Any medical doctors...Vaccine

[Insane_Irish]

After reading a post my Raptorman I realized how many shots are going to be required in the PAW. 60-70% of small carnivorous mammals (skunk,fox,badger, wolves, wild dogs etc...) in Ontario have rabies. Rabies is 100% lethal, if you get it, you will die unless vaccinated.

I can mass produce attenuated vacinations, (provided I have a chicken and some potatos) and with the proper equipment raided from a lab or university I could safly produce toxoid and heat killed vaccines. Point being, it would be a really good idea to organize the ZS member who have medical training.

So, if you have these skills please answer this roll call. Then we can start planning. Cheers.

[Martyr_Machine]

Small correction: Rabies has a reletively long incubation period. During this period, it is possible to treat the disease. Once the symptoms arise however, the disease is terminal. Other than that, I agree, vaccinations are a very good thing to have in a post-apocalyptic climate.

[Grin Reaper]

Getting your vaccinations updated is something you shouldn't put off. You can get most of the shots you'll absolutely need at your local health department -- CHEAP!
Tetanus vaccination should be updated at least every 10 years; most sources reccomend an update if your latest one was over 5 years ago & you have a dirty wound (like a bite -- human or otherwise). Most of the tetanus shots available now also have diptheria (rare but not unknown in the USA) vaccine added.
One that I've been meaning to get (and now will) is the Hepatitis A vaccine. Hep A is a serious liver disease that you catch from ingesting contaminated water (as one might encounter in a PAW-scenario); it is reccomended for those who work in day-care centers, as people who handle dirty diapers all day are at an increased risk for catching Hep A.
And speaking of Hepatitis, a Hep B vaccine is available. Hep B vaccination is done as a series of 3 shots: 1st one, then another in 1 month, then the 3rd in 6 months. If you work in health care/fire/rescue/law enforcement, your employer should make Hep B vaccination available to you for little or no cost. In fact, there is a combination Hep A&B vaccine called Twinrix (made by GlaxoSmithKline).
If you've never had chickenpox, I'd consider getting the varicella vaccine.
Rabies vaccination is not routinely done for humans (well, not PRE-exposure, ayway), unless said humans work in a field which puts them at risk for encountering infected critters (animal control officers, veterinary practice employees).
I don't know much about the smallpox vaccine -- if it's still available.

[paul]

Thanks for the info. I got a round of shots 2 years ago before traveling to Belize, but I didn't go back for a hep A booster(I was told to get a booster approx 6 months after the first shot). I think i'll go back and get it.

[Grin Reaper]

How much are the Hep A shots costing you? I've had the Hep B series, but should get Hep A, too.

[*Eric*]

I'm glad that I have all my shots and I don't need to worry about that. I just need to remember when I got my last tetanus shot....

[paul]

I would definitely recommend it. I think it was about $35 at the clinic. I wasn't able to get it at my doctor's office. He said they don't get enough requests for them for it to be feasible. Apparently the vaccine has a limited shelf life & they have to be ordered in batches. Anyway, with a visit to a clinic, theres no charge for the office visit, just the shot. That saves some dough!

[Doc_Horror]

HEy Irish! Great to see a fellow Southern Ontarioan on board!
My older brother is GP so I'm set in that regard!

[Survive1999]

Right now there is an EPIDEMIC of AUTISIM here in America.
Some folks are attribuiting it to vacinations and the mercury base that is involved in them.

Seriously look it up.

The incidence of Autisim is down to 1 in 160 births now. Those are not good odds. Just 20 years ago it was like 1 in 100,000. Those are rough numbers but close enough for horse shoes.

[Ashnack]

I have Hep A and B.

As for Small pox since the vaccine has some very serious potential side effects it is almost impossible to get, unless you are in some sections of the military. Then the problem with it is that it is only good for about 10 years.

[Moby]

I have Hep A and B.

As for Small pox since the vaccine has some very serious potential side effects it is almost impossible to get, unless you are in some sections of the military. Then the problem with it is that it is only good for about 10 years.

Between the time I was born '69 and my wife '71 they quit giving it. I still have the scar. I'm way past the 10yr limit. I would think since it is "extinct" in US a outbreak would be slim to none

[Ashnack]

Right now there is an EPIDEMIC of AUTISIM here in America.
Some folks are attribuiting it to vacinations and the mercury base that is involved in them.

Seriously look it up.

The incidence of Autisim is down to 1 in 160 births now. Those are not good odds. Just 20 years ago it was like 1 in 100,000. Those are rough numbers but close enough for horse shoes.

If this was a problem, and most doctors seem to doubt it, it is one of the past. From the CDC

"At a glance: Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines and other products since the 1930's. No harmful effects have been reported from thimerosal at doses used in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site. However, in July 1999, the Public Health Service (PHS) agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and vaccine manufacturers agreed that thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated in vaccines as a precautionary measure.

Today, with the exception of some Influenza (flu) vaccines, none of the vaccines used in the U.S. to protect preschool children against 12 infectious diseases contain thimerosal as a preservative.

This page leads to many pages that answer common questions along with links to background documents, etc."

[squido]

After reading a post my Raptorman I realized how many shots are going to be required in the PAW. 60-70% of small carnivorous mammals (skunk,fox,badger, wolves, wild dogs etc...) in Ontario have rabies.

jesus christ?! what? that's a bit of a high number isn't it? isn't that dangerous?

I think we've pretty much got rid of it in the UK, at least we have strict controls on animals coming in and out of the country, always see rabies signs at the docks.

[Doomsday]

that is indeed a disturbing number. can you get rabis from eating cooked meat of an animal that had it???

[just a grunt]

After reading a post my Raptorman I realized how many shots are going to be required in the PAW. 60-70% of small carnivorous mammals (skunk,fox,badger, wolves, wild dogs etc...) in Ontario have rabies. Rabies is 100% lethal, if you get it, you will die unless vaccinated.

I can mass produce attenuated vacinations, (provided I have a chicken and some potatos) and with the proper equipment raided from a lab or university I could safly produce toxoid and heat killed vaccines. Point being, it would be a really good idea to organize the ZS member who have medical training.

So, if you have these skills please answer this roll call. Then we can start planning. Cheers.

I certainly agree with you, I have friends that know GP's and Surgen's . It'll be wiser to include them in your plans.

[hydrogen]

i have:

Hep A
Hep B
Malaria
Tetanus

thats what i can remember so far, i had a handful when i went to africa, but i really cant remember what they all are now. i got the Hep a/b ones when i went to greece and turkey. tetanus is pretty self explanitory

[melanie]

I am up to date on all my shots, which was necessary when I went back to college for a new degree. I also am protected against rabies, since I am in a Veterinary Technology program.
I presently work in a Vet clinic, where I have access to vaccines and medications. Albeit, they are for animals, but things can be modified easily for humans. In a few months, I have a job lined up in medical research (primarily cancer research), so many things will be at my disposal.
So... if the need ever arises and the Zombies are crawling out of the woodwork, I have access to medical supplies.
Yippee!

[Grin Reaper]

Can you catch rabies by eating the meat of an infected animal?
according to http://www.unbc.ca/nlui/wildlife_diseases_bc/rabies.htm

DO NOT consume meat from an animal with rabies or suspected to have rabies.
DO NOT feed meat from an animal with rabies or suspected to have rabies to dogs.

According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety's website at http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/rabies.html

In people, the incubation period (the time between initial contact with the virus and onset of the disease) generally ranges from two to eight weeks. In rare cases, it can vary from 10 days to 2 years. The incubation period is shorter in children and in people exposed to a large dose of the rabies virus. ... The major risk of rabies comes from contact with the saliva, body fluids, or tissue of infected animals.... To cause an infection, the rabies virus must enter the body and reach nerve cells. The virus can enter the body through broken skin. Droplets containing the virus can pass through mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth, or intestine. Usually, transmission occurs when rabid animals, with the virus in their saliva, bite people. Farmers or veterinarians can become infected when they work with their hands in the mouths of rabid cows which often appear to be choking on food. Laboratory workers have also contracted rabies from cuts or sticks from contaminated needles, scalpels or other contaminated laboratory equipment.

In unusual situations, workers have contracted rabies by breathing air that carried high concentrations of the virus. This phenomenon has occurred in bat caves. It has also happened in the laboratory where improper procedures produced a mist or aerosol containing the virus. Contact with the blood, urine or manure of a rabid animal is not a risk factor for contracting rabies.

[Grin Reaper]

Do vaccines with thimerosal casue autism?
Last year, a HUGE [109,863 children] study of children in the UK was published in Pediatrics (Vol. 114, no. 3; 03 Sept. 2004). The researchers found, that in this HUGE sample of children, ALL of whom were given thimerosal-containing vaccines, in a study that looked for the existence of ALL developmental problems (not just autism) that

With the possible exception of tics, there was no evidence that thimerosal exposure via DTP/DT vaccines causes neurodevelopmental disorders.

Ready for the punchline? The vaccines used in the UK have almost TWICE as much thimerosal in them as the ones here in the USA.