Iowa experiencing mumps epidemic

WSYX 6 News ^ | March 31, 2006

[Flavius Josephus]

Yeah, when I hear people say they don't get the flu shot because they don't believe in it, I want to tell them that the flu believes in them, and even if getting it is only an inconvenience to them, it could be deadly to an elderly person or child that they pass it to.

[The Great RJ]

I can't imagine why this outbreak has occured as Iowa schools (at least when my kids were growing up there) REQUIRED proof of MMR vaccination in order to attend school. My wife worked as a school nurse in Iowa and was constantly checking immunization records.

[xarmydog]

Ha,Ha,ain't that the truth!With 6 kids in the family,attention was hard to come by.We were allowed full access to the couch,And sympathy from family members!The school never needed to call about truancy cause they knew my mother.She was a no nonsense woman,and if they called they could expect a butt chewing!But,all joking aside,the mumps were,by far the Pitts.

[lysie]

Well, Woody is a lib.Plagiarism and libs go hand and hand.

I vote your dad first.

[flutters]

What are the symptoms?

I'm not sure but I found a website that details it pretty clearly:

Kids Health - Mumps

[jackadams]

Good question. What people would not have had the vaccination required in the states? HMMMMMMMMMMMMM? This is for the politically correct crowd that won't call the shots as they are. To them you can only say - DUH?????????????

[flutters]

because the strain seen in Iowa has been identified by the CDC as the same one that has caused tens of thousands of cases of the mumps in a major outbreak in Britain over the past two years.

Thanks for posting that information. I haven't heard of an outbreak before this story.

The parents that opted out of vaccines may be sorry. The worse thing for a mother is watching her child suffer...and from the posts here, it sounds like it's not pleasant to go through.

[flutters]

We currently have an outbreak of chicken pox in our local grade school here in small town Texas.

There is now a vaccine for chicken pox. My daughter had chicken pox in the mid '90's and her doctor was able to give her a shot that prevented additional pox from appearing. She had a very mild case. The catch is, you had to get the shot within 24 hours when the symptoms appear.

[flutters]

Dr. Tom Safranek, said people 30 to 65 years old who haven't had the disease or been vaccinated are most at risk.

YUK! I guess I'm in that category. I had the vaccinations that left an ugly mark on your upper arm (only mine didn't take). This could get ugly.

[DBrow]

That makes a great deal of sense. I was, of course, thinking it was an immigration issue, but if there's an indigenous population with reasons not to get vaccinated, that could be it.

The original article would have been so much better if they had gone into demographics, explaining who and what age group is involved.

[detsaoT]

That's funny, I don't recall Iowa being a border state... But, like Virginia, I suppose that's what it has become.

Thanks, Washington.

[me-here]

The original article would have been so much better if they had gone into demographics, explaining who and what age group is involved.

I found a local article that tells a lot more but the link didn't work

I'll try again, I hate learning HTML

Iowa mumps outbreak Sioux City Journal

[js1138]

I got it on my 8th birthday and it's not pleasant.. unfortunately my father caught it too! Not a good thing in adult males because it can hamper their ability to have children.. might explain why I'm an only child...

It ain't just the infertility, it's the journey. I knew a kid who got mumps at age 16. The swelling affects a more sensitive place than your throat.

[flutters]

I think that was the source article. Thanks for posting it.

[Awestruck]

exactly! ouch!

[null and void]

I'll try again, I hate learning HTML

Nully's FR HTML Guide

[DBrow]

Great article. It explains a lot more.

Thanks for posting!

[2111USMC]

I could tell by your description that you've had them.

Same here, as a kid.

[2111USMC]

Geez 2111USMC!

What's with that big white space below your post?