Sherri Tenpenny wants us to stop calling chickenpox and measles diseases.
She thinks that we should call them infections instead…
Should I Stop Calling Chickenpox and Measles Diseases?
If you are like most people, you are probably thinking to yourself and maybe even shouting at your computer screen right now, “who cares what you call them, just get vaccinated and stop the outbreaks!”
Believe it or not, there is actually some precedent for changing the way we talk about diseases. While you may still refer to them as STDs, or sexually transmitted diseases out of habit, the prefererable term is actually STI, or sexually tranmistted infection.
Of course, this has nothing to do with Tenpenny’s reasoning.
“Why the change? The concept of ‘disease,’ as in STD, suggests a clear medical problem, usually some obvious signs or symptoms. But several of the most common STDs have no signs or symptoms in the majority of persons infected. Or they have mild signs and symptoms that can be easily overlooked. So the sexually transmitted virus or bacteria can be described as creating ‘infection,’ which may or may not result in ‘disease.’ This is true of chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and human papillomavirus (HPV), to name a few.
For this reason, for some professionals and organizations the term ‘disease’ is being replaced by ‘infection.'”
ASHA on STDs/STIs
In fact, their definitions sound nothing like Tenpennys…
Unfortunately, many STIs, even if they aren’t causing symptoms and disease, can still be contagious.
Measles and chickenpox don’t do that. Although you can be contagious just before you start to have symptoms, you will very quickly develop symptoms.
It is true that some viruses and bacteria can lead to subclinical infections, in which you develop immunity without ever developing symptoms, but that doesn’t usually happen with measles and chicken pox.
Polio is one of the best examples of when it does happen. Remember, nearly 75% of kids who got polio never had any symptoms. Tragically, those symptoms could be severe in the small percentage who did.
So as usual, Sherri Tenpenny is wrong.
Chickenpox and measles are infections that cause disease. And while most people recover after 7 to 10 days of symptoms, including a high fever and rash, some don’t.
Both also put you at risk for long-term complications, namely shingles and SSPE.
Remember, if you listen to folks like her and skip or delay your child’s vaccines and they get chickenpox or measles, the only thing you are doing is causing more people to get sick. A catchy slogan won’t prevent that or keep your kids healthy.
More on Diseases vs Infections
- VAXOPEDIA – Anti-Vaccine Points Refuted A Thousand Times
- VAXOPEDIA – The Science Behind the Anti-Vaccine Movement
- VAXOPEDIA – Answers To Frequently Asked Questions About Immunizations
- VAXOPEDIA – The Fatal Flaw in the Anti-Vaccine Movement
- VAXOPEDIA – 100 Myths About Vaccines
- VAXOPEDIA – Answers to Anti-Vaccine Talking Points
- VAXOPEDIA – 50 Ways to Get Educated About Vaccines
- VAXOPEDIA – What Are the Pro and Con Arguments for Vaccines?
- VAXOPEDIA – Graphs That Show Vaccines Don’t Work
- VAXOPEDIA – Ask 8 Questions Before You Skip a Vaccine
- New measles myth from vaccine denier Sherri Tenpenny – not a disease