Journal tomhudson's Journal: WHO admits polio caused by mutated vaccine 9
Polio surge in Nigeria after vaccine virus mutates
LONDON (AP) -- Polio, a dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is spreading in Nigeria despite efforts to stamp it out. And health officials say in some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it.
In July, the World Health Organization issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa. So far, 124 Nigerian children have been paralyzed this year -- about twice those afflicted in 2008.
Experts have long believed epidemics unleashed by a vaccine's mutated virus wouldn't last since the vaccine only contains a weakened virus strain -- but that assumption is coming under pressure. Some experts now say that once viruses from vaccines start circulating they can become just as dangerous as wild viruses.
"The only difference is that this virus was originally in a vaccine vial," said Olen Kew, a virologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kew said genetic analysis proves mutated viruses from the vaccine have caused at least seven separate outbreaks in Nigeria.
So, I won't be bothering to infect myself with the flu.
Supposedly, the H1N1 vaccine is 70% effective. I'll stick with what's been working for me for decades (basic hygiene, etc), and has a much higher success rate (close to 100%). Come to think of it, I don't know anyone who plans on getting one. And with the latest study showing that people who got flu vaccines in the past are twice as likely to catch H1N1 this year, I'm glad I never got one.
Also, if you were born before 1957, you can skip the shot - you're already immune. Oddly enough, the viruses that were circulating at that time are more effective in promoting long-term immunity than today's flu shot (or maybe it's just the advantage of "flu flu" as opposed to a flu shot).
That's bad (Score:2)
Polio eradication was on track to finish about a decade ago, but it didn't come off because the locals over there were afraid of exactly this happening. And now... it's happened.
So much for wiping out polio. :-(
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Unlike smallpox, we were never going to completely wipe out diseases like flu that can cross from animals to humans.
Polio won't succumb all that easily either for a different reason [pcrm.org] - both the vaccines used are known to cause some of the people treated to come down with the disease:
Non-controversial vaccines (Score:2)
You know, I think I might just specialize in something immunology-related, so I can create non-controversial vaccines. They would be like the normal vaccines, except people won't blabber on endlessly about how evil they are and how they're not getting vaccinated.
Either that, or I'm gonna mail bombs to news stations so they'll stop creating controversies (like with H1N1) that occasionally mask real threats.
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You know, for a long time, I was skeptical about nano-tech being a possible solution to repairing the body at the cellular level. Now I'm not so sure ... after all, it's not like a virus is even alive. It doesn't eat, grow, or divide. It's just "junk" - dna or rna with a protein coat.
Unfortunately, our body only has templates that match a few hundred baddies, and not all those matches are all that great. Nano-tech might help, while removing the need to gene-engineer something that might have unforese
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Flu vaccines (Score:2)
I won't be bothering to infect myself with the flu
I've seen several claims of this from North America. Although my gut instinct was to call bullshit, I thought I'd double check with someone that knows. In my case, that's my ex, who has a degree in infectious diseases and a doctorate in molecular biology. She says she can't 100% rule it out, but the chances are very, very slim.
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She'll also tell you that your chances of dying from H1N1 are 2 - slim and none. This isn't that bad a flu - it's opportunistic, in that it's taking those with serious underlying health problems. If you're not obese, don't have any debilitating underlying health condition, and are in general good shape, the worst you'll get from H1N1 is flu symptoms. Also, by avoiding the vaccine, you reduce your changes of future flu infections (latest study shows that people who get vaccinated are 2x more likely to get
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Will you stop with the flu shot bashing already? Fine, so you won't get it for whatever personal reasons you have, I know, but fear-mongering and ignorance-spreading isn't helping anyone. Why rail against flu shots anyway? Be selfish. Encourage everyone you know to get a flu shot. If everyone around you is immunized, they won't get the flu and so they won't be able to transmit it to you.
What happened with the polio vaccine has nothing to do with the H1N1 shot. The polio vaccine is made from a live-but
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First, I'm at zero risk of getting H1N1 - like hundreds of millions of others, I'm immune to that strain. The bashing is simply to counteract all the fud that the media and the flu shot lobbyists have been putting out to push their product.
Significantly, the Canadian govt. now agrees, and is pulling back on their initial recommendations. Now, the only people they really recommend consider it are kids 6 months to 5 years, pregnant women, and those with severe underlying health issues. They're still maki