The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #106441   Message #2199585
Posted By: Rowan
21-Nov-07 - 07:34 PM
Thread Name: BS: Arresting parents over vaccines
Subject: RE: BS: Arresting parents over vaccines
PoppaGator, MMR (mentioned by eanjay) may have been the triple antigen you described and is intended to immunise against measles, mumps and rubella. It hadn't been invented when I was a lad and I was one of thousands who got measles, but I avoided both the others. Like most who got the measles I survived with no after-effects except a liking for icecream (perhaps I might otherwise have been brilliant but it's too late to worry now) and, these days, I'm beyond worrying about adult infection from mumps or rubella. But I'd strongly recommend any girl getting the full immunisation against rubella before menarche and any boy getting immunised against mumps if either has desires of contributing to the gene pool of the next generation.

My family GP started practice with a strong desire to restrict himself to evidence-based medecine and hadn't been convinced of the desirability of immunisation against diptheria and whooping cough before he visited in-laws in Germany and observed, first hand, the experiences of infants who got those infections. He was excoriated and, ever since, has always recommended such immunisation unless there are serious contraindications.

As someone earlier mentioned, we are lucky in the times we live. A century or so ago the death rates of infants and children suffering such infections were so high that, while our gene pool was undoubtedly 'cleaned up', the process was heartbreaking and it would be inhuman to recommend bringing it back.

Cheers, Rowan