Why Are We Worried About Measles?
By James Donahue
Remember last winter’s measles scare? News story after news story told of the spread of the measles virus breaking out in various parts of the U.S. after some infected person went to Disneyland in Los Angeles and infected a lot of people.
Yes, measles is highly contagious. But it used to be such a common disease we once considered it part of childhood. Every kid was expected to come down with measles in those early years. Catching the measles meant a few uncomfortable days of staying in bed, trying not to scratch the itching red blotches that broke out all over our skin, and waiting until the disease ran its natural course. Rarely did we have complications. And the great thing about catching measles when we were young . . . we were declared immune from ever catching measles again for the rest of our lives.
The same thing was true about the mumps. Our parents actually wanted us to catch the mumps when we were young because our bodies warded off the disease relatively easily and usually with no side effects. And as it was with measles, once we had the mumps, we never got them again. Our bodies built up a natural immunity.
Adults do not fare very well with either disease. They get really sick, the measles sometimes leads to serious complications like ear infections, bronchitis, pneumonia and even encephalitis.
Mumps in adults can spread throughout the body, attacking the ovaries and breasts in women and testicles in adult males. This disease also can attack the pancreas and even the brain.
The vaccine against measles was developed in the 1960s. Doctors began injecting young children with a combination vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella (or German Measles) and the CDC claims that the rate of "measles-linked deaths" decreased almost 100 percent.
A CDC report states that between 1958 and 1962, before measles inoculations were available, an average of 503,282 cases of measles occurred every year, with an average number of 432 deaths related to the disease. By 1998 there were only 98 measles cases, all related to people entering the United States from other countries. There were no deaths.
Recently, however, there has been a growing suspicion about the safety of the vaccines used in a growing number of childhood shots made mandatory before children enter public school systems. Every child now receives between 15 to 19 doses of vaccine by age 18 months for protection against 11 childhood diseases. They range from measles to more serious stuff like smallpox and tuberculosis.
Some medical studies have suggested a link between some of the vaccines injected into children and the growing epidemic of a chronic autoimmune disease called autism. This is a problem involving communication and language skills.
In recent years researchers for the CDC have stepped forward as whistle-blowers to report that the CDC's own study has shown more than a 300 percent increase in autism diagnoses among certain groups of children that receive the MMR shot. They also have reported in a recent court case that the vaccine has been shown to be totally ineffective against the mumps virus, and that is many cases, the measles vaccine can actually infect children with measles.
A group that is fighting mandatory vaccinations in California argues that the MMR vaccine is found to contain toxic ingredients including aluminum and mercury, has not been studied for adverse effects when injected in combinations with up to three anti-viral compounds, and may actually prevent the child's immune system from properly responding to these natural childhood diseases.
MERC, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the MMR vaccine, is presently involved in two lawsuits challenging the effectiveness of the mumps vaccine in the MMR cocktail. The yearly sales of this vaccine obviously involves a lot of money. And we know from the recent volume of cases where drug companies have been allowed by the government to market ineffective and dangerous products that the big pharmaceutical companies cannot be trusted.
One recent study suggests that vaccinated children appear to be suffering from higher rates of autism, ear infections, ADHD, asthma and allergies than non-vaccinated children. Is there a link? Are serious studies about this issue being made?
One CDC website warns that side effects from the MMR vaccine may include at least some of the above and that children with certain types of health problems and allergic reactions should not receive this shot.
By James Donahue
Remember last winter’s measles scare? News story after news story told of the spread of the measles virus breaking out in various parts of the U.S. after some infected person went to Disneyland in Los Angeles and infected a lot of people.
Yes, measles is highly contagious. But it used to be such a common disease we once considered it part of childhood. Every kid was expected to come down with measles in those early years. Catching the measles meant a few uncomfortable days of staying in bed, trying not to scratch the itching red blotches that broke out all over our skin, and waiting until the disease ran its natural course. Rarely did we have complications. And the great thing about catching measles when we were young . . . we were declared immune from ever catching measles again for the rest of our lives.
The same thing was true about the mumps. Our parents actually wanted us to catch the mumps when we were young because our bodies warded off the disease relatively easily and usually with no side effects. And as it was with measles, once we had the mumps, we never got them again. Our bodies built up a natural immunity.
Adults do not fare very well with either disease. They get really sick, the measles sometimes leads to serious complications like ear infections, bronchitis, pneumonia and even encephalitis.
Mumps in adults can spread throughout the body, attacking the ovaries and breasts in women and testicles in adult males. This disease also can attack the pancreas and even the brain.
The vaccine against measles was developed in the 1960s. Doctors began injecting young children with a combination vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella (or German Measles) and the CDC claims that the rate of "measles-linked deaths" decreased almost 100 percent.
A CDC report states that between 1958 and 1962, before measles inoculations were available, an average of 503,282 cases of measles occurred every year, with an average number of 432 deaths related to the disease. By 1998 there were only 98 measles cases, all related to people entering the United States from other countries. There were no deaths.
Recently, however, there has been a growing suspicion about the safety of the vaccines used in a growing number of childhood shots made mandatory before children enter public school systems. Every child now receives between 15 to 19 doses of vaccine by age 18 months for protection against 11 childhood diseases. They range from measles to more serious stuff like smallpox and tuberculosis.
Some medical studies have suggested a link between some of the vaccines injected into children and the growing epidemic of a chronic autoimmune disease called autism. This is a problem involving communication and language skills.
In recent years researchers for the CDC have stepped forward as whistle-blowers to report that the CDC's own study has shown more than a 300 percent increase in autism diagnoses among certain groups of children that receive the MMR shot. They also have reported in a recent court case that the vaccine has been shown to be totally ineffective against the mumps virus, and that is many cases, the measles vaccine can actually infect children with measles.
A group that is fighting mandatory vaccinations in California argues that the MMR vaccine is found to contain toxic ingredients including aluminum and mercury, has not been studied for adverse effects when injected in combinations with up to three anti-viral compounds, and may actually prevent the child's immune system from properly responding to these natural childhood diseases.
MERC, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the MMR vaccine, is presently involved in two lawsuits challenging the effectiveness of the mumps vaccine in the MMR cocktail. The yearly sales of this vaccine obviously involves a lot of money. And we know from the recent volume of cases where drug companies have been allowed by the government to market ineffective and dangerous products that the big pharmaceutical companies cannot be trusted.
One recent study suggests that vaccinated children appear to be suffering from higher rates of autism, ear infections, ADHD, asthma and allergies than non-vaccinated children. Is there a link? Are serious studies about this issue being made?
One CDC website warns that side effects from the MMR vaccine may include at least some of the above and that children with certain types of health problems and allergic reactions should not receive this shot.