Archive | November, 2011

Want a lollypop with free chickenpox virus?

7 Nov

No, there isn’t some company which has some manufacturing contamination infecting kids. Instead, this is a response by people who want to set up “chickenpox parties” but can’t. The vaccine has been rather successful, you see, and one can’t find neighborhood kids sick with chickenpox. So, via the magic of the internet, parents are striking the deal and sending lollypops (and other items) which are only slightly “used” by their chickenpox infected children.

Yes, sick kids are slobbering on candy and their parents are sending them to other parents.

I’m a little late to this pox-party, so here’s some full discussions:

Emily at The Biology files as The antivax women who mail pox: Who are they?

Mike the Mad Biologist in ‘Pox Parties’ and Bioterrorism

Aitiology and Chickenpox parties–just a Facebook friend away

ToddW (Hapocrates Speaks) in Pox by Post.

Besides being strange, and a bad idea, it’s also illegal to ship infectious material through the mail. The same people who complain that vaccines are “biological wastes” if disposed of have no problems sending infectious agents in the post.

It doesn’t stop with chicken pox. Measles, mumps, rubella.

Remember the “why do we vaccinate children against hepatitis B? Kids are sexually active or using needles.” Well, how about sharing lollipops with an infected kid? HepB is blood borne. Unlike HIV, HepB can live outside the body for a considerable time. But, hey, so what if a kid gets an extra infection or two from a stranger’s lollipop? It’s natural immunity, right?

Another question: when do the parents who have subjected their kids to “pox parties” or the slobber of random strangers through the mail, when do these people quarantine their children?

There’s a lot of uncertainty as to when a child will be contagious after exposure.

When Is a Person Contagious?
A person with chickenpox is contagious 1-2 days before the rash appears and until all blisters have formed scabs.

It takes between 10 and 21 days after contact with an infected person for someone to develop chickenpox.

So, somewhere between 8 and 20 days after exposure, the child will be contagious. And a danger to other children and people with compromised immune systems.

Unless these parents quarantine their children starting from 8 days after exposure, they are “inviting” everyone they meet to a special “pox party”. Nice, huh?

The Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Toddlers: A Population Study of 2-Year-Old Swedish Children.

6 Nov

A recent study, The Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Toddlers: A Population Study of 2-Year-Old Swedish Children, considers changes in prevalence in very young children and the effect of early screening:

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is more common than previously believed. ASD is increasingly diagnosed at very young ages. We report estimated ASD prevalence rates from a population study of 2-year-old children conducted in 2010 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Screening for ASD had been introduced at all child health centers at child age 21/2 years. All children with suspected ASD were referred for evaluation to one center, serving the whole city of Gothenburg. The prevalence for all 2-year-olds referred in 2010 and diagnosed with ASD was 0.80%. Corresponding rates for 2-year-olds referred to the center in 2000 and 2005 (when no population screening occurred) were 0.18 and 0.04%. Results suggest that early screening contributes to a large increase in diagnosed ASD cases.

The prevalence for this young age group in Gothenburg Sweden showed a dramatic rise: from 0.04% in the year 2000, to 0.18% in 2005 and a big jump to 0.80% in 2010.

I’m sure many things have changed in Gothenburg in the past 10 years. However, the implementation of an early screening program is cited as having the major impact, as this was in place in 2010, but not for 2005 or 2000.

For those who will undoubtedly ask: the vaccine schedule for Sweden did not change remarkably in that time period.

2007: A revised schedule is implemented from 2007, including a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis booster at school entry (DTaP) and at school leaving (dTap), and also a lower age for the second MMR (6-8 years). The new schedule starts with children born from 2002. Children born 1995-2001 receive a single dose pertussis catch-up in form of DTaP instead of DT at 10 years.

2009: PCV7 was introduced into the national childhood vaccination programme and recommended at 3, 5 and 12 months of age to all children born from October 2008 onwards.

2010: HPV introduced into the national childhood vaccination programme on 1st January 2010.

The 2007 change doesn’t affect children 2 1/2 and under. The 2009 addition of PCV7 doesn’t affect the children in 2005, where the prevalence was over 4 times higher than in 2000. HPV doesn’t affect children aged 2 1/2. Thimerosal was removed from vaccines in Sweden in the early 1990’s, so that exposure was unchanged over the entire period. My guess is this won’t stop people from pointing to the PCV7 vaccine as the “toxic tipping point” for Swedish kids.

Call me biased. I’m going with the authors on this one and giving credit to the hard work of the screening program implemented.

Nature: Special issue on neuroscience: The autism enigma

5 Nov

The journal Nature has a special focus issue this week on autism. They introduce the issue in: Special issue on neuroscience: The autism enigma with the subtitle “Diagnoses and research funding are rising, but much about autism remains a puzzle. Nature seeks some truths.”

Articles in the issue include:

The mind’s tangled web (“Efforts to elucidate how genes and the environment shape the development of autism, although making progress, still fall far short of their goal.”)

The prevalence puzzle: Autism counts (“Shifting diagnoses and heightened awareness explain only part of the apparent rise in autism. Scientists are struggling to explain the rest.”)

Scientists and autism: When geeks meet (“Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen thinks scientists and engineers could be more likely to have a child with autism. Some researchers say the proof isn’t there.”)

Changing perceptions: The power of autism (“Recent data — and personal experience — suggest that autism can be an advantage in some spheres, including science, says Laurent Mottron.”)

and:

Autism’s fight for facts: A voice for science (“Convinced by the evidence that vaccines do not cause autism, Alison Singer started a research foundation that pledges to put science first.”)

With a link to Nature’s autism page: www.nature.com/autism.

AAP asks Delta Air Lines to reconsider NVIC ads

5 Nov

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is an organization which has been highly critical of vaccines. They have helped to keep the “vaccine induced autism epidemic” alive. They have not only supported, but awarded Andrew Wakefield, the doctor whose misconduct in his research lost him his license to practise medicine. With no sense of irony, NVIC presented Mr. Wakefield with the “Humanitarian Award” for “his compassion, brave spirit and uncompromising commitment to improving the health of children and the biological integrity of future generations.” One board member for NVIC wrote John Stossel with her opinion: “Vaccines are a holocaust of poison on our children’s brains and immune systems.”

Recently, NVIC has placed advertisements in the in-flight entertainment for Delta Air Lines for the holiday season. By NVIC standards, their ad is rather mild. The vaccine fear angle is not prominent, with the focus more on downplaying the need for the flu vaccine.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has sent a letter to the CEO of Delta asking them to reconsider the decision to accept the NVIC advertisement:

November 4, 2011

Richard Anderson
Chief Executive Officer
Delta Air Lines

Dear Mr. Anderson,

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) objects to the paid advertisement/public service message from the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) being shown throughout the month of November on Delta’s in-flight programming. The ad urges viewers to become informed about influenza and how to stay well during the flu season without resorting to the influenza vaccine.

While hand washing and covering sneezes are parts of a larger strategy to prevent the spread of influenza, influenza vaccine continues to be the best way to protect against the disease. It is especially important in enclosed settings where disease droplets can easily spread to passengers sitting in close quarters, especially infants and children and those with special health care needs.

The AAP and many other child health organizations have worked hard to protect children and their families from unfounded and unscientific misinformation regarding vaccine safety. The influenza vaccine is safe and effective.

By providing advertising space to an organization like the NVIC, which opposes the nation’s recommended childhood immunization schedule and promotes the unscientific practice of delaying or skipping vaccines altogether, you are putting the lives of children at risk, leaving them unprotected from vaccine-preventable diseases. Diseases like influenza can have serious consequences. From September 2010 to August 2011, 115 children died from influenza disease, most of whom were unvaccinated.

The AAP’s 60,000 member pediatricians urge you to remove these harmful messages, which fail to inform the public about the safety and efficacy of influenza vaccine. Please do your part to help reassure parents that vaccinating their children is the best way to protect them from influenza disease, particularly during this busy travel season.

Autism parent’s listening day

1 Nov

Just as there shouldn’t be any one “Autistics Speaking day” (ASDay), there shouldn’t be any one “autism parent’s listening day”. That said, since this is “Autistics Speaking Day“, and I’m not autistic, I felt I would contribute by listening.

My guess is that Liz Ditz at I Speak of Dreams may compile a list of contributions from around the web in addition to those contributions on Autistics Speaking Day. As such, I’ll try to link to those sites. Julian Frost, over at AutismJungle, has the advantage of time zones and one of the first ASDay posts, Autistics’ Speaking Day: My Sense of Humour. I look forward to more ASDay posts.

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