Outbreak of measles in Wales

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mr friendly guy
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Outbreak of measles in Wales

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22215185
A man who died in Swansea had been suffering from measles at the time, says Public Health Wales.

The 25-year-old, named locally as Gareth Williams, was found dead at a flat on Thursday.

Public Health Wales (PHW), which is tackling an epidemic of more than 800 cases, said tests confirmed only that the man had measles at the time of his death.

A post mortem examination has yet to take place to confirm cause of death.

"Public Health Wales laboratory tests have today confirmed a diagnosis of measles in a 25-year-old male from Swansea who died on Thursday 18 April," said Dr Marion Lyons, PHW's director of health protection.

Further investigations are being undertaken by the Swansea coroner to establish the cause of death.

If confirmed, it would be the first death in the measles epidemic.

"My sympathies are with the family at such a tragic time," said Dr Lyons.

"Whatever the cause of death in this case we should not be surprised if, as the outbreak grows, we start to see deaths in Wales".

Mr Williams' body was discovered in a flat at Port Tennant Road, Swansea at about 08:15 BST on Thursday.

Earlier, police called the death "sudden and unexplained".

'Disappointing'
There have been 808 cases of measles confirmed so far in the Swansea epidemic, which also includes the neighbouring Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend areas, and further into mid and west Wales.

MMR jabs are being offered in schools although initial take-up was said to be "disappointing" by Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board.

There will also be drop-in sessions for the third Saturday in a row at Morriston and Singleton Hospitals in Swansea, the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot Hospital.

Last weekend around 2,500 people received the MMR vaccination at special clinics held across south Wales.


Dr Marion Lyons, of Public Health Wales, says a death would not be a surprise
Dr Brendan Mason, a consultant epidemiologist with PHW, said he could not comment on Gareth Williams' death as it was still being investigated.

He told BBC Radio Wales that there was a "real possibility" that every measles case could end up in hospital, in intensive care, or have a worse outcome.

"Anyone born after 1970 should make sure they are immunised, especially those in the 10-18 year-old age group," he said.

"Lots of people are not taking it seriously and we have to continue to promote immunisation, not just to protect individuals but also their families and the wider community."

Dr Lyons added: "Measles is a potentially fatal disease and around one in every 1,000 people who contracts measles in developed countries will die.

"Those not fully vaccinated with two doses of MMR are highly likely to catch measles, which is highly contagious."

Symptoms of measles include fever, cold-like symptoms, fatigue, conjunctivitis and a distinctive red-brown rash that appears a few days into the illness.

A Welsh government spokesman added that it was aware of a possible death from measles and extended "deepest sympathies to the family and friends at this difficult time".

He added: "We continue to be in close contact with Public Health Wales and to stress the importance of vaccination as the most effective way to protect against measles."

Although the outbreak was at present affecting the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, Powys and Hywel Dda health board areas, there have been cases of measles in every health board area in Wales.

On Friday, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in north Wales urged parents to get their children vaccinated, reminding people of an outbreak in Porthmadog which resulted in more than 60 people contracting measles in 2012.
Australian news had a nice take on it. They described it as anti vaccination movement come home to roost.

Meanwhile Doctor er I mean Mr Andrew Wakefield whose discredited study involving a ginormous sample size of 12 people sparked the original controversy about MMR causing autism has hit back saying it's the government's fault.

This article takes down Wakefield's bullshit for those interested.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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Wakefield really is a piece of work. Can you imagine how shitty someone would have to be to invent a bullshit study about vaccination, just so that he could then pursue a liability case against them and make money? Yet that's basically what he did.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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Is it too much to hope that someone like Wakefield- if it could be proven his fraud was responsible for people not being vaccinated- would be liable for damage done?
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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No. He was already punished for fraud.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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Kojiro wrote:Is it too much to hope that someone like Wakefield- if it could be proven his fraud was responsible for people not being vaccinated- would be liable for damage done?
I am no expert, but since this sounds like a civil case someone would have to sue him first.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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mr friendly guy wrote:I am no expert, but since this sounds like a civil case someone would have to sue him first.
Likewise I have no expertise in this either, I just don't think he's paid nearly the price he should. If his 'research' had been simply fraudulent but ultimately harmless he should still be disgraced and struck off the register. That he may well end up costing someone their life... well the punishment should fit the crime. If his actions result in some child dying I'm not honestly sure what would actually be justice but it's more than what he's suffered. Here's hoping someone sues him if that's the first step.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

Post by The Xeelee »

1 person with measles HAS died. They are still trying to determine if it was the measles that did it.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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@Kojiro

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... -rise.html

A teenager died from measles in 2008. He was immunocompromised so couldn't receive vaccination, but wouldn't have needed to if the population achieved herd immunity. Wiki also reports 2 children permanently disabled by measles causing brain damage. This was since Wakefield's study. So arguably ethically this was the result of Wakefield's study. Whether that translates into legal responsibility is another matter.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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Kojiro wrote:Likewise I have no expertise in this either, I just don't think he's paid nearly the price he should. If his 'research' had been simply fraudulent but ultimately harmless he should still be disgraced and struck off the register. That he may well end up costing someone their life... well the punishment should fit the crime. If his actions result in some child dying I'm not honestly sure what would actually be justice but it's more than what he's suffered. Here's hoping someone sues him if that's the first step.
A kid, by virtue of being a kid, cannot give consent either way. Which means, you have to persecute the parents for drinking the kool-aid instead of giving their child a vaccine. This is something that the state has the right to do, and possible anybody else who would legally benefit from it (I'm not sure I'm expressing this clearly, so tell me if you don't get what I mean).

Persecuting Wakefield, though, is harder. There is the clear fact that he didn't force the parents to fuck up like they did, and it sets a nasty precedent too. I'd like it if there was a way for his medical association to bring him to court for fraud, defamation and general assholery, disbar him, and have him pay a large sum or imprison him.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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Wakefield has already been struck off the register. One way of knowing if a site is going to be an anti-vaxer site is if they insist on calling him DOCTOR Wakefield. I always mock them by insisting on calling him Mr Wakefield, since he is not a doctor anymore.

Now medical practitioners can be sued for negligence, even when they have retired. So I supposed someone could make a case of negligence against him for giving bullshit advice. Again I am not an expert.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

Post by The Xeelee »

As far as I can remember he never said "Dont Get vaccinated" so any case would probably fail. This is the defense that the local paper is making for itself anyway.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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Dr. Trainwreck wrote:Persecuting Wakefield, though, is harder. There is the clear fact that he didn't force the parents to fuck up like they did, and it sets a nasty precedent too. I'd like it if there was a way for his medical association to bring him to court for fraud, defamation and general assholery, disbar him, and have him pay a large sum or imprison him.
See I think it'd be easy to have a special case for fraudulent medical advice/study/recommendation compared to simply mistaken or incomplete (part of what peer review should weed out*). If someone puts out a paper saying X and they're wrong, well their career will suffer but there's no ill intent in it, and intent is very important in prosecuting someone. So long as you keep it limited to proven, deliberate fraud I say set all the precedents you want. Fraudsters should have the book thrown at them but especially if someone dies as a result.

*If memory serves, this should probably put some of the blame on the publishing journal too.

I also think there's a special case to be made when any scientist/researcher- someone we are conditioned to implicitly trust (and in Wakefield's case he abused that trust)- gives bad advice. I think you could also make a case that while he didn't force the parents to make a choice he certainly deprived them of the ability to make an informed choice which I'm pretty sure is tantamount to malpractice. Parents are massively protective of their infant children and telling them vaccinations will endanger your child- no telling them 'I'm a doctor and my published study shows vaccinations can harm your child' is at the very least going to confuse them, even if they do other research.

More on topic though, while I'm generally pretty liberal I think vaccinations should be mandatory for any child that can have them, in the same way speed limits are mandatory.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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But how do you prove ill intent? And importantly, how can you make that argument if the judge doesn't know enough about academia to make the distinction? Also, how do you prevent the defendant (who already is an attention whore and familiar with the media) from destroying you via newspaper? It would be easy to indict Wakefield, certainly, but anyone trying that would be annihilated once the uneducated idiots of journalism began screeching about freedom of speech, censorship, and all these. In America five years ago, such a case would have resulted in fucking pitchfork mobs running after the prosecutors.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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Dr. Trainwreck wrote:But how do you prove ill intent? And importantly, how can you make that argument if the judge doesn't know enough about academia to make the distinction? Also, how do you prevent the defendant (who already is an attention whore and familiar with the media) from destroying you via newspaper? It would be easy to indict Wakefield, certainly, but anyone trying that would be annihilated once the uneducated idiots of journalism began screeching about freedom of speech, censorship, and all these. In America five years ago, such a case would have resulted in fucking pitchfork mobs running after the prosecutors.
Hypothetically with Wakefield, one can argue ill intent by following the money. That he had financial incentives to make a bullshit study. Plus that story where he had 3 adults hold down a child so he can get a sample for his study should help with that.

As to how to stop Wakefield, point to the measles epidemic in the UK right now.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

Post by Dr. Trainwreck »

mr friendly guy wrote:As to how to stop Wakefield, point to the measles epidemic in the UK right now.
Very obvious. But I somehow doubt they could play it against him. Medical associations are made of professionals, not tabloid beloveds and 'maverick researchers'. No matter what happens in the courts there is a different battleground in the media, and I never trusted scientists to win that one because... well, I don't trust the public to trust scientists.

Edit: I agree with the rest, so I won't comment on it.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

Post by The Xeelee »

As expected, they are setting up a clinic in my school to give the jab to the unvaccinated.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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I would say "HA HA!" If it wasn't so damn serious.
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Re: Outbreak of measles in Wales

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There was something on Radio 4's PM programme this evening about clinics being set up to sell the standalone vaccines for a £50 registration fee and then £100 for the injection. I believe Trading Standards may look into their using incorrect science to profit from this.
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