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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Jenna Spivak
Online Communications and
Social Media Coordinator
Please Note: The content found
on this Blog is for informational
purposes only. It should not be
a substitute for professional
medical advice, diagnosis, or
treatment. If you have any
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medical condition, you should
always ask your physician.
Never ignore medical advice or
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All Blog posts are reviewed and
approved by the physician cited
in the article, as well as by
Steven J. Davidson, MD, Chief
Medical Informatics Officer
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Riding the subway can sometimes feel like a biological warzone. People are coughing, sneezing, sniffling and wheezing. Today on the train I saw a guy have a particularly vigorous sneezing fit and then grab the pole with the same hand he had just sneezed into. All I could think was, “Germs were just transferred to the pole. WARNING: Do not touch.” Working at a hospital has made me incredibly attuned to how germs are spread and, I have to admit, it drives me a little crazy at times. While most of these germs might lead to an innocuous ‘bug,’ on rare occasions they can lead to more serious communicable diseases, such as the measles or whooping cough.
Diseases previously thought to be eradicated from the United States, such as mumps, measles and pertussis, are re-emerging in communities across the country. The good news is that they can be prevented by proper vaccination, and public health officials have focused on vaccinating children due to their susceptibility to both contracting and spreading these diseases. Although more American children are getting immunized, there’s a fear of potential outbreaks in certain areas of the country where vaccination rates are dangerously low.
“Vaccination for pediatric patients and their caregivers is one of the most valuable forms of defense against communicable disease,” stated Dr. Lucy Pontrelli Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. “Young children, especially those under 6 months of age, are susceptible to multiple infectious diseases because their immune system has not fully developed.” Although children are vaccinated against many of these illnesses, they remain susceptible until the first series is completed. In addition, certain vaccinations are not recommended until after 6 months of age. This means that family members and caregivers can unknowingly infect children, if they haven’t been vaccinated or if they’re not up-to-date with their recommended booster shots.
This stresses the importance of ‘herd immunity,’ where unvaccinated people are protected from contracting a disease when a large percentage of the population is immunized. In the winter of 2010, there was a mumps outbreak in the community surrounding Maimonides Medical Center, which infected more than 1,500 people in the metropolitan area. Most of the affected individuals were young adults, not children. According to reports from New York City and Federal health officials, it was the worst outbreak in the United States since 2006. These adults either had not been immunized or their immunity had subsided since their previous vaccination.
So why aren’t people following proper vaccination guidelines for both themselves and their children? Many states allow exemptions for both religious and philosophical reasons, which allow parents to opt out of school-required vaccination mandates. However, even more worrisome is the erroneous belief that vaccines can harm children or cause developmental problems.
In a 2010 survey conducted by the CDC, nearly one-third of parents said they were concerned that vaccines caused autism. “This all started with Andrew Wakefield who published an article claiming a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism,” explained Dr. Chapnick, Director of Infectious Diseases. Under further review, the British Medical Journal found that Dr. Wakefield not only falsified his findings, but that he was paid to do so from a lawyer who was suing vaccine manufacturers. “Consequently, Dr. Wakefield’s medical license was revoked and the study was retracted from the Lancet,” stated Dr. Chapnick. “However, the damage had been done. Even though he’s been totally discredited, there are a lot of people out there who still believe vaccines will cause autism.”
In 2008, the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene reported that 20% of children did not receive all of their recommended vaccines. Assuming that these unvaccinated children become unvaccinated adults, there’s is a lot of people walking around and riding subway who are not immunized.
So it’s important to protect you and your family by staying up-to-date with your shots. If you have questions or concerns about vaccines or recommended immunization schedules, speak to your physician. |
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Friday, May 04, 2012 by Jenna Spivak
Hello Nevinha,
I completely agree with you that many people mistakenly believe that antibiotics are a cure all. Often (and I have been guilty of this)patients go in to the doctor's office demanding antibiotics to cure what is a viral infection. It is very important to speak with your physician on what is appropriate for antibiotic use - and this open conversation should be the same for any procedure or prescription.
Vaccines, however, remain an important way to control the spread of preventable communicable diseases. If you have a question on why a certain vaccine is recommended, any potential side effects, or the proper vaccine schedule it is best to speak to your physician.
Friday, May 04, 2012 by Nevinha
the number of unsnceseary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections was 20 million. Dr. Besser, in 2003, now refers to tens of millions of unsnceseary antibiotics. The number of unsnceseary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million. The number of people exposed to unsnceseary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million.It time to make these people responsible for all this damage and require absollute proof what they are promoting works! What an abomination all this is.
Sunday, April 15, 2012 by Suzan
I have a blog about , but I am not a big expect if snoethimg concerns viruses and cancer, on YouTube i saw a video from FOX news about acai berry, which stated that it can also ure cancer and viruses but it's not completely proven. I suppose it is all a marketing lies. However acai berry really helps you lose weight, i give it on that.
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