Here we go, all hands on deck,the vaccine debate get’s fired up.
Rotovirus is a cause of serious diarrhea illness in kids that usually is seen in the winter. Can be a killer.
Rotovirus vaccine Roto Shield, was pulled because of intussusception, a sleeve like intestinal problem created by prolapse of the proximal segment into the lumen of the usually larger distal segment. Happens mostly at the end of the small bowel causing bowel prolapse into the proximal colon, the small bowel sliding into the large bowel. Can be fixed sometimes with an enema, sometimes requires surgery.
Now there is a new vaccine.
Caused bowel obstruction, sometimes necrosis, which is life threatening, presenting with sudden severe colicy pain.
The vaccine was thought cause the problem by increasing the lymph nodes developing from the vaccine at the critical area of the distal small bowel. Tough diagnosis to make sometimes, because the condition will wax and wane, screaming kid to smiling kid.
The discussion and the debate. ACSH is a pro vaccine group, generally.
http://acsh.org/2014/01/miraculous-vaccine-underutilized-fear-consequences-thereof/
Yes, that gets a second. No good reason not to do something about a ubiquitous and very problematic infection.
The commentary was excellent, outstanding. I couldn’t believe it when they withdrew the rotovirus vaccine–considering all the suffering from Rotovirus.
I haven’t delved deeply into this, but on the surface it looks like a classic case of first world problems killing third world children. Seeing that this is a true vaccine, it is not enough to compare the risk of vaccination to the risk of one case of rotavirus. You must compare the risk of repeat infection. Reportedly only 40% of children seem to develop immunity after natural infection. The vaccine protects against five strains. That’s potentially 5 separate bouts with the illness prevented. I’d like to know what the risk factor of intussusception is for rotavirus infection. Is the natural virus correlated at all? The search results are currently polluted by all the vaccine news stories.
Also of note is the communicability factor. The side effect of immunization, while serious, is not contagious. Conversely, one child with rotavirus could infect an entire daycare full of toddlers in a single hour. The virus can lie dormant on a surface for months, and children are contagious before they become symptomatic. An important consideration of immunization programs is the preventative effect it has on non-immunized children. Breaking links in the chain can have immeasurable secondary impacts.
All vaccines have risks. Serious allergic reaction is always a possibility. The risk of intussusception seems manageable with proper post vaccination observation and care. The only way to view the risk/benefit ratio unfavorably is by using the United States’ very low death rate and ignoring complications from the virus that fall short of death. If, instead, you take the global impact, it’s a no brainer. In a village with limited water availability and no medical support, one round of rotavirus could eliminate an entire population of small children in one go. According to WHO “Diarrhoeal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old”, and that’s with medically advanced countries included in the average.
I can’t help but be reminded of extremist population control advocates claiming the elimination of smallpox was a mistake. The conspiracy theorist in me believes the opposition actually wants children to die.
This is the second such story I’ve read in the last day or two regarding this set of vaccines, and both have made it very clear that the increase in intussusception was barely noticeable statistically (even in the original vaccine), and well worth the relief provided.
Never mind that rotavirus can potentially be fatal; it’s scary as hell for both the child suffering it and the parents trying to cope. Honestly, I’d rather this vaccine be madatory over chicken pox (flu doesn’t even come close), but if one is the other should be also.