General Discussion

hunter

(40,952 posts)

14. The TB story is complicated.

Fri Feb 6, 2015, 11:43 PM

Feb 2015

Vaccination makes screening for active outbreaks of TB much more difficult. If the general population is vaccinated, then the only simple screening test for TB becomes ineffective.

A complete medical evaluation for tuberculosis must include a medical history, a physical examination, a chest X-ray and microbiological examination of sputum or some other appropriate sample. It may also include a tuberculin skin test, other scans and X-rays, and surgical biopsy.

That's not inexpensive. Unlike measles, chicken pox, or the flu, TB infections are frequently not obvious. A person infected with TB can walk around for months or years spreading the mycobaterium. It's easier to discover TB infections with a skin test during medical physicals every couple of years than it is to do a full TB workup on everybody

That's why the vaccine is not recommended in places where the disease is not already endemic.

The scariest thing about TB is that improper use of antibiotics has hastened the evolution of antibiotic resistant varieties.

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We got a letter from the government telling us our daughter should be vaccinated-we refused [View all] KellyW Feb 2015 OP

YOU got a letter, not your children. YOU make the choice for them, it is not a WE event. UNREC. Fred Sanders Feb 2015 #1

That's quite a reaction, based apparently misreading the subject line. Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #4

I bet "WE" were vaccinated lame54 Feb 2015 #56

Yes, it is a "we" event, involving 2 parents, who made the medical decision for their daughter. n/t pnwmom Feb 2015 #40

And potentially putting lots of other people at risk. alarimer Feb 2015 #87

Did you get a TB vaccine? Did your children? Her family had no more need of the vaccine than you. nt pnwmom Feb 2015 #97

??? shenmue Feb 2015 #2

That was kind of my reaction too. nt Fla Dem Feb 2015 #106

k&r nt bananas Feb 2015 #3

What else do you refuse - LiberalElite Feb 2015 #5

If you read the post, I told you what I refused KellyW Feb 2015 #11

I'm sure the poster makes considered, informed decisions on all other issues of health care, pnwmom Feb 2015 #41

so does waking up BubbaFett Feb 2015 #60

That was my point - LiberalElite Feb 2015 #74

we weren't built to last BubbaFett Feb 2015 #105

What other medications are compulsory mzmolly Feb 2015 #94

Driving/riding in a car has a higher percentage of risk of death/injury, but I bet Fla Dem Feb 2015 #107

You can decide for your kid all you want. onecaliberal Feb 2015 #6

Such an obvious conclusion, so often ignored... Panich52 Feb 2015 #10

Agree. It's not a decision that affects only the individual or family. onecaliberal Feb 2015 #26

TB vaccine is not given in US as a standard vaccine. LisaL Feb 2015 #15

And when was your (and your kids if you have them) last TB vaccination? Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #18

Spare me your baseless assumption. Enjoy the dust bin. onecaliberal Feb 2015 #25

And your last TB vaccination was when? n/t Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #58

TB is not a recommended or widely used evaccination in the US for good reasons magical thyme Feb 2015 #69

+1 RandySF Feb 2015 #27

"But your kid should then be isolated from society..." So should adults whose vaccines are no longer mzmolly Feb 2015 #95

Yes, the positive test would cause HUGE problems jeff47 Feb 2015 #7

Your comment prompted me to look at my own Swedish vaccination card KellyW Feb 2015 #8

+1 Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #20

I got a TB vaccination when applying to be a substitute teacher in CA, circa 1971 n/t eridani Feb 2015 #35

I suspected it was testing for TB, rather than a vaccination. Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #57

So why not ask for an English version of her card? KitSileya Feb 2015 #47

The card is in Swedish, French and English and printed with the WHO logo KellyW Feb 2015 #99

most health professionals are not vaccinated either, unless they work in high risk fields magical thyme Feb 2015 #68

Your child was not given a TB vaccine. LisaL Feb 2015 #16

The argument made in the OP applies to all vaccines, not specifically TB jeff47 Feb 2015 #80

And when did your children have their TB vaccinations? n/t Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #17

OP's argument is about all vaccines, not only TB. (nt) jeff47 Feb 2015 #83

So which vaccination did the OP NOT have, that you or your child did, that Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #86

Those records would not be very helpful. LisaL Feb 2015 #22

It is true that TB vaccine is not very effective when given to adults. KellyW Feb 2015 #24

the tb vaccine has a very, very poor rate of effectiveness. magical thyme Feb 2015 #53

It still would excuse a positive test. (nt) jeff47 Feb 2015 #81

excuse the positive test from what? magical thyme Feb 2015 #88

actually, no you couldn't present vaccination records to assume a false positive magical thyme Feb 2015 #71

Yes, you really can. I'm absolutely sure you can do so jeff47 Feb 2015 #82

your vaccination records excuse you from what? magical thyme Feb 2015 #91

I think I should be able to drive down the road Downwinder Feb 2015 #9

She refused TB for her kid and Ilsa Feb 2015 #29

You neglected a misconception... Panich52 Feb 2015 #12

1.3 percent of tuberculosis cases in the U.S. were resistant to both isoniazid and rifampin KellyW Feb 2015 #19

I think vaccination is a good idea Rosa Luxemburg Feb 2015 #13

her child was vaccinated against all the normal childhood diseases magical thyme Feb 2015 #100

The TB story is complicated. hunter Feb 2015 #14

I was vaccinated on the INSIDE of my arm Ino Feb 2015 #21

Whetever vaccine it was, it was not a TB vaccine. LisaL Feb 2015 #23

Perhaps it was the TB/PPD screening test. My kid had that as a toddler. n/t winter is coming Feb 2015 #31

That's a test for TB, not a vaccination. Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #59

It was a smallpox vaccination. Ino Feb 2015 #77

Now, it doesn't have to be anyplace at all :) Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #79

Mine too shanti Feb 2015 #90

You can do whatever you want with your kids. RandySF Feb 2015 #28

Her kid is vaccinated Ilsa Feb 2015 #30

I am her father acutely... KellyW Feb 2015 #32

Message auto-removed Name removed Feb 2015 #42

"When to vaccinate or not is a much more complicated issue" MattBaggins Feb 2015 #33

I'll stipulate that the swine flu vaccine was a mistake, with the facts as you present them steve2470 Feb 2015 #34

CDC doesn't recommend TB vaccine except in very select cases. LisaL Feb 2015 #37

Once again my point is proven KellyW Feb 2015 #39

You are aware that TB is not a recommended vaccination in the US - Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #65

Really rockodman Feb 2015 #36

"the right to decide for themselves and their dependents if and when to vaccinate" or gvts telling uppityperson Feb 2015 #38

Thank you, KellyW. pnwmom Feb 2015 #43

Right wing nonsense is creeping into the Democratic party AgingAmerican Feb 2015 #44

Honestly, you disgust me. nt alp227 Feb 2015 #45

Lulz..nt Jesus Malverde Feb 2015 #51

You lost me at your first inflammatory, stupid paragraph. SunSeeker Feb 2015 #46

Try to follow along, this is important KellyW Feb 2015 #48

Well said. Ilsa Feb 2015 #50

Thimerosal is actually not out of all pediatric vaccinations. Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #61

Flu vaccine is not mandated -But some have suggested adding it to the mandatory list KellyW Feb 2015 #67

Yet, anyway - and quite a few here have been screaming to make it mandatory Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #84

I can "follow along" your bullshit just fine. I can read. SunSeeker Feb 2015 #76

I was the lucky recipient of the swine flu vaccine in February of 1977... ladyVet Feb 2015 #49

I don't know JimmydaRustler Feb 2015 #52

Enjoy your stay Katashi_itto Feb 2015 #54

well shanti Feb 2015 #89

If she keeps touting CTs it won't be long. However infrequent she posts. Katashi_itto Feb 2015 #98

Message auto-removed Name removed Feb 2015 #101

Bully for you. Too bad for the rest of us. WhiteTara Feb 2015 #55

And when was your last TB vaccination? Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #62

I had the actual disease WhiteTara Feb 2015 #63

Sorry to hear that - Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #64

However, in the 50s it and polio WhiteTara Feb 2015 #66

This is what is required in my state (WA) KellyW Feb 2015 #72

we don't vaccinate the general population against TB in the US magical thyme Feb 2015 #75

They didn't routinely vaccinate against TB in the US, ever. Ms. Toad Feb 2015 #78

DPT=diptheria, pertussis, typhoid. n/t dgibby Feb 2015 #104

Jesus. This is a masterpiece of paranoid mis-direction. Aristus Feb 2015 #70

There is no fucking controversy, Jesus Christ! TransitJohn Feb 2015 #73

Safe and effective are relative, not absolute KellyW Feb 2015 #92

Never mind alarimer Feb 2015 #85

... NuclearDem Feb 2015 #93

You lost me at... Atman Feb 2015 #96

Only one human disease has been eradicated-smallpox KellyW Feb 2015 #102

Follow this from your post: mountain grammy Feb 2015 #103

People seem to be less and less interested in doing their part as a member of society. Marr Feb 2015 #108