Ounce of prevention Meningitis vaccine favored over costly study of outbreaks 02/04/2001 By Bruce Nichols / The Dallas Morning News I promise I am not making this up, but in this article public health officials actually are saying that the cost of finding out why the outbreaks are occurring don't outweigh the benefits, and that using the vaccination is favored rather than understanding why some people are getting sick - i.e. shoot first and don't ask questions later. Here are a couple of gem quotes for you: "Mass vaccination is seen as a response more political than medical..." "Candidly, if no one did anything, it would come to an end. All outbreaks come to an end," said Dr. Ralph Feigin, an infectious-disease expert and president of Baylor College of Medicine. "At any given time, an estimated 10 percent to 15 percent of people are carrying the bacteria that causes the disease, Neisseria meningitidis, in their nose and throat, but they don't always get sick. What causes one person to get sick and what causes the illness to spread?...Meningitis outbreaks like the one in southeast Texas are a mystery to health officials, but exactly why they occur probably will remain unknown because the cost of answering the question would outweigh the benefits, officials say." full article at: http://www.dallasnews.com/texas_southwest/278496_meningitis_04t.html
==== Feb. 3, 2001, 1:02AM Unnecessary meningitis vaccinations raise concerns By JOSHUNDA SANDERS Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle " "Patients who have received the immunization who don't have the disease aren't likely to respond to immunization when they have a real exposure to it in the future," Feigin said..." "The only people who need to seek immunizations are those who have been infected..." "It's not wise to live in a constant state of fear," Feigin said. "There are 13 types of meningococcal meningitis and all of those types are not deadly..." "In order for the outbreak to be classified as an epidemic by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Harris County would need to confirm 190 cases in a three-month period -- 10 cases per 100,000 residents..." "In a city of 1.9 million people," Kendrick said, "we have not had 190 cases (of meningitis) in the last 10 years combined..." Full article at: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/front/813896
=== Saturday February 03 02:30 AM EST Doctors Plead For Calm In Wake Of Meningitis Scare Disease Has Not Reached Epidemic Levels "People who do come in contact with a meningitis patient should be vaccinated, but doctors warned that premature vaccinations could harm their children later in life when they go to college or are in the military..." "Health officials point to cost as a deterrent to mandatory vaccinations. It is estimated that the campaign will cost $2 million, and to inoculate everyone in Texas would cost $1 billion..." "The vaccine that has been developed is effective against four strains of bacteria that cause the illness, but the protection takes two weeks to develop and wears off in a few years. Health officials said that the vaccinations would not protect someone who already has the illness..." full article at http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/kprc/20010202/lo/304847_1.html
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