Comments on: Measles week, Part V: What about the vaccine?

By: Lover of Sadness

Lover of Sadness — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:23:00 +0000

good god

By: iayork

iayork — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:43:29 +0000

Air pollution is another interesting idea. But I didn't see any contemporary comment on different mortality rates in the country vs. the city, and you'd think that if pollution was a major factor there would be a striking improvement in rural survival rates. Also, air pollution is something that affects (urban) rich and poor alike, but rich and poor did have very different mortality rates. So I'd guess it didn't have a huge effect, at least on measles mortality.

By: iayork

iayork — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:43:29 +0000

By: Blackbird

Blackbird — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:18:51 +0000

I enjoyed reading your measles series, how fascinating – and frustrating. How about city pollution levels? In the last century we have witnessed a replacement of coal burning with oil/gas burning – a cleaner fuel as source of energy. Biomass burning (as opposed to fuel cooking) nowadays has an influence on pneumonia cases for under 5-year olds in India.
This paper looks for associations on cases of severe lower respiratory illness in India, breastfeeding, sun exposure, normal vitamin D levels and the use of cooking fuel appear as protective factors.
Association of subclinical vitamin D deficiency with severe acute lower respiratory infection in Indian children under 5 years
http://www.direct-ms.org/pdf/VitDNonAuto/VivekI...

By: dyson

dyson — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:24:33 +0000

Also a comment – another 2 reasons why smallpox was able to be eradicated was that the disease is pretty easliy recognised and not able to be confused with many other conditions (so cases could be instantly isolated, helping reduce spread) and clinical disease affected everyone who got it (so there were no subclinical cases capable of spreading on the virus)

By: dyson

dyson — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:16:03 +0000

Thank you, thank you!

By: rork

rork — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:14:40 +0000

From me too – I really liked these articles.

By: chezjake

chezjake — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:34:07 +0000

Thanks for this whole series. Well done.

By: Measles week, Part III: Not the answers | Mystery Rays from Outer Space

Measles week, Part III: Not the answers | Mystery Rays from Outer Space — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:17:54 +0000

[...] Measles week, Part V: What about the vaccine? [...]

By: Measles week, part IV: Some of the answers | Mystery Rays from Outer Space

Measles week, part IV: Some of the answers | Mystery Rays from Outer Space — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:15:19 +0000

[...] Measles week, Part V: What about the vaccine? [...]