthmatic and the times I've had the flu I've ended up in the hospital. My grandfather died from flu-related complications as well. Since I fall into a high-risk group and have flirted with death several times, I tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to anything that aggravates my own disease (which the flu definitely does).

If we're talking avian or swine flu, though, I thought the way those were hyped was pretty silly as well.

 

[steveh_131]

No big deal? Measles can be extremely deadly to adults. I can't remember what the kill rate was in the 1920s but it was 33% or higher.

I don't believe that rate could be accurate, so I'd like to see a source for that.

Regardless, it is now a 0.1% case fatality rate, per the CDC. We have obviously come a long way since the 1920's.

 

[rambone]

Yeah, I'm completely biased on a personal level, though. I'm asthmatic and the times I've had the flu I've ended up in the hospital. My grandfather died from flu-related complications as well.

Interestingly, developing asthma is a side-effect of flu vaccines. (See adverse events for Fluzone®, FluLaval®, and Fluvirin®)

-- asthma sufferer, vaccinated as a child

 

[bradmedic04]

I don't believe that rate could be accurate, so I'd like to see a source for that.

Regardless, it is now a 0.1% case fatality rate, per the CDC. We have obviously come a long way since the 1920's.

And we had come a long way in effectively eliminating the virus altogether, but now we're losing ground.

Death rate aside, isn't measles supposed to be horribly painful, and does it leave permanent scarring?

 

[bradmedic04]

Interestingly, developing asthma is a side-effect of flu vaccines. (See adverse events for Fluzone®, FluLaval®, and Fluvirin®)

-- asthma sufferer, vaccinated as a child

Ugh, ****ty club to be in.

 

[steveh_131]

And we had come a long way in effectively eliminating the virus altogether, but now we're losing ground.

Death rate aside, isn't measles supposed to be horribly painful, and does it leave permanent scarring?

I have heard it compared to chicken pox, with more respiratory issues. Can be more feverish. Not sure about the scars.

 

[bradmedic04]

I read the Wiki. Does not sound like fun.

 

[mrjarrell]

Spots on the skin is the least you can hope for. Measles can kill and worse.Best to avoid any chance and not believe in voodoo.

[h=3]Complications[/h] Complications with measles are relatively common, ranging from mild complications such as diarrhea to serious complications such as pneumonia (either direct viral pneumonia or secondary bacterial pneumonia),[SUP][10][/SUP] otitis media,[SUP][11][/SUP] acute brain inflammation[SUP][12][/SUP] (and very rarely SSPE—subacute sclerosing panencephalitis),[SUP][13][/SUP] and corneal ulceration (leading to corneal scarring).[SUP][14][/SUP] Complications are usually more severe in adults who catch the virus.[SUP][15][/SUP] The death rate in the 1920s was around 30% for measles pneumonia.[SUP][16][/SUP]
Between 1987 and 2000, the case fatality rate across the United States was three measles-attributable deaths per 1000 cases, or 0.3%.[SUP][17][/SUP] In underdeveloped nations with high rates of malnutrition and poor healthcare, fatality rates have been as high as 28%.[SUP][17][/SUP] In immunocompromised persons (e.g., people with AIDS) the fatality rate is approximately 30%.[SUP][18]

Measles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[/SUP]

 

[steveh_131]

Complications with measles are relatively common, ranging from mild complications such as diarrhea to serious complications such as pneumonia (either direct viral pneumonia or secondary bacterial pneumonia),[SUP][10][/SUP]otitis media,[SUP][11][/SUP] acute brain inflammation[SUP][12][/SUP] (and very rarely SSPE—subacute sclerosing panencephalitis),[SUP][13][/SUP] and corneal ulceration (leading to corneal scarring).[SUP][14][/SUP] Complications are usually more severe in adults who catch the virus.[SUP][15][/SUP] The death rate in the 1920s was around 30% for measles pneumonia.[SUP][16][/SUP]
Between 1987 and 2000, the case fatality rate across the United States was three measles-attributable deaths per 1000 cases, or 0.3%.[SUP][17][/SUP] Inunderdeveloped nations with high rates of malnutrition and poor healthcare, fatality rates have been as high as 28%.[SUP][17][/SUP] In immunocompromised persons (e.g., people with AIDS) the fatality rate is approximately 30%.[SUP][18][/SUP]

The only 'common' complication there may be diarrhea. Pneumonia, 5%. Brain inflammation, .1%.

The mortality rate has dropped since your 1987-2000 number, and now lies somewhere between 0.1% and 0.2%.

This is blatant fear-mongering.

 

[mrjarrell]

Why would a rational person even take the chance with single digit percentages? They wouldn't (and don't). You never know if your child will be one of the 1%. I don't want to be in a crowd of 100 people when a gunman starts randomly firing, why would I want the same effect with a disease? My children have been exposed to measles, by friends whose parents refused to vaccinate them for it. Luckily my kids were vaccinated and it worked to keep them safe from the disease that the other kids could have avoided. It is unconscionable, in this day and age to not vaccinate.

As for any "hysteria" all I'm seeing are news stories about the outbreak that started in Disneyland. Again. Something that could have been avoided if some parents were rational actors.