Ireland has the 2nd highest measles rate in Europe

tallaght01

And more importantly for the anti-vaxxers out there:

1) one third of cases had to be hospitalised

2) Most cases were people who were insufficiently vaccinated.

I'm sick of hearing the anti-vaccine people saying it's a harmless disease and vaccines are ineffective.

irish times wrote:

IRELAND HAD the second-highest incidence rate of measles in Europe in the first quarter of this year, according to new figures published by the European Centre for Disease Control.

The highest incidence was in Bulgaria, where 11 children died from measles in the first three months of 2010.

Some 280 cases of measles were reported in Ireland during the same period and almost one-third of these had to be hospitalised. No deaths were reported here.

The number of cases of measles in Ireland continued to rise during April and May. At the end of last month, some 355 cases of measles had been reported so far this year, some 15 times more than over the same period last year.

Dr Suzanne Cotter, public health specialist with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, said the high figure for Ireland in the first part of this year was accounted for by an outbreak of measles that had been ongoing since about August last year.

“The outbreak has caused an enormous amount of disease in the community relative to our population size,” she said.

Dr Cotter said that although the measles outbreak here had been in decline in recent weeks, the fact that there were any cases was of concern when it was preventable with vaccination.

She said when the cases reported here were assessed, the main reasons behind them were that the individuals had not been vaccinated at all or had only had one dose of the MMR vaccine.

Two doses are required for maximum protection and these are normally given at age 12 months and age four or five years.

While vaccination rates in young children have improved over the past few years, they plummeted after the publication in 1998 of a flawed study linking the MMR vaccine with autism.

The prestigious medical journal the Lancet has since retracted the article and its author Dr Andrew Wakefield was recently struck off the UK medical register.

Many of the children and teenagers who missed out on vaccinations after that paper was published succumbed to measles during the recent outbreak. Some other cases were in babies too young to have been vaccinated.

Dr Cotter urged parents to check and make sure their children got two doses of the MMR vaccine. She said they could check with their GP or on their child’s vaccination card and, if they were unsure of their child’s MMR vaccination status, they should arrange to get two doses of the vaccine, which was free.

“It won’t do any harm,” she added, even if they had already had the vaccine.

She said some people also missed out on reminder notices about the second jab when they moved house. A high proportion of cases in the recent outbreak were among the Traveller community, who may have moved and missed out on notices about second doses of the vaccine as a result.

In total, more than 12,000 measles cases were reported from 32 European countries in the first three months of this year, a sixfold increase on the same period last year. More than 10,000 cases were reported in Bulgaria and more than 700 cases in France.

Ireland was next with nearly 300 cases, but given its population size, the report said it had the second-highest incidence rate in Europe at 6.12 cases per 100,000 population.

nesf

tallaght01 wrote: »

I'm sick of hearing the anti-vaccine people saying it's a harmless disease and vaccines are ineffective.

Who on earth could possibly think measles is a harmless disease? I mean, seriously like..

Sitric

People who have never seen it.

N8

tallaght01 wrote: »

for the anti-vaxxers out there

Aha couldn’t resist Tallaght01


For those who don’t know how vaccination discussions generally deteriorate…

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055872759


Saying that a non peer reviewed report should be quoted here is another from the same day but in another newspaper, The Irish Independent:

MMR vaccine uptake at highest levels yet
By Eilish O'Regan Monday June 07 2010

THE uptake of the once-controversial MMR vaccine, which protects children and adults against measles, mumps and rubella, is at its highest yet in Ireland, new figures reveal.

As many as 90pc of Irish children had received the vaccine at two years of age up to the end of 2009, according the the country's disease watchdog. The increased uptake contrasts with 1999, when it stood at 76pc, and in 2001, when coverage dipped to just 69pc of children.

So to sum up the two:

Irish Independent: Ireland had now the highest rate of MMR vaccination up to the end of 2009 – 90% of children.

Irish Times: ‘measles rate in Ireland is second highest in Europe’ in the first three months of 2010.

Surely the logical conclusion and syllogism here would be that one caused the other?

And then the other vaccine story that day - the fallout from the British Medical Journal criticising guidelines in relation to the H1N1 flu hoax pandemic declared by the WHO. These guidelines were developed based in part on the advice of three experts who received consulting fees from the two leading manufacturers of antiviral drugs used against the virus, Roche and GlaxoSmithKline, companies that received billions of euros in H1N1 swine flu vaccines profits.

Upon declaration of pandemic, the WHO refused to disclose any conflicts of interests between these top advisors and the drug companies who would financially benefit from its decisions, leaving the report to state, "We are left wondering whether major public health organizations are able to effectively manage the conflicts of interest that are inherent in medical science."

And the BMJ isn't the only medical publication criticizing WHO for its poor handling of conflicts of interest. Another report from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly also criticized WHO, saying: "Parliamentary Assembly is alarmed about the way in which the H1N1 influenza pandemic has been handled, not only by the World Health Organization (WHO), but also by the competent health authorities at the level of the European Union and at national level." It went on to explain that WHO's actions led to "a waste of large sums of public money, and also unjustified scares and fears about health risks faced by the European public at large."


Please don’t trot out the old unproven sacred cow of herd immunity nor the usual fear based propaganda please – and perhaps admit that Anti-vaxxers as you describe them have plenty to be sceptical about.

Prime Mover

N8 wrote: »

Surely the logical conclusion and syllogism here would be that one caused the other?

How did you get to that conclusion?

nesf

N8 wrote: »

So to sum up the two:

Irish Independent: Ireland had now the highest rate of MMR vaccination up to the end of 2009 – 90% of children.

Irish Times: ‘measles rate in Ireland is second highest in Europe’ in the first three months of 2010.

Surely the logical conclusion and syllogism here would be that one caused the other?

*bangs head off desk for a while*

tallaght01

nesf wrote: »

*bangs head off desk for a while*

I think I'll join you.

N8 has no idea about vaccination efficacy, apart from what he reads on quack websites. But he'll always believe them, as he's taken in by their authoritative tone presumably.

But for the benefit of anyone reading who has the capacity for independent though:

1) You don't need peer reviewed journals to publish your own department's crude figures.

2) The kids getting measles are the kids who missed out for the 8 year period after the Wakefield article, not the babies who are currently vaccinated. Though with the breakdown in herd immunity, those kiddies will be at higher risk than they should, as the vaccine isn't 100% effective.

N8

tallaght01 wrote: »

I think I'll join you.

N8 has no idea about vaccination efficacy, apart from what he reads on quack websites. But he'll always believe them, as he's taken in by their authoritative tone presumably.

Nice slight - thanks - can you back that up?

tallaght01 wrote: »

1) You don't need peer reviewed journals to publish your own department's crude figures.

that is a new turn on here - generally anyone putting out a position is required to present peer reviewed material...

tallaght01 wrote: »

2) The kids getting measles are the kids who missed out for the 8 year period after the Wakefield article, not the babies who are currently vaccinated. Though with the breakdown in herd immunity, those kiddies will be at higher risk than they should, as the vaccine isn't 100% effective.

Have you figures/evidence (peer reviewed or governmental published) to back up any of these claims?

tallaght01

You can read the report yourself, kiddo.

But the Public Health Consultant said:

"when the cases reported here were assessed, the main reasons behind them were that the individuals had not been vaccinated at all or had only had one dose of the MMR vaccine.".

But, I know, we don't trust her coz she's from "the system" and sh wants to give poison vaccines to your kids.


:rolleyes:

N8

tallaght01 wrote: »

You can read the report yourself, kiddo.

Thanks babe

tallaght01 wrote: »

But the Public Health Consultant said:

"when the cases reported here were assessed, the main reasons behind them were that the individuals had not been vaccinated at all or had only had one dose of the MMR vaccine.".

But, I know, we don't trust her coz she's from "the system" and sh wants to give poison vaccines to your kids. :rolleyes:

poison vaccines?

deepimpact

Any chance you could list your qualifications N8? Do you have any medical or scientific training of any type?

DrIndy

N8 wrote: »

Thanks babe



poison vaccines?

Less of this please - N8 in particular and everyone in general.

This discussion MUST remain factual and scientific and not go around in circles.