Remind me - what does that other "M" stand for?

MMR - Mumps, Measles, Rubella

Not enough children in the UK, especially those at middle/high school age, have full (i.e. 2x) MMR coverage, which has led to a slow and sustained measles outbreak across the UK (Just the Vax passim here and here). Now the MMR protects against three diseases, measles of course, but also mumps and rubella. The HPA North East has issued a health warning, since they have seen a 400% increase in mumps cases in April to June 2012 (133) over 32 in the same period of 2011. Almost half of these cases are in 15 to 24 year olds. While those may be un/under-vaccinated because of the MMR manufactuversy, a new "generation" of kids is unvaccinated against mumps because clinics offering single measles, mumps and rubella vaccines have been unable to source the mumps from anywhere for the last couple of years now.
Worse yet, rubella cases have reached 57 in the first 6 months of the year, exceeding annual rubella case counts of the past 9 years. This is a typical pattern, where measles outbreaks happen, mumps and rubella are also occurring - a sure sign that 2xMMR prevents all three - go get your child (or yourself) caught up, if must be with MMR, even if mumps is the only shot they are missing.

Measles go to University

As British kids, not vaccinated in the 90ies due to the MMR media hysteria grow up, measles catches up with them - as seen yesterday:

 

Lovely Dr. S said that while he was happy to actually see a case of measles (young doctor in the post-vaccine era that he is), people would tend to forget that measles can be a very dangerous disease. And indeed, in Merseyside, where they have had over 200 cases of measles this year, 25% of over 15 year old patients (15 of 61) were hospitalised, the highest rate of all age groups (<1s: 24%, 1-5s: 20%, 5-9s: 4% 10-14s: 8%).

Apparently, University Health Service are also seeing lots of mumps and chicken pox, several cases of rubella and whooping cough. The nurse I saw was very impressed with the recent case of whooping cough - the first she had ever heard. She said she had heard a lot of coughs in her career, but the second she heard this one, she knew it as pertussis and "really something else" (in the sense of something much more severe that a normal cough). 

So here is a public service announcement to students in the UK and elsewhere where Universities may not check your vaccination record:

Make sure you are immune against measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, whooping cough and meningitis. 

If you don't have one of these, contact your GP, they should have your shots on file. It is your responsibility now.

You can still get the vaccines, if you didn't as a child. Talk to your GP - they'll be delighted to get you covered before you walk into their surgery with measles...

Oh the Irony - Vaccine Exemption and Disease: Rubella

The CDC published the Vaccination Coverage Among Children in Kindergarten United States, 2009/10 School Year in the June 3 issue of its MMRW today. Some media outlets picked up the news that Washington has highest vaccine opt-out rate in country. Over 6% of Kindergartners have an exemption for one or more vaccines. While that doesn't seem much at first glance, it does push vaccination coverage at an age where kids are very likely to spread disease under the level that is assumed to be needed for herd immunity. Ironically, in the same issue of the MMWR, the CDC reports two cases of rubella in Washington, one imported, one indigenous.

Rubella?!

Honestly? I wonder what sort of false eco-nostalgic ideals Washingtonians are striving for, but is it really those times when hundreds (thousands in epidemic years) of babies per year contracted rubella in the womb and died in utero, or were born with horrendous malformations, deaf, blind, with heart defects?!

Vaccine exemptions lead to disease outbreaks - this is a small example. I wonder how many larger and much more catastrophic examples it will need for some parents to clue in?