XPost: talk.politics.misc, alt.health, alt.survival
XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh

On 4/1/2025 12:32 PM, c186282 wrote:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14559743/children-texas- poisoned-rfk-jr-measles-cases.html

Several children in a Texas town at the center of a measles
outbreak have been hospitalized after taking an unproven
treatment touted by Robert F Kennedy Junior.

Doctors have reported a handful of unvaccinated children in
West Texas were treated for liver damage in the past two
months thought to be linked to vitamin A poisoning.

RFK Jr, a long-time vaccine skeptic, has strongly endorsed
vitamin A as a treatment for measles despite the evidence
being mixed.

Some studies have shown that supplementation can reduce the
risk of compilations and death in malnourished children with
severely low levels of vitamin A, which is found in several
foods including eggs, dairy, and cod liver oil.

However, other research has shown little benefit in children
with adequate vitamin A levels, which is the case for most
youngsters in the US.

. . .

  I heard him on TV the other day basically saying
  to take large doses of 'A'.

  Well, 'A' is kinda *poisonous* - and extreme doses
  can mess you up in several ways. There's "enough"
  and there's "TOO much".

  Beta carotene ... a compound that breaks down into 'A' ...
  is safer as it only yields the vitamin "as needed" by
  and large rather than all at once. Even thus, don't
  go all nuts.

  Want yer kids safe from measles - GIVE 'EM THE DAMNED
  VACCINE. It's been around since forever.

  Want yer kids even SAFER from dread diseases ? BOOT
  RFK like *fast*. His idea to cut mystery synthetics
  from foods is OK, start with high-fructose corn syrup.
  This campaign can't hurt. But on vaccines he's just a
  nutter - now made dangerous by his new position.

Here's a very informative piece per the topic at hand:

https://www.denver7.com/news/state-news/colorado-health-officials-address-use-of-vitamin-a-after-state-reports-first-case-of-measles-amid-us-outbreak

DENVER — It’s still too early to tell whether Colorado will be added to
the growing list of measles outbreaks across the country, but the
state’s first case in 15 months “is an excellent bellwether” for parents to consider vaccination, state health officials said Tuesday, even as
the nation’s top health official continues to tout vitamin A as an alternative against the highly contagious disease.

The advice from state health officials came a day after Colorado
confirmed its first measles case since December 2023 in an unvaccinated
patient in Pueblo who contracted the virus after traveling to a region
of Mexico which is currently experiencing an outbreak.

The unidentified person could have exposed others at the Southwest Deli
and Cafe (1873 S. Pueblo Blvd.) between March 17 and March 21, as well
as patients and staff who were at the Southern Colorado Clinic (109
South Burlington Drive) between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on March 22,
according to state health officials.

Describing it as the “most infectious disease that we know of,” state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said measles will infect about 9 out
of every 10 people who encounter someone who is contagious if they don’t
have immunity against the virus – even if they’re not in the same room,
as measles spreads through the air and can remain airborne for up to two
hours. People most at risk for severe complications for measles are
children and infants too young to be vaccinated, she said.

The good news, Herlihy said, is that “we have a highly effective
vaccine, the MMR vaccine, which is 97% effective at preventing measles infection and provides lifelong immunity.”

Despite its high efficacy, the U.S. still has pockets where vaccination
rates aren’t as high as they should be, something health experts say is
the main factor driving this year’s multi-state outbreak.


Health experts nationwide have also expressed concerns that claims made
by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about
the use of vitamin A to treat measles could be adding fuel to the fire.

What’s the role of vitamin A as a treatment for measles?
While vitamin A does have a role in treating measles cases, “it’s really important to note that that limited role for vitamin A in treatment is
not preventative,” Herlihy said. “For that, we really need to rely on vaccination.”

Though “there is limited evidence that does support the role of vitamin
A treatment” to improve the outcomes of hospitalized children or
children with more severe disease due to measles, Herlihy warned that
vitamin A should be given under the supervision of a healthcare provider
due to the potential of vitamin A toxicity, as has been recently
reported in Texas.

Taking too much vitamin A can result in intracranial pressure,
drowsiness, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, changes in the skin, hair
and nails, as well as liver damage and, in pregnant women, it can lead
to birth defects, according to the Merck Manual, a medical reference publication.

The claim by RFK Jr. that measles can be treated with vitamin A
supplementation likely came from a paper published in early 2017 by the
World Health Organization (WHO), which advised member states to
administer the vitamin “in all cases of severe measles.”

Complications from measles, however, “are more likely in children who
are malnourished, especially those without enough vitamin A or with a
weak immune system from HIV or other diseases,” according to the WHO.

Vitamin A deficiencies are uncommon in the U.S. and have been labeled as “rare,” with an estimated 0.3% of the U.S. population suffering from deficiencies of this particular vitamin as of 2013, per a report from
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) last updated in 2023.

“No one should be giving vitamin A to another person without the input
of a healthcare provider. That evidence, as Dr. Herlihy said, is
limited, and it's limited to very sick, younger children,” said Dr. Ned Calonge, the chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public
Health and Environment (CDPHE) during Tuesday’s news conference.

Will other cases pop up in Colorado? It depends on who was exposed
It will take a couple of weeks for state health officials to know
whether Colorado is experiencing a measles outbreak, as symptoms of
measles typically begin seven to 14 days after exposure but may take up
to 21 days to appear, according to Herlihy.

Those symptoms can be anything from a fever, a cough, a runny nose, and
red, watery eyes that develop into a rash that starts on the face and
then spreads to the rest of the body about three to five days after
symptoms first start. A person with measles is contagious four days
before and four days after the rash appears, Herlihy said.

“That means that people may have measles but may actually think they
have something more like a cold or the flu or COVID and potentially
spread that virus to other people before they know they have the
illness,” she said.

While most people recover within two or three weeks after contracting
the virus, unvaccinated people run the risk of complications from the
disease, including ear infections, seizures, pneumonia, brain damage and ultimately, death — as has happened in Texas and possibly, New Mexico.

People in Pueblo concerned about potential exposure to measles should
call their healthcare provider before trying to seek treatment to avoid
other people from becoming potentially infected with the virus, Calonge
said.

If you do not have a health care provider, you are asked to call an
urgent care center or emergency department. For additional information
about measles, call the free helpline CO-HELP at (303) 389-1687
(toll-free: 1-877-462-2911).

Denver7 is keeping you informed with expert opinion on this subject. On Tuesday, Denver7 anchors Jessica Porter and Shannon Ogden sat down with
Dr. Michelle Barron, the senior medical director of infection prevention
and control for UCHealth, who broke down the potential spread of the
virus in the video player below

In Pueblo County, where Colorado reported the case that's likely linked
to the outbreaks happening in Texas and New Mexico, data shows
vaccination rates for the MMR vaccine among school-aged children were
around 95% in the city and county, according to Randy Evetts, the
director of Pueblo County Public Health (PCPH).

That rate is much lower among kindergarteners in Pueblo proper, where vaccination rates were around 84% during the previous academic year,
Evetts said. In surrounding counties, those rates were higher – at 92%.

Statewide, vaccination rates depend on the group you’re looking at,
according to Herlihy. Data from the CDPHE shows Kindergarten vaccination
rates were about 88%, with that number going up to about 94% for
children in the K-12 age group. Though higher, that number is still well
below the 95% herd immunity threshold needed to prevent a rise in cases.

“So, statewide, we are falling short of that. That does mean that
Colorado is potentially at risk for outbreaks,” Herlihy said.

The interactive map below from the CDPHE shows the immunization data for
the MMR vaccines across all Colorado school districts. Shades of yellow
and red show districts whose vaccination status has fallen below the
herd immunity threshold. Have problems viewing the map? Click here to
access it directly from the CDPHE website.

Who should get vaccinated for measles?
Most people likely got vaccinated when they were about a year old with
two doses of the MMR vaccine and are considered fully protected against
the disease, but Herlihy said there is a small group of individuals
vaccinated before 1968 with an earlier version of the vaccine that
wasn’t as effective, and those people may need an additional dose of the vaccine.

If you have children that are less than a year old and are considering traveling internationally or to areas where there are ongoing measles outbreaks, “certainly, I think it is important for folks to be talking
to their healthcare provider about their concerns and thinking about
that option for early vaccination, especially if we were to see more
cases occur in state,” Herlihy said.

Because Colorado isn’t currently experiencing an outbreak (which is
defined as three or more measles cases in the state), “we aren't
recommending that everyone who's had just one dose of the vaccine go out
and get a second dose at this point. One dose of the vaccine offers
substantial protection,” Herlihy said.

A single dose of the MMR vaccine confers 93% protection against measles,
while a second one ups that number to 97%, according to the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People who have received the
full series of the MMR shot don’t need another one after exposure to the virus, state health officials said.

Unvaccinated people exposed to the virus can get the MMR vaccine 72
hours after exposure (but before symptoms are present) to prevent an
infection, officials said.

If you have spoken to a healthcare provider about your concerns and they
have advised vaccination, the Joe Shoemaker School is hosting a clinic
for routine childhood vaccinations on Wednesday, April 2, from 3 p.m. to
6 p.m. The school is located at 333 S. Havana St. in Denver.

The last time Colorado reported a measles case was in December 2023,
which involved an international traveler who arrived to Colorado. Their vaccination status was never confirmed. Prior to that, Colorado had not
seen a confirmed case of measles since 2019, during a global outbreak of
the disease that also affected the U.S.

Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, meaning it is no
longer constantly present in the country, though there is always a risk
of small measles outbreaks when unvaccinated travelers come to the U.S.
from countries that have not yet eliminated the disease.

That status is now at risk due to “an unusual and constant increase in confirmed cases of this disease” over the past several years, according
to a recent report from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

As of Friday, 483 confirmed measles cases were reported across 20 states
in the U.S., with the overwhelming majority of those cases occurring
among unvaccinated youth between the ages of 5 and 19 years old,
according to the CDC.

--
"Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324(a) defines several distinct offenses related to aliens. Subsection 1324(a)(1)(i)-(v) prohibits alien smuggling, domestic transportation of unauthorized aliens, concealing or harboring
unauthorized aliens, encouraging or inducing unauthorized aliens to
enter the United States, and engaging in a conspiracy or aiding and
abetting any of the preceding acts. Subsection 1324(a)(2) prohibits
bringing or attempting to bring unauthorized aliens to the United States
in any manner whatsoever, even at a designated port of entry. Subsection 1324(a)(3)."

"Western values mean three things: migration, LGBTQ, and war." Viktor Orban

https://www.globalgulag.us

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)