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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging doctors to conserve shots of a kind of tetanus vaccine, as the agency braces for a potential shortage of those shots this year. Doctors should switch from using the so-called Td vaccine – the immunization that protects against both tetanus and diphtheria infections – to giving the broader Tdap vaccine instead whenever possible, the CDC now says. In addition to tetanus and diphtheria, the Tdap vaccine also offers protection against pertussis, the infection also known as "whooping cough." This year's shortage risk stems from a decision by nonprofit vaccinemaker MassBiologics to...

My husband and I need some medical advice.We live in Sentani, Papua, Indonesia. One of the things we do is provide a home for two pre-teens from an even more remote location.The boys just returned to us from spending Christmas with their family a few hours ago. We have just learned that the youngest, age 11, stepped on a nail a week ago. His family took him to a doctor and was treated. When the boy told us about it tonight at supper and mentioned he may need to have additional care here, he said that the doctor did NOT...

“We sent six samples from around Kenya to laboratories in South Africa. They tested positive for the HCG antigen,” Dr. Muhame Ngare of the Mercy Medical Centre in Nairobi told LifeSiteNews. “They were all laced with HCG.” Dr. Ngare, spokesman for the Kenya Catholic Doctors Association, stated in a bulletin released November 4, “This proved right our worst fears; that this WHO campaign is not about eradicating neonatal tetanus but a well-coordinated forceful population control mass sterilization exercise using a proven fertility regulating vaccine. This evidence was presented to the Ministry of Health before the third round of immunization but...

An unvaccinated 6-year-old boy in Oregon spent 57 days in a hospital, including 47 days in the intensive care unit, and racked up almost $1 million in medical costs after being diagnosed with tetanus, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control. The boy was Oregon's first case of tetanus in almost 30 years, according to the CDC, citing the Oregon Health Authority. Tetanus is caused by bacteria found in dirt that can enter the body through breaks in the skin, and vaccines are the best way to prevent it, per the CDC. The child was cut...

A new case report from the Centers for Disease Control released Thursday starkly highlights the costs of not vaccinating children. It details an unvaccinated 6-year-old boy’s encounter with tetanus—and the hugely expensive, two-month-long effort it took to save his life. Tetanus is caused by the namesake bacteria Clostridium tetani. More accurately, it’s what happens when the soil-loving C. tetani gets into your body—usually through an open cut—and spews out an extremely potent toxin. This toxin can quickly paralyze and send your muscles into constant spasms, beginning with the jaw (if you know anything about tetanus, it’s probably that it causes...

Has a FReeper survived a serious tetanus infection? I'd love some positive stories. My dear friend was just dx'ed in an ER this morning, after being misdiagnosed for almost a week. I'm concerned. 90% live through treatment. There is no cure. You either beat the toxins or you don't. I'd like to hear any personal stories for hope. Prayers for her welcome too. She is a strong Catholic with teenaged kids.

German hospitals are increasing security to protect doctors and nurses from violent attacks by migrants who are unhappy with the medical treatment they are receiving. Critics are warning that German taxpayers will end up paying billions of euros to provide healthcare for a never-ending wave of asylum seekers. This is in addition to the billions of euros already being spent to provide newcomers with food, clothing and shelter. In addition to the massive economic and social costs, as well as the burden of increased crime, including a rape epidemic, Germans are now facing the risk of being exposed to exotic...

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Health Commission has criticised the Government’s planned nation-wide Tetanus vaccination campaign. The statement has expressed deep concern regarding the vaccinations. It says that the campaign leaves many questions unanswered hence the alarm. This is contained in a media statement released by the Catholic Health Commission of Kenya currently meeting at St Patrick’s Pastoral Centre, Kabula in Bungoma. The statement is co-signed by Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru of Embu Diocese with his counterpart, Bishop Joseph Mbatia of Nyahururu on behalf of the Commisssion of the Bishops' Conference. The Commission includes 24 health facility managers drawn...

Police Say Boy Poked Other Team With Thumbtack LAYTON, Utah -- A 15-year-old high school football player faces simple assault charges for putting a thumbtack in his glove before shaking hands and high-fiving players from a rival school, authorities said. The student was kicked off the team following the incident, which happened Thursday after a game against Davis High School. The student's name has not been released. "This was a young man who made a very immature decision," said Layton High School Assistant Principal Dee Burton. Several members of the Davis team were jabbed with the tack, said Layton Police...

FoxNews - on the Record w/Greta Van SusterenSeptember 9th, 2005 Transcript of an interview with Michael Baden, renowned Forensic Pathologist. Van Susteren / BadenOfficials say the grim job of collecting and identifying the dead could take months.  Are the dead bodies dangerous to those now collecting them?  And how do you give the person dignity in death under these circumstances?  And what about disease or even mosquitoes?  Joining us live in New York is Forensic Pathologist Doctor Michael Baden.Hi Gretta.  Doc...Good evening Doctor Baden.Doctor Baden, earlier in the show Trace Gallager my colleague talked about the mosquitoes that have now descended upon New Orleans once...

REALLY? THE FACTS Any 10-year-old can explain the link between rusty nails and tetanus. But few people realize that the bacteria that cause it are widespread and that the disease has less to do with rust than with the nature of a wound. Clostridia bacteria, the family of C. tetani, can be found in soil, dust, feces and on the skin. They reproduce only in the absence of oxygen, so any wound deep enough can become a breeding ground. A rusty nail will do. But the infection can come from many sources - sewing needles, animal bites, gardening tools, splinters....

CDC Vaccine Data Leads Scientists to Shocking DiscoveryMonday February 9, 9:20 am ET CHILDREN 27-TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DEVELOP AUTISM WITH EXPOSURE TO MERCURY- CONTAINING VACCINES, FINDINGS REVIEWED AT TODAY'S IOM MEETING IN DC WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Institute of Medicine will hold a one-day meeting to review important new research on the link between thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in vaccines, and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. One of the larger studies under review comes from the CDC's own Vaccine Safety Datalink. Under independent investigation, CDC's data concludes children are 27-times more likely to develop autism...

The Philippines military says it has discovered traces of possible biological weapons in a raid on a suspected hideout of Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiah in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato. A senior military official says possible residues of a "tetanus virus-carrying chemical was among those found" in Sunday's raid, along with a "bio-terror manual". Bomb-making materials, documents and notes on assembling rocket-propelled grenades were also found during the raid, but no suspects were arrested. Military spokesman Major General Rodolfo Garcia says the documents refer to Jemaah Islamiah, but has refused to elaborate further. Last week authorities arrested...

  Girl gets $4.7M for vaccine injuries Friday, August 16, 2002 By LINDY WASHBURN Staff Writer A New Jersey girl whose mental development stopped at 2 months old after a routine immunization has received a $4.7 million settlement from a national trust fund.More than $3 million of the award will go to an annuity that will pay for the child's care as long as she lives. Its payout could exceed $61 million if she lives to 71, said Mindy Michaels Roth, the Glen Rock attorney who brought the case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The payment to...