Measles @ RPI

Parent Cafe
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<p>RPI student with measles may have exposed others. The New York State Health Department is looking for people who visited emergency rooms in the Capital Region that may have been exposed to measles.</p>

<p>The Department of Health reported today that measles has been confirmed in a student at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and exposures of members of the public may have occurred in a number of different settings beyond the college campus.</p>

<p>Anyone who was a patient or accompanied a patient to either of the following hospital emergency departments at the times listed and is not immune to measles (see criteria below), or is in a high risk group that includes those who are pregnant, immunocompromised, or under 12 months of age, may be a candidate to receive preventive treatment:</p>

<p>•Samaritan Hospital Emergency Department, Troy, NY, May 12 (Thursday) from 5 to 11 p.m. and May 13 (Friday) from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
•Albany Medical Center Hospital Emergency Department, May 13 (Friday) from 8:40 p.m. until 6 a.m. on May 14 (Saturday.)
Individuals who were at one of the above facilities during the timeframes listed should contact that hospital or the county health department immediately to determine if they should get treatment. Preventive treatment MUST be given within six (6) days of the exposure.
•Samaritan Hospital: 518-271-3708 (before 4 p.m.); 518-271-3424 (after 4 p.m.)
•Albany Medical Center Hospital: 518-262-8888
•Rensselaer County Department of Health: 518-270-2655
•Albany County Department of Health: 518-447-4640
In addition, local residents could have been exposed to measles if they visited the following locations on the dates and times listed below:</p>

<p>•RPI Campus, Troy, NY from May 8th – May 16th
•Uncle Sam’s Health Food Store, Route 9, Latham, NY on May 12th between noon and 4 p.m.
•Rite Aid Pharmacy, Burdett Avenue, Troy, NY on May 12 th between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Anyone who was at these locations during these times should contact the local (county) health department where they reside to determine if they are a candidate to receive preventive treatment.</p>

<p>The RPI student with a confirmed case of measles is one of just 10 students at the school who has a waiver exempting him from the measles vaccine, an RPI spokesman told the Times Union. State law requires that college student in New York show proof of immunity from measles, mumps and rubella, but students can get waivers of exemption if they have valid medical or religious for not getting the vaccine.</p>

<p>Individuals are not at risk of contracting measles if they are immune. A person is considered immune if they were born before January 1, 1957, OR have a history of physician-diagnosed measles, OR have a blood test confirming immunity, OR have received two doses of the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine.</p>

<p>In order to prevent the spread of illness, the state and local health departments are also advising individuals who may have been exposed and who have symptoms consistent with measles to call their health care providers or a local emergency room BEFORE going for care. This will help to prevent others at these facilities from being exposed to the illness.</p>

<p>Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus and is spread by contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected people. Measles can lead to serious side effects and, in rare cases death. Measles symptoms usually appear in 10 to 12 days, but can occur as late as 18 days after exposure. Symptoms generally appear in two stages.</p>

<p>(Mods feel free to move this to thread if not appropriate for this forum...)</p>

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<p>Who is protected by a waiver? This is why I think you should be required to have the immunizations. With any luck, most of the other students will be protected by the immunizations they had.</p>

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<p>I have a severe allergy to tetanus toxoid, and thus cannot have that immunization. Many other immunizations are not possible for a person with egg allergies, or for those with immune-compromised systems, and sometimes even living in a home with someone who has one. So, I think we’ll always have (and should have) medical waivers for immunizations.</p>

<p>I’m a lot less comfortable with religious waivers, which is what I understand the vast majority of waivers are.</p>

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<p>Outbreaks are occurring because of immunization refusers!
Some people have legitimate medical reasons for not getting a live virus vaccine - for example, severe allergies to components of the vaccine or leukemia, cancer chemotherapy, AIDS, or other drugs or conditions that cause an immunocompromised state.
Rarely, there may be someone who objects, for religious reasons, to the inclusion of albumin in a vaccine, or to medical intervention in general.
But, immunization refusers egged on by the so-called “anti-vaccine movement”, who have NO SCIENTIFICALLY VALID EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER to support their beliefs, are putting their kids and others at risk.
<a href=“http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2069.pdf[/url]”>http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2069.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Isn’t there an anti MMR vaccine Doctor who has a decent following because he published a study that links the vaccine to autism? He has been refuted many times by the medical community but he still has an almost cult-like following. He probably makes a lot of money from it too.</p>

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<p>Here’s the link: [Health</a> department: RPI student may have exposed others to measles - Times Union](<a href=“http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Health-department-RPI-student-may-have-exposed-1383774.php]Health”>http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Health-department-RPI-student-may-have-exposed-1383774.php)</p>

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<p>Grrrr, non-medical vaccine refusers! If you’re going to an engineering school, for heaven’s sake, you ought to have some respect for the scientific method.</p>

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That is the honest truth! I was someone who couldn’t be vaccinated in childhood and contracted Measles with complications. It’s not a joke and I deeply resent anyone endangering others without a really good reason. Religious exemptions aren’t a good reason.</p>

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<p>I, two brothers and a sister-in-law all got whooping cough one year despite being vaccinated because it was endemic in NH one year from vaccine refusers. It turns out the vaccine doesn’t last 20 years and we now need boosters because so many people are refusing vaccines for their kids. I can tell you that having whooping cough is no joke - it killed people in the old days.</p>

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<p>I worked for a wise old pediatrician. His statement to parents considering foregoing whooping cough vaccine: “If you don’t mind listening to them cough their guts out for six weeks”.</p>

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<p>Vaccines and autism: the doctor that published the study years ago was shown this year to have fudged the data. It has never been replicated and there was extensive media coverage this year that showed that it was fraudulent. It’s so sad that while he made money and got famous, families lost children due to vaccine-preventable diseases.</p>

<p>Whooping cough: can be much worse that just coughing for six weeks. Babies can die from whooping cough (and parents are often carriers because the vaccine wears off and you need a booster if you are around infants!). I know the story of a family that lost a baby to whooping cough. Very very sad.</p>

<p>I hope they can contain the outbreak at RPI but it is worrisome because all the students are headed home.</p>

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<p>However, it may well be the parents behind the students’ vaccine refusal.</p>

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<p>I had measles when I was young and mumps, yes I’m that old, and the kids are immunized for everything but chickenpox which they all had, but you do worry about the dorms and asking your roommate “are you fully immunized” is not generally part of the freshman move-in conversation! With a “fresh crop” thinking about things to handle over the summer before heading off to college, getting their immunizations up to date is one that often is forgotten. Our office is pretty good about keeping track of everyone…I was in last summer and the nurse told me I wasn’t getting out of the room until I had my tetanus booster (she saw on my chart I was due!)</p>

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<p>we recently had quite a few babies die from whooping cough here in southern california. there’s been a big push to get people vaccinated.</p>

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<p>I am a parent of two children who have not had all their immunizations due to reactions and compromised immune systems (My oldest, a junior, has had all his immunizations). I am also a Christian who objects to certain ingredients in certain immunizations. However, I will make sure all of my children are fully immunized before they leave for college. I have just had to wait for them to get older before administering certain immunizations.</p>

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<p>Most immunizations are only 80-90 % effective. But when you have 90% of the population vaccinated, you get “herd” immunity. There are not enough unprotected people to spread the virus to any degree. So refusals for medical reasons are not a problem. Now we have up to 30-35% of the population in certain states able to refuse on the basis of religious or ANY reason. If you have 30% non-immunized and another 20% of the remaining 70% who did not develop adequate immunity you have 44% of the population who are not immune and the community no longer has herd immunity. The virus can spread more easily and you get large outbreaks. And teens and college students will die. Even adults we end up exposed with serious complications. Not to mention that the MMR vaccine is not administered until 18 mos of age. There will be infants and toddlers who succumb to a preventable disease.</p>

<p>In Montana, on 59% of adolescents have completed recommended vaccinations.</p>

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<p>As a pediatrician I can assure you that every effort is made to ensure that vaccines are safe and effective. Physicians administer them at or below cost and do so because they know how severe these illnesses can be, even chicken pox. I would urge every parent of an adolescent, whether college-bound or not, to make sure that your daughter or son is fully immunized, including most especially protection against meningococcal meningitis.</p>

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<p>“it may well be the parents behind the students’ vaccine refusal.”</p>

<p>That’s probably true, but if they’re 18, and they’re aspiring to education, it’s on them.</p>

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<p>Yes, but if you pick up tetanus because you can’t get the vaccine, you won’t be responsible for a health outbreak. It’s different with communicable diseases. I don’t think anyone is going to hound you for not getting a tetanus vaccine for this reason.</p>