Tag: tetanus myths

Guess Who Thinks Vaccines Are Connected to Mass Shootings?

It’s hard to think that the modern anti-vaccine movement could sink any lower, after all, they have recently been called out for lying about vaccinating their kids, selling fake vaccine exemptions, bringing up the Holocaust when talking about vaccines and autism, and of course scaring parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids in the middle of the largest measles outbreak in 25 years.

Guess Who Thinks Vaccines Are Connected to Mass Shootings?

Not surprisingly, they weren’t done…

Larry Cook and his followers at Stop Mandatory Vaccination think that vaccines are connected to mass shootings.

A recent discussion on an anti-vaccine Facebook group asking if there was a connection between vaccines and mass shootings got nearly 1000 comments.

What’s the overall consensus of the group?

Of course they do!

“NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred over the weekend in Texas and Ohio. These mass shootings are far too common and impact every corner of our nation. Every time we experience a tragedy like this, people with mental illness are drawn into the conversation. The truth is that the vast majority of violence is not perpetrated by people with mental illness. Statements to the contrary only serve to perpetuate stigma and distract from the real issues.
NAMI sees gun violence as a national public health crisis that impacts everyone.”
NAMI Statement on Mass Shootings in Texas and Ohio

Even Larry Cook, the groups founder, has his own secret theory about how vaccines are associated with mass shootings. My guess is that his conspiracy theory involves nanobots…

There is only one real question we should have about all of this…

Do you want tetanus? Because this is how you get tetanus?

Why hasn’t his Stop Mandatory Vaccination group been removed from Facebook already?

An Unvaccinated Girl in Italy Has Tetanus

Remember the story of the unvaccinated boy in Oregon who recently had tetanus?

He spent nearly two months in the hospital, nearly all of it in the ICU, and his care cost just over $800,000. All for a disease that is easily vaccine-preventable.

An Unvaccinated Girl in Italy Has Tetanus

That boy in Oregon wasn’t the first intentionally unvaccinated kid to have tetanus recently and tragically, he won’t be the last.

The latest case is an unvaccinated girl in Verona, Italy.

The girl, from Povegliano, is intubated and sedated and in critical condition.

Her family is being investigated to see why she wasn’t vaccinated.

Unbelievably, she joins a growing list of kids who have gotten tetanus for no good reason in the post-vaccination era.

an unvaccinated 4-year-old who developed tetanus after a toenail injury. He was intubated for over two weeks.
an unvaccinated 10-year-old in Sardinia, Italy who cut his forehead after crashing his bike
an unvaccinated 7-year-old in New Zealand who had a small cut his foot
an unvaccinated 7-year-old in Australia who cut her foot while playing in the garden

Wondering why it doesn’t happen more often?

Most kids are vaccinated and protected!

And most parents, even those who are scared to vaccinate their kids, understand that tetanus is basically everywhere and almost impossible to avoid.

Can Vaccines Cause Rhabdomyolysis?

The urine is dark because of myoglobinuria secondary to muscle break down. Hemoglobinuria, from blood, is the other thing that makes urine dark. Photo Kumar et al (CC BY-NC-SA *3.0* US).

You have probably never heard of rhabdomyolysis.

Children with rhabdomyolysis have severe muscle pain, muscle weakness, and dark urine.

It is classically caused by exercising too much (really overdoing it or exercising a lot more or a lot longer than you typically do) and damaging your muscles, leading to a breakdown of muscle cells and the release of creatine kinase, which in addition to muscle symptoms, can lead to kidney failure.

In addition to exercise, rhabdomyolysis can be caused by seizures, drugs, toxins, insect stings, snake bites, metabolic disorders, infections (viral myositis), and trauma.

“The most common causes of pediatric rhabdomyolysis were viral myositis (38%), trauma (26%), and connective tissue disease (5%).”
Mannix et al on Acute Pediatric Rhabdomyolysis: Causes and Rates of Renal Failure

Keep in mind that rhabdomyolysis is rare. You won’t confuse the aches and pains that most kids get, and which often get blamed on growing pains, with rhabdomyolysis. Although younger kids don’t always have dark urine when they have rhabdo, the pain and weakness is severe. Seek immediate medical attention if you think that your child might have rhabdomyolysis.

Can Vaccines Cause Rhabdomyolysis?

It is well known that rhabdomyolysis can be caused by infections.

“Rhabdomyolysis has been reported to be associated with a variety of viral infections, including influenza, [15,16] Coxsackie virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), echovirus and cytomegalovirus [17]. In our series, the definite viral infection was identified in 5 patients (influenza type B in 4, Coxsackie A10 in 1)”
Chen et al on Clinical spectrum of rhabdomyolysis presented to pediatric emergency department

So if a natural influenza virus infection can cause rhabdomyolysis, does that mean that the flu vaccine can too? What about other vaccines?

Not necessarily, but there are a few case reports that associate vaccines with rhabdomyolysis.

“Influenza A infection has been described as a major viral cause of infection-induced rhabdomyolysis, but to date, only one reported case was described as having been induced by influenza vaccine.”
Callado et al on Rhabdomyolysis secondary to influenza A H1N1 vaccine resulting in acute kidney injury.

In several of the reports, patients already had chronic medical problems for which they were being treated. Still, no signal was found to suggest that the flu vaccine is a problem for these patients.

It is important to note that reports of post-vaccination rhabdomyolysis in healthy people are even rarer.

So while it is could be possible that vaccines are rarely associated with rhabdomyolysis, we know that many infections, including many vaccine-preventable diseases, are a more common cause.

Don’t skip or delay a vaccine because you might have heard that vaccines cause rhabdomyolysis.

Vaccines are safe, with few risks, and are obviously necessary.

An Unvaccinated Child in Oregon Recently Had Tetanus

I recently wrote about how there was a case of diphtheria in Oklahoma last year.

It was a good reminder that we aren’t just seeing measles outbreaks these days.

Need another reminder?

An Unvaccinated Child in Oregon Recently Had Tetanus

An unvaccinated 6-year-old in Oregon developed tetanus.

Can an unvaccinated child really get tetanus after a toe nail injury? — In a similar case, an unvaccinated 4-year-old got severe tetanus after a minor toe nail injury. (CC BY 3.0)

“In 2017, a boy aged 6 years who had received no immunizations sustained a forehead laceration while playing outdoors on a farm; the wound was cleaned and sutured at home. Six days later, he had episodes of crying, jaw clenching, and involuntary upper extremity muscle spasms, followed by arching of the neck and back (opisthotonus) and generalized spasticity. Later that day, at the onset of breathing difficulty, the parents contacted emergency medical services, who air-transported him directly to a tertiary pediatric medical center. The boy subsequently received a diagnosis of tetanus and required approximately 8 weeks of inpatient care, followed by rehabilitation care, before he was able to resume normal activities.”
Notes from the Field: Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child — Oregon, 2017

Many folks will recognize the “jaw clenching” from the alternative name for tetanus – lockjaw.

“Upon hospital arrival, the child had jaw muscle spasms (trismus). He was alert and requested water but was unable to open his mouth; respiratory distress caused by diaphragmatic and laryngeal spasm necessitated sedation, endotracheal intubation, and mechanical ventilation. Tetanus immune globulin (3,000 units) and diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) were administered for presumed tetanus. He was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit and cared for in a darkened room with ear plugs and minimal stimulation (stimulation increased the intensity of his spasms). Intravenous metronidazole was initiated, and the scalp laceration was irrigated and debrided.”
Notes from the Field: Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child — Oregon, 2017

Wait, wasn’t it too late to vaccinate him at this point?

Of course not.

Remember, tetanus vaccine doesn’t actually kill the tetanus bacteria. Or even prevent a tetanus infection, believe it or not. The t etanus shot is a toxoid vaccine directed against the toxin that the tetanus bacteria makes.

Once tetanus spores germinate, the bacteria have to grow and then produce exotoxins. The exotoxins then have to travel to different sites in your nervous system, where they act as neurotoxins.

At this point, although he was treated with antibiotics and tetanus immune globulin, there is still a chance that spores will germinate and becteria will eventually grow and produce more exotoxin. Getting the vaccine helps ensure that you will make some of your own antibody to fight them.

“His opisthotonus worsened, and he developed autonomic instability (hypertension, tachycardia, and body temperatures of 97.0°F–104.9°F [36.1°C–40.5°C]). He was treated with multiple continuous intravenous medication infusions to control his pain and blood pressure, and with neuromuscular blockade to manage his muscle spasms. A tracheostomy was placed on hospital day 5 for prolonged ventilator support. Starting on hospital day 35, the patient tolerated a 5-day wean from neuromuscular blockade. On day 44, his ventilator support was discontinued, and he tolerated sips of clear liquids. On day 47, he was transferred to the intermediate care unit. Three days later, he walked 20 feet with assistance. On day 54, his tracheostomy was removed, and 3 days later, he was transferred to a rehabilitation center for 17 days.”
Notes from the Field: Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child — Oregon, 2017

And since you don’t develop natural immunity to tetanus, getting vaccinated helps protect you from future exposures.

After an episode like this, you wouldn’t want to risk your child getting this sick again, would you?

“The boy required 57 days of inpatient acute care, including 47 days in the intensive care unit. The inpatient charges totaled $811,929 (excluding air transportation, inpatient rehabilitation, and ambulatory follow-up costs). One month after inpatient rehabilitation, he returned to all normal activities, including running and bicycling. Despite extensive review of the risks and benefits of tetanus vaccination by physicians, the family declined the second dose of DTaP and any other recommended immunizations.”
Notes from the Field: Tetanus in an Unvaccinated Child — Oregon, 2017

Well, most of us wouldn’t…

Hopefully other parents learn a lesson though.

Remember, you can wait too long to vaccinate your kids. You can skip or delay a vaccine long enough that they end up getting measles, tetanus, diphtheria, or meningococcemia, etc., before you get caught up.

VAXOPEDIA

Guess Who Thinks Vaccines Are Connected to Mass Shootings?