Dissolving Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and The Forgotten History

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And, as long as variola major remained in the world, anyone anywhere was at risk from the following:

It is not the incidence of a disease that is most relevant, otherwise all the diseases included in Humphries graph pale compared to the common cold and even food poisoning, which an estimated 1 in 6 Americans (48 million people) get every year, resulting in 128.000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths ( CDC. Burden of Foodborne Illnesses). What is important are:c) The incidence was already on a decline. Like smallpox, she claims, the disease was “slowly burning out”. These data suggest that cellular responses to measles virus may be better sustained than antibody titers after vaccination and revaccination in some subjects. ( Source )

Dorit Rubinstein Reiss Suzanne Humphries’ bad advice on the Polio vaccine September 1, 2013. Who is Dorit Rubinstein Reiss ? Some say she is a Lawyer and Professional Pro-Vaccine Blogger . More on this.

Humphries downplays not only deaths; but acute suffering and long-term disabilities. In the case of measles, she discounts an average of 450 deaths per year in the U.S. (even if these were eliminated, the following remains), the 7-10 days suffering, possible diarrhea, otitis media, and seizures, given > 50% of cases were in 5-9 year-olds, their missing up to two weeks of school, the estimated 48,000 hospitalizations, and permanent disabilities. In addition, given that nowadays approximately 60% of families are dual income households, one of the parents would more than likely have to stay home to take care of the child for up to two weeks ( Pew Research Center, 2015). As only about 14% have access to paid family leave, for many, a child ill with measles can also represent a substantial financial burden ( DeSilver, 2017). Humphries seems unaware of how measles weakens our immune systems, increasing the mortality risk for 2-3 years afterwards ( Mina, 2015). Finally, given that the estimated number of cases per year in the U.S. was 3-4 million annually, the actual number of deaths and persons with measles-associated disabilities may have been substantially higher due to under-reporting or misdiagnosis ( CDC. Pink Book. Measles). For instance, if a child developed secondary bacteria pneumonia, the death record may only list pneumonia. Smallpox

Humphries probably missed that Greenberg later chaired the Committee for the Study of Poliomyelitis Vaccines finding: What follows is a lengthy discussion on how “incomplete clearance of measles virus and deranged immune responses have a known association with chronic clinical and subclinical infection” (p 350).Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than 40 °C (104.0 °F), cough, runny nose, and inflamed eyes. Small white spots known as Koplik’s spots may form inside the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms. A red, flat rash which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms. Complications occur in about 30% of cases and may include diarrhea, blindness, inflammation of the brain, and pneumonia, among others. Immunization against measles provides effective protection against the disease. A more modest reduction in the risk of a measles diagnosis is associated with breast-feeding.

According to Roush the estimated annual average prevaccine from 1936-1945 was 21,053 cases and 1,822 deaths with a rapid decline following the introduction of the vaccine ( Roush, 2007). Although drainage projects and the use of insecticides became more common after 1900, neither played decisive roles in the disappearance of the disease. Faust, a leading authority…indicated that improving economic conditions may have played an important role. Ocr tesseract 5.2.0-1-gc42a Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9982 Ocr_module_version 0.0.18 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-0001544 Openlibrary_edition In Part 2, I will discuss in more depth changing definitions of paralysis, labs, and differential diagnoses; but as should be clear from the above: Though as discussed above, “fewer than 1% of all polio infections in children result in flaccid paralysis and most did eventually regain some or complete mobility;” however, given the large number infected during epidemics, there were still a substantial number of victims paralyzed. In addition, as polio doesn’t affect the sensory nerves, many suffered intense pain and months to years to recover (e.g., Sass, 1996; Seavey, 1998; Silver, 2007).

Rather than leading to “deranged immune systems”, as Dr Humphries claims, present day studies repeatedly hint at beneficial immuno-stimulating properties of the live measles vaccine above and beyond protection against measles infections: Table 5: Correlation of Laboratory Findings of Poliomyelitis with Muscle Examination Performed 60 Days from Onset of Illness (from Table 7 in Brown, 1960). Original diagnosis The measles vaccine activates the immune system in a non-specific way providing protection against other infections. ( Source)