Measles Outbreak Tied To Texas Megachurch 622
New submitter the eric conspiracy sends this quote from NBC:
"An outbreak of measles tied to a Texas megachurch where ministers have questioned vaccination has sickened at least 21 people, including a 4-month-old infant — and it's expected to spread further, state and federal health officials said. 'There's likely a lot more susceptible people,' said Dr. Jane Seward, the deputy director for the viral diseases division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ... All of the cases are linked to the Eagle Mountain International Church in Newark, Texas, where a visitor who'd traveled to Indonesia became infected with measles – and then returned to the U.S., spreading it to the largely unvaccinated church community, said Russell Jones, the Texas state epidemiologist. ... Terri Pearsons, a senior pastor of Eagle Mountain International said she has had concerns about possible ties between early childhood vaccines and autism. In the wake of the measles outbreak, however, Pearsons has urged followers to get vaccinated and the church has held several vaccination clinics. ... 'In this community, these cases so far are all in people who refused vaccination for themselves and their children,' [Steward] added. The disease that once killed 500 people a year in the U.S. and hospitalized 48,000 had been considered virtually eradicated after a vaccine introduced in 1963. Cases now show up typically when an unvaccinated person contracts the disease abroad and spreads it upon return to the U.S."
Re:You don't need to vaccinate your children... (Score:2, Interesting)
There was some blog article somewhere. This woman decided she didnt want her kid vaccinated. All was well and good. Then some other kid caught the measles, and the school board told her that her child had to stay at home for 8 months in case he/she was a carrier now (or some such length of time... it was however long it takes the disease to run its course). At first she thought they were joking ("how am I supposed to work?), but now, they were serious.
^^ this is the solution for people who refuse vaccinations.
This is god's punishment... (Score:1, Interesting)
...for ignoring HIS science.
Re:As usual. (Score:2, Interesting)
Whoa, not that AC, but chill. I took him to mean that US customs or border enforcement or some such should have been keeping an eye out, which is something that I would have assumed as well. Granted, there's a lot of reasons he could pass through and it wouldn't be noticed, but I'd think there's some protection.
Apparently measles is not strictly on the list, if I'm reading this right.
http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/aboutlawsregulationsquarantineisolation.html [cdc.gov]
Re:Just goes to show... (Score:3, Interesting)
Through inductive reasoning. Either he knows what he is talking about or he doesn't.
If he does, it is the case that you shouldn't listen to people who have no idea what they're talking about, therefore you should listen to him because he does.
If he doesn't, it is not the case that you shouldn't listen to people who have no idea what they're talking about and thus, you should listen to him. But then you shouldn't listen to him, because in that case he is the kind of person he's warning you away from. So you both should and shouldn't listen to him.
Prominent figure reversing her incorrect opinion?? (Score:5, Interesting)
Terri Pearsons, a senior pastor of Eagle Mountain International said she has had concerns about possible ties between early childhood vaccines and autism. In the wake of the measles outbreak, however, Pearsons has urged followers to get vaccinated and the church has held several vaccination clinics.
I respect the hell out of the fact that she actually went against her own original beliefs and recommendations and, in the wake of the outbreak she reversed her opinion no matter the fact that it may have made her look 'stupid'. High five to Terri Pearsons for doing the right thing.
Re:As usual. (Score:5, Interesting)
That forgets that childhood poverty and subsequent poor educational environment are highly negatively correlated with IQ
The standard deviation for IQ is about 15 points. Fraternal twins, even when raised apart, have a SD of about about six. Identical twins, even when raised apart, have a SD of about three. So your IQ is about 80% inherited. Of course it can be affected by other things, but overall, IQ is more strongly inherited than height. Height can certainly be affected by environmental factors like nutrition, but the overwhelming factor is the height of your parents.
Re:cases are in people who refused vaccination ... (Score:1, Interesting)
One of my friends was against vaccinations, despite being college educated and having 3 kids. She was at a nearby children's hospital for a broken arm for her older son. On the way back to their room from the bathroom, she heard an ungodly noise from a room and the room door was marked with a negative pressure sign. She asked a passing nurse why the negative pressure and what the noise was. The nurse said it was to prevent the spread to unvaccinated children at the hospital but could not tell her what the kid had. So, she asked the doctor that was helping her son with his arm what would cause that noise and he said something to the effect of "sounds like whooping cough." She looked it up that night and not only had all her kids vaccinated the next day, but started volunteering for a local vaccination group. In her words, "I'd rather have a kid with developmental disorders than either having one with permanent disabilities or none at all."
Re:As usual. (Score:5, Interesting)
Not that I disagree with you, but just because it is inherited, does not mean it is genetic. You can inherit poor nutrition, and the subsequent shortness, poor education, and worse IQ (without ever bringing genes into it).
Re:Just goes to show... (Score:5, Interesting)
Why would anyone go to a church for medical advice anyway?
A couple thousand years ago when their book was written, it was a useful document to run a society. It was used to bind followers under a common religion, sure, but it included diverse topics ranging from a code of laws regarding behavior through history, economics, and plausible-enough explanations of natural phenomena.
It also contains a few sentences of health information. These include lists of what to eat and what not to eat, and how to keep a kosher kitchen, which was a somewhat practical way of avoiding contamination and sickness. Other medical advice included the idea of quarantining a leper and burning his clothes and possessions, and to wash in running water after coming in contact with a dead body. Hyssop was a biblical era cleansing agent, which is not a bad choice for a plant recognized today for its antiseptic properties.
So because it offers a few words on the topic, that provides enough "authority" for the preacher to talk about it. And what a preacher says on the subject will be taken seriously by ardent followers.
Re:This rule applies to EVERYBODY (Score:5, Interesting)
To be fair, SETI (the organisation) does not say "we believe there is intelligent alien life out there". They say "We think there is a good chance that there is intelligent alien life out there, and we're trying to increase our chances of finding it if it does exist".
Now, some (even many) members of/contributors to SETI may be 100% convinced that there is intelligent alien life out there right now that wants to communicate with us, despite zero evidence so far. They're the nut jobs. But someone who contributes isn't necessarily a nutjob.
FWIW, I don't contribute to SETI. I think that it is a near certainty that there has been or will be intelligent life somewhere in the universe other than us. I also suspect the chance of encountering signs of intelligent alien life in my lifetime is close to zero (too far away; missed them by a million years, etc). But I do think many of their activities are worthwhile even if they don't result in success in their stated aim.
Re:As usual. (Score:4, Interesting)
Or, to put it another way - The lord is my shepherd, but I ain't a sheep!
Re:As usual. (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm inclined to doubt that the difference in IQ between a human and a chimpanzee is characterised by poor nutrition and poor education, rather than genetic differences. So, if that's the case for the difference between a human and a chimp, why would genetics stop being a factor in the differences between one human and another?
It's not that they don't factor, very obviously, in other aspects of human behaviour and morphology; it therefore seems that the argument against genetic factors for IQ is a case of special pleading predicated on the obviously untrue canon that 'All men are created equal'.
Re:As usual. (Score:4, Interesting)
But I was wondering about liability too. If your child catches it but doesn't die, is this grounds for a lawsuit?
Against who, the minister who advised against it? You might as well try to sue because you died and there was no heaven...
Actually, I've been expecting to hear that someone is suing because they had a near-death experience and it didn't match the promises of the religion they now feel like they've wasted their life on.
Re:Here we go again... (Score:4, Interesting)
Flagellants (religious fanatics who liked to whip themselves) traveling from town to town helped to spread the disease.
And then, there's this:
In the early thirteenth century Pope Gregory IX (1145â"1241) declared that a sect in southern France had been caught worshipping the devil. He claimed the devil had appeared in the form of a black cat. Cats became the official symbol of heresy (or religious beliefs not advocated by the church). Anyone who showed any compassion or feeling for a cat came under the church's suspicion. By the beginning of the fourteenth century, Europe's cat population had been severely depleted. Only semi-wild cats survived in many areas. In 1347 the bubonic plague swept across Europe. Called the Black Death, it killed twenty-five million people (nearly a third of Europe's population) in only three years. Thousands of farm animals died as well, either from the plague or from lack of care. The death rate peaked in the warm summer months and dropped dramatically in the wintertime because the plague was being spread to humans by fleas on infected rodents. The plague revisited Europe several more times over the next few centuries. In addition, millions of people are thought to have suffered from food poisoning during the Middle Ages because of the presence of rat droppings in the grain supply. Centuries of cat slaughter had allowed the rodent population to surge out of control.
http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2149/History-Human-Animal-Interaction-MEDIEVAL-PERIOD.html?ModPagespeed=noscript [libraryindex.com]
Anything else I can help you with?
Re:As usual. (Score:2, Interesting)
Given measles vaccinations are over 99% effective, they can only spread it to other idiots, so who cares?
And to children too young to be vaccinated. And to the immunocompromised. And to people having legitimate reasons for not being vaccinated, e.g. being allergic to the vaccine (I don't know if this is a problem with the measles vaccine).