It's been a while since I've mentioned antivax topics here, and a lot has happened in the past few weeks.. and it's not good. Our old nemesis measles is roaring back in the US, with the CDC actually issuing a warning for travelers. Americans visiting other countries are bringing the disease back with them, and places where vaccination rates are low are seeing outbreaks. We've had twice as many cases of measles so far in 2011 than we did all year in 2010. As Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus, points out, it's interesting how there is a cluster of cases in Minnesota, where antivaxxer Andrew Wakefield and others have been targeting the Somali community. Seth also notes that of the cases we're seeing here, 89% are from unvaccinated people, and fully 98% of the people hospitalized were unvaccinated. He goes on to show the real financial cost of the disease, on top of the devastating health problems it causes. And we have some unwelcome company: In Australia, pertussis (whooping cough) is on the rise, with more than 4500 cases so far this year. 4500. Holy crap. And this horrible disease is particularly dangerous for infants, babies too young to be vaccinated. It can and does kill them. That is the plain and very, very hard truth. In the article linked above, doctors come right out and say it's the antivaccination movement behind this; parents who do their research on the internet about vaccines instead of talking to doctors who have devoted their lives to science, medicine, and saving people. These parents, I have no doubts, want to do what's best for their children, but by not seeking out a doctor's advice they are putting these children -- and others -- at very grave risk. It's really very simple: vaccinations save lives. And the lives saved may be those of the most vulnerable among us. Have you had your TDAP booster? I have. If you haven't, please please please talk to your doctor.

Tip o' the needle to Thomas Siefert. Pertussis image from Microbiology2009.

Related posts: - The Panic Virus - Doonesbury tackles McCarthyism - Pertussis claims a ninth infant in California - Some vax facts