To Immununize or Not?

1. pros

1.1. We have all but eradicated deadly smallpox http://www.pnas.org/content/99/16/10935.full

1.1.1. The development of vaccines to protect against viral disease is one of the hallmarks of modern medicine. The first vaccine was produced by Edward Jenner in 1796 in an attempt to provide protection against smallpox. Jenner noticed that milkmaids who had contracted cowpox, a relatively innocuous infection, seemed to be resistant to smallpox, a disease of humans that regularly reached epidemic levels with extremely high mortality rates. Jenner theorized (correctly) that cowpox, a disease of animals, was similar to smallpox. He concluded that the human reaction to an injection of cowpox virus would somehow teach the human body to respond to both viruses, without causing major illness or death. Today, smallpox is totally eradicated. Only two frozen samples of this virulent virus exist (one in the United States, the other in Russia), and as of mid-1995 there is serious scientific debate about whether to destroy the samples, or keep them for further laboratory study. http://www.answers.com/topic/vaccine#Britannica_Concise_Encyclopedia_d

1.2. We have all but eradicated mumps

1.3. We have all but eradicated Rubella & Measles

1.3.1. In the prevaccine era, 3 to 4 million measles cases occurred every year, resulting in approximately 450 deaths, 28,000 hospitalizations, and 1,000 children with chronic disabilities from measles encephalitis. Because of successful implementation of measles vaccination programs, fewer than 100 measles cases are now reported annually in the United States and virtually all of those are linked to imported cases http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm57e222a1.htm

2. cons

2.1. It has been suggested that vaccination against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) is a cause of autism http://mothering.com/health/show-us-science

2.1.1. There is no link between autism and MMR vaccine http://www.contentnejmorg.zuom.info/cgi/content/full/347/19/1477

2.2. Several published studies have recently shown a higher incidence of aseptic meningitis associated with Urabe AM-9 vaccine strain than that estimated previously. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8824866

2.3. Hepatitis B vaccination has been taken off the market in France after large reports of adverse reactions were reported. http://mothering.com/health/show-us-science

2.4. Thimiserol found in MMR may cause autism.

2.4.1. The results of this study agree with a number of previously published studies. These studies have shown that there is biological plausibility and epidemiological evidence showing a direct relationship between increasing doses of mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders, and measles-containing vaccines and serious neurological disorders. It is recommended that thimerosal be removed from all vaccines, and additional research be undertaken to produce a MMR vaccine with an improved safety profile. http://www.MedSciMonit.com/pub/vol_10/no_3/3986.pdf

3. My choice

3.1. Most of us think that we have eliminated Measles from the United States. This is a mostly true statement. Parents sometimes lean, therefore, in the direction of refusing to immunize their children on personal, medical, or religious beliefs. It is probably true that most un-immunized children will never contract Measles from immunized children in the USA. However, a child may travel to the United States from another country, such as Romania (see below for story and link) harboring measles. In this case, immunized children will not contract the disease, but non-immunized children are at risk. This pathology dynamic is seen in one particular study wherein a European child infected hundreds of un-immunized children in Indiana. It is safe to say that non-immunized children may never contract measels, but only because they are usually surrounded by immunized measle-free children. Once a measle-carrying child enters the picture, the only thing standing between unimmunized children and raging cases of measles is their own immune systems. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa060775#t=articleDiscussion

3.2. New node