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Wednesday, August 27, 2008 | Reason : In the News | print version Print | Comments

Document B.C. health official says mumps outbreak began with unimmunized religious group

by Canadian Press

Thanks to Eric Klaver for the link.

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hjPDvv-qkDYO6iVSWH_Rx9RsfuVg

B.C. health official says mumps outbreak began with unimmunized religious group

AGASSIZ, B.C. — A British Columbia health official says a spreading mumps outbreak began with a Fraser Valley religious group that shuns immunization.

"It's part of their belief system that this is not the right thing to do," said Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin, medical health officer for the Fraser Health Authority. Brodkin said Tuesday that people who aren't vaccinated are at highest risk to contract the viral disease that's passed from person to person through saliva.

"This outbreak at least got going because it took hold in an unimmunized community so they are the ones who are really sitting ducks for infection."

She said 200 people have so far contracted the virus that has travelled west as far as suburban Burnaby, prompting the B.C. Centre for Disease Control to convene a provincial task force that will meet in two weeks to come up with a strategy to deal with the outbreak.

Brodkin said the virus originally travelled to B.C. from Alberta, where 300 people had been infected.

"We've tried to do advertising to the general public about the importance of not sharing spit because that's how this thing has spread," she said.

"We're calling it the don't-share-spit campaign," she said.

Those at high risk include university students living in tight-knit communities that act as factories to spread the virus but everyone is being advised not to share water bottles, drinking cups, musical instruments and cigarettes.

Brodkin said people should cough and sneeze in their sleeve.

Target groups like health-care workers are receiving more than the required two doses of vaccine and doctors in the Fraser Health region have been sent letters advising them of mumps symptoms that could mimic a cold or flu, Brodkin said.

About one-third of people who've been infected with the virus don't have any symptoms but could still be spreading it while those who show signs could have swelling of the glands under the jaw and chin or even have meningitis, she said.

Some men may also have inflamed testicles.

Immunity to mumps isn't lifelong and even people who've had the disease 30 years ago could contract it again and need to be revaccinated, Brodkin said.

In B.C., children are immunized at 12 and 18 months but need to be revaccinated years later, she said.

In an average year, less than 100 cases are reported across Canada, but outbreaks in several provinces have caused numbers to jump considerably.

In Nova Scotia, an outbreak that began in February 2007 affected more than 700 people, mostly university-aged patients.
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1. Comment #237884 by eh-theist on August 27, 2008 at 11:26 am

avatarIf only it affected those not immunized in that community.

Sadly the costs are the responsibilty of the province and country and the outbreak does affect people outside this group.

If scientists aren't going to be supported in their attempts to find cures, maybe they should dedicate some time to helping people like this to an early demise.

Other Comments by eh-theist

2. Comment #237885 by stptrck75 on August 27, 2008 at 11:27 am

avatarNatural selection in action?

Other Comments by stptrck75

3. Comment #237887 by andysin on August 27, 2008 at 11:28 am

I guess this is where the argument of 'I've no problem with religious groups as long as they don't preach to me' kind of falls down. Bloody ignorant.

Other Comments by andysin

4. Comment #237902 by beeline on August 27, 2008 at 11:45 am

avatarClassic.

Other Comments by beeline

5. Comment #237904 by bewlay_brother on August 27, 2008 at 11:45 am

"Brodkin said people should cough and sneeze in their sleeve. "

What...dont these people have hankies or tissues??

Other Comments by bewlay_brother

6. Comment #237906 by kkelly on August 27, 2008 at 11:48 am

avatar5, hankies and tissues are not sanitary. You're still getting germs on your hands by handling them. Sneezing into your arm is the best.

Other Comments by kkelly

7. Comment #237916 by Overmann on August 27, 2008 at 12:00 pm

It seems to me that any group aimed at the betterment of its fellow man would take every precaution not to do any one of them harm. If your beliefs are harmful, ditch your beliefs - get yourself immunized.

Other Comments by Overmann

8. Comment #237917 by Ascaphus on August 27, 2008 at 12:00 pm

avatar"Brodkin said people should cough and sneeze in their sleeve. "

OK. Will that stop the spread of ignorance?

Matt

Other Comments by Ascaphus

9. Comment #237929 by JamesDB on August 27, 2008 at 12:22 pm

avatarHoly crap this is where i live but i didn't hear anything about this. I better not get sick becuase a bunch of religious nuts dont get immunized. Screw them for putting my health at risk.

Other Comments by JamesDB

10. Comment #237930 by Daz365 on August 27, 2008 at 12:26 pm

"We've tried to do advertising to the general public about the importance of not sharing spit"

"We're calling it the don't-share-spit campaign,"

Ingenious, with minds like this the future is bright.

Other Comments by Daz365

11. Comment #237938 by mdowe on August 27, 2008 at 12:44 pm

avatarI guess stptrck75 beat me to the punch ... a clear example of natural selection at work. Of course in subsequent generations it will probably just give us a similar group of brainless religious nuts that happen to share a particularly keen immune system. An immune system they will attribute to a 'blessing from God'.

Other Comments by mdowe

12. Comment #237942 by fsm1965 on August 27, 2008 at 12:48 pm

i guess these fundies dont read adverts either?

is there a group "Darwin Award", for removing your community from the gene pool?

Other Comments by fsm1965

13. Comment #237951 by rod-the-farmer on August 27, 2008 at 1:01 pm

avatarLet me say that I feel safe. I have not recently, nor do I plan in the future, to kiss a fundie.

Seriously, I wonder if the Ministry of Health in BC can order them to be immunised. If they refuse, they must be quarantined in their compound, church, or whatever.

Other Comments by rod-the-farmer

14. Comment #237965 by sb84 on August 27, 2008 at 1:13 pm

It's not just that they spread disease, I heard they eat babies too. Everybody panic!

Other Comments by sb84

15. Comment #237976 by daveau on August 27, 2008 at 1:20 pm

"Everyone is being advised not to share water bottles, drinking cups, musical instruments and cigarettes."

I'd think that percussion instruments would be OK.

Other Comments by daveau

16. Comment #237981 by NewEnglandBob on August 27, 2008 at 1:25 pm

avatarThose who refuse immunization should have their comings and goings restricted.

They should not be allowed in schools, restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals, public parks or sports venues.

They should be arrested and quarantined if they violate the restrictions. Since they put others at risk, their actions should have repercussions.

Other Comments by NewEnglandBob

17. Comment #238022 by Border Collie on August 27, 2008 at 2:01 pm

Nice to know that other places have their fair sharer of fundamentalist wankers. I think we still have the lead here in Texas, though. Ooops, I forgot about Utah.

Other Comments by Border Collie

18. Comment #238033 by Rational_Skeptic on August 27, 2008 at 2:11 pm

avatarIt's not just religious fundamentalists refusing immunizations, it's followers of the "New Age" movement too, who for instance believe the newest claptrap that the Thimersol in the MMR vaccine causes autism -- and it isn't "natural" or "organic." Some years ago I took my two-year-old (immunized) child on a trip to visit friends who were raising their child "organically," and were proud supporters of the "New Age Movement." While there, both children fell mildly ill - first theirs, then mine. They blamed our presence for their child's illness, claiming the fact theirs wasn't immunized meant my child was "carrying" something without knowing it, and therefore - somehow - we should have anticipated the illness and stayed away. I got on the next plane home and have barely spoken to them since. The kicker? One member of this couple was studying for a graduate degree in physics.

Other Comments by Rational_Skeptic

19. Comment #238041 by mordacious1 on August 27, 2008 at 2:23 pm

"Some men may also have inflamed testicles."

Ouch. I'm going in for a booster, just in case.

Other Comments by mordacious1

20. Comment #238053 by Dinah on August 27, 2008 at 2:31 pm

As someone still experiencing the after-effects of an attack of polio in childhood (contracted before the vaccine became available) I don't have much time for people whose crackpot religious beliefs matter more to them than protecting their offspring from life-threatening and/or disabling illnesses.

Unfortunately, it is not only religious groups who are against vaccination. Others who espouse alternative medicine regimes like naturopathy think vaccination is wrong, and they encourage the idea that the only thing people need to do to avoid illness is to eat certain kinds of foods and follow their prescribed lifestyles. They don't appear to have realised it is not always the unhealthy who succumb to viruses - the flu outbreak after the First World War killed more healthy and fit young people than old and frail ones.

Other Comments by Dinah

22. Comment #238136 by DeepFritz on August 27, 2008 at 3:55 pm

avatarHaving had mumps as a kid, I can tell you that it is one of the most painful things to get...

To think that things like measels, mumps, poxes, malaria, etc could be totally eridicated if people had faith in science...

Other Comments by DeepFritz

23. Comment #238138 by kkelly on August 27, 2008 at 3:59 pm

avatar20, post polio syndrome?

Other Comments by kkelly

24. Comment #238150 by Koreman on August 27, 2008 at 4:24 pm

avatarInflamed testicles, now that sounds like God's will. He didn't created the things in the first place since Eden was perfect and there was no reproduction.

Other Comments by Koreman

25. Comment #238165 by No Religion on August 27, 2008 at 4:54 pm

It seems that the memory has faded of the time before vaccines when infant/child mortality rates were high and many families lost at least one child due to disease.

#20 Dinah
My uncle had polio as a child, before the vaccine was available. My mom told me about how her brother screamed in pain during the months of rehabilitation he had to endure to be able to walk again. Fortunately, he was not permanently disabled, but he still has some flare ups from time to time. My spouse contracted a mild form of Polio from being vaccinated as a child and had to have several surgeries, but there are no regrets about being vaccinated. Although painful, the mild form of polio beats the hell out of getting the full strength disease. My nephews are not vaccinated against any diseases because their parents believe the non-sense that vaccines transmitted HIV/Aids to humans and cause autism. I'm fearful for my beautiful and brilliant nephews, but their parents are not as smart as their children.

Other Comments by No Religion

26. Comment #238243 by CocoCantare on August 27, 2008 at 8:04 pm

avatarI have six, yes six, nieces and nephews not immunized and one more on the way who won't be! Yes, very disturbing and worrisome.

Other Comments by CocoCantare

27. Comment #238279 by Dinah on August 27, 2008 at 11:02 pm

Re Comment #238165 by No Religion
It seems that the memory has faded of the time before vaccines when infant/child mortality rates were high and many families lost at least one child due to disease.


Yes, people have become complacent about infectious diseases. In the first part of the last century, it was commonplace for young children to die of scarlet fever, diphtheria and other illnesses. The recent scares about bird flu have shown that such high mortality rates may not just be things of the past.

Other Comments by Dinah

28. Comment #238283 by Dinah on August 27, 2008 at 11:42 pm

My spouse contracted a mild form of Polio from being vaccinated as a child and had to have several surgeries, but there are no regrets about being vaccinated. Although painful, the mild form of polio beats the hell out of getting the full strength disease.


The modern version of the polio vaccine is safer than the earlier ones, which your spouse probably received.

Quote from the British Polio Fellowship Members' Handbook

'Since October 2004, people have been vaccinated using an inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) given by an injection into a muscle. This replaced the routine use of oral polio vaccine in the UK. The IPV vaccine uses inactive (not live) poliovirus and does not cause polio.'

Also from the same source:

'Do vaccinations really make a difference?

'Yes they do. Since the [vaccination] programme was introduced into the UK in the early 1960s notifications of polio have dropped from over 6,000 in 1955 to nil today.'

Other Comments by Dinah

29. Comment #238291 by No Religion on August 28, 2008 at 12:10 am

Dinah,

"The recent scares about bird flu have shown that such high mortality rates may not just be things of the past."

Have you read "Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching" by Michael Greger, M.D.? There's a free online version at http://birdflubook.com/g.php?id=5 It's a great scientific and historical account of how bird-flu and other pandemics have developed.

My spouse has no regrets about being vaccinated; although, he experiences painful spasms in his legs from time to time.

Other Comments by No Religion

30. Comment #238295 by No Religion on August 28, 2008 at 12:24 am

CocoCantare,

The fate of six plus one are a lot to carry in your heart. I just don't understand the logic behind not vaccinating children especially when parents in disease stricken third world countries would give anything not to have to bury another baby. I guess we don't realize what we have until we lose it.

Other Comments by No Religion

31. Comment #238302 by Wosret on August 28, 2008 at 12:39 am

avatarInflamed testicles ftw!

Other Comments by Wosret

32. Comment #238311 by padster1976 on August 28, 2008 at 1:14 am

avatarNatural selection in action!!

Other Comments by padster1976

33. Comment #238316 by Eventhorizon on August 28, 2008 at 1:41 am

avatarEvery cloud has a silver lining.....mumps can cause infertility

Other Comments by Eventhorizon

34. Comment #238321 by Fanusi Khiyal on August 28, 2008 at 1:46 am

I should like to know which particular 'religious group' was behind this particular insanity - though I think I can guess.

It sounds suspiciously like the way that polio is once more spreading throughout Pakistan ever since certain Imams declared vaccination haram.

Other Comments by Fanusi Khiyal

35. Comment #238335 by Dinah on August 28, 2008 at 2:28 am

Re: Comment #238321 by Fanusi Khiyal
I should like to know which particular 'religious group' was behind this particular insanity - though I think I can guess.

From The Vancouver Sun
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=d52a2724-d5f1-489e-beb1-53f163155dc4

'Since the outbreak began in Chilliwack in February, cases having been spreading like wildfire through the Fraser Valley, fuelled by a high rate of transmission among vaccine objectors from unnamed Christian fundamentalist groups that are against vaccines of all kinds.'

Other Comments by Dinah

36. Comment #238337 by 8teist on August 28, 2008 at 2:43 am

avatarChilliwack,Fraser Valley, is this the same crew ,a couple of months ago ,that had a child die after refusing treatment for an infection?


Edit ; no sorry that was Oregon.........same continent tho:)

Other Comments by 8teist

37. Comment #238386 by Bernard on August 28, 2008 at 4:17 am

avatarWho shares spit?

'I don't appear to have enough spit'

'Here, have some of mine'

'Why I don't mind if I do'

Other Comments by Bernard

38. Comment #238393 by bachfiend on August 28, 2008 at 4:30 am

It seems a bit unfair blaming just one group for an outbreak of mumps. No immunisation has 100% success. The way immunisation works is to make a large percentage of the susceptible immune (say 90%), so that infection can't spread as easily. "Herd" immunity protects the small minority who didn't get immunised or in whom it didn't "take". It seems to me that the rest of the population were also probably a bit slack.

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39. Comment #238435 by Apemanblues on August 28, 2008 at 6:44 am

avatar
15. Comment #237976 by daveau:

I'd think that percussion instruments would be OK.



Drummers do tend to drool a lot.

Other Comments by Apemanblues

40. Comment #238440 by hungarianelephant on August 28, 2008 at 6:58 am

avatar1. Comment #237884 by eh-theist on August 27, 2008 at 11:26 am
If scientists aren't going to be supported in their attempts to find cures, maybe they should dedicate some time to helping people like this to an early demise.

You advocate the extermination of people who choose not to be vaccinated?

Other Comments by hungarianelephant

41. Comment #238442 by Laurie Fraser on August 28, 2008 at 7:02 am

avatarComment #238440 by hungarianelephant

Yep.

Other Comments by Laurie Fraser

42. Comment #238443 by hungarianelephant on August 28, 2008 at 7:06 am

avatarIs this a general position on anyone who takes an anti-science stance, or is it specific to vaccinations?

Other Comments by hungarianelephant

43. Comment #238453 by jimbob on August 28, 2008 at 7:24 am

A concept these people don't understand:

herd immunity.

Even if they did, I wonder if they'd care about putting everybody else at greater risk?

Other Comments by jimbob

44. Comment #238477 by mitch_486 on August 28, 2008 at 8:10 am

avatar"We're calling it the don't-share-spit campaign," she said.


This is unbelievable, as a person in advertising.....what a disgrace, battling stupid with stupid

Good old Canadian prairies

Other Comments by mitch_486

45. Comment #238481 by mitch_486 on August 28, 2008 at 8:17 am

avatarI believe they are concerned about remaining "pure"

You can either consider this as being ignorant to sciences' influence (possibly out of spite) or simply a misunderstanding of grade 9 biology.
I find it extremely worrying because this is just one look at the consequences of "purity"
what about other infections like HepB, things society has been fighting to abolish for years....

mind boggling to say the least

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46. Comment #238508 by Gynwer on August 28, 2008 at 9:30 am

Well a lot can be said about religious folks (and these forums are one of the places where this happens), but am I the only one that reads Richard's books, looks at modern medicine and thinks ... "Maybe, just maybe we are putting a brake on evolution ?" Not that that is a bad thing in itself, but aren't we "allowing" people in the gene-pool that "natural" selection would have weeded out a long time ago ?

Now, don't get me wrong, I am absolutely in favor of vaccination, but I read a lot of "natural selection"-sarcasm in the posts ... whereas in my opinion modern medicine is the most unnatural selection you can think of.

Other Comments by Gynwer

47. Comment #238526 by mitch_486 on August 28, 2008 at 10:23 am

avatarGynwer,

I see what you're saying, but as humans, we have been able to rise above our previous living routines (eat,sleep,reproduce) and have developed a moral system with care, love, trust etc... We can now control our own destiny as we are aware of these things.
It is now human nature to do our best to develope mechanisms that can save and nurture civilization. I believe we are now one step ahead of natural selection, although what and who we are today could be our demise.
This is also rather hypothetical as we have no idea of knowing what natural selection will produce next, but I hope you see my point.

Other Comments by mitch_486

48. Comment #238541 by Dog Boots on August 28, 2008 at 10:43 am

Gynwer: A bunch of individuals doing something that may amount to their own demise - that's natural selection. The means are irrelevant.

Other Comments by Dog Boots

49. Comment #238557 by Gynwer on August 28, 2008 at 11:06 am

mitch_486: Yes indeed and personally I share your point. I just wonder if we are not - by the very fact that we have those mechanisms - freezing evolution (for good or for bad). I mean, not a lot of "mutations" are "allowed" by modern medicin are there ?

Dog Boots: Not if the means are artificial. Just like you can't say that breeding pigeons is natural selection. Its artificial. Modern medicin artificially allows us to survive and reproduce.

Other Comments by Gynwer

50. Comment #238827 by k1mgy on August 28, 2008 at 4:14 pm

avatar700 people in such a large population is nothing.

The school year begins here in the US in just a few weeks, so the CDC here has rolled out their own fear campaign, calling a measles outbreak (300 in the entire US this year, half of those were immunized) an "epidemic".

It's quite a stretch of math.

The US tax agency, the IRS, does much the same. They punch out the lights of a few high-profile tax criminals right before April's tax filing deadline, and make sure it gets prominent publication.

I am not religious. I am not anti-science. I understand germ theory. I know that vaccines provide immunity - temporary as it is.

Still I remain cautious and skeptical for a number of reasons.

Readers here might wish to be careful with a broad brush. Not everyone who rejects vaccines are nutcases.

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