Reality:
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/travelers.html
Measles remains a common disease in many parts of the world, including areas in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. Worldwide, 19 cases of measles per 1 million persons are reported each year; about 89,780 die. In the United States, most of the measles cases result from international travel. The disease is brought into the United States by unvaccinated people who get infected in other countries. They spread measles to others, which can cause outbreaks.
Anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk of getting infected when they travel internationally.
Reality not usually discussed:
http://www.ascopost.com/issues/march-10 ... or-cancer/
Measles outbreaks in the United States during 2014 and early 2015 have yielded an unprecedented number of cases nationwide, raising concerns about the threat measles poses to cancer patients (especially children) who may be at risk for severe complications and even death due to measles infection.
“In normal children, measles is an acute viral respiratory illness characterized by a prodrome of high fever with cough, coryza, and conjunctivitis, known as ‘the three C’s,’ followed by the evolution of a pathognomonic enanthema (Koplik spots) in the oropharynx and a diffuse red maculopapular rash. Measles pneumonitis is the most feared complication, and it is associated with a high rate of mortality. As many as 1 in 20 children with measles may develop lung infection.” Alison G. Freifeld, MD, who specializes in infectious diseases in cancer patients, said in an interview with The ASCO Post. Dr. Freifeld is Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha.
What happens when a pediatric cancer patient is exposed to measles, often thanks to parents who did not have their child vaccinated?
https://www.foxnews.com/health/when-the ... s-outbreak
In March 2011, Ben had a close call when doctors realized an unvaccinated child was in the same hospital unit he stayed in for a routine spinal tap.
Ben received immunoglobulin shots and went into isolation for 21 days as a precaution. At the end of his quarantine, doctors confirmed that Ben did not have measles.
“It was really unthinkable to be dealing with your child trying to fight for his life,” said Bredesen, who wrote about the scare on a pro-vaccine blog, Voices for Vaccines. “Against leukemia is one thing, but then on top of that, it was unfathomable to think then that he would be exposed to a vaccine-preventable illness, which would be life-threatening to him. It was very unbelievable, and I’m unable to fully understand.”
...and on the flip side...
Tyson Perez, 39, a pediatric chiropractor in the Carlsbad, Calif., area, falls into that group. He and his wife have both been fully vaccinated, but when they had their daughter, Cambria, who is 2 and a half, they began researching vaccines and opted out on the basis of philosophical belief.
“I weighed the absolute risk of the vaccine versus the hypothetical risk of the illness, and it became clear to me that the absolute risk of the vaccine outweighed the hypothetical risk of the illness,” Perez told FoxNews.com.
Like Block, Perez approaches medicine holistically. His daughter has never had any medicine, vaccine, or antibiotic— not even Tylenol for a fever.
“We make sure her neurological system is optimal— optimal nutrition, lots of love, good sleep, lots of sunlight, and all of the things that our great-grandparents used to use,” Perez said. “And the benefit to that is when you have a strong immune system, you can fight off anything that’s out there.”
Perez said he was aware that measles poses a health risk to children with immunosuppressive diseases, but he argued that immunoglobulin treatments in the event of a potential exposure and quarantine during cancer treatment are appropriate preventative measures.
“Aside from bolstering their immune system, it’s keeping them [immunosuppressed children] separated from the general population,” Perez said.
"Hypothetical"... :roll:
Finally:
For the Waldrons, the fear of their son, Liam, catching a cold, let alone measles, has restricted when and where they go. When Liam’s white blood cell counts are low, they don’t leave the house. When they go to public places, he wears a face mask to minimize potential exposure to an infection.
“I think everybody in general only thinks about their own children at one point or another,” Wendy Waldron said, “but when there’s an outbreak like this, and you’re making a decision not only for your child but for your family and other children if that child is going to school … you know, I can’t relate to it, and I don’t understand it. And I would say that whether I was in this situation or not.”
“No one wakes up one day and wants to find out that their child has cancer, so we didn’t even have an opportunity to get him immunized,” she said. “I didn’t even have a choice.”