A new case of chickenpox in a baby Unfortunately, it puts vaccines in the spotlight. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, it seems that he was infected with his brothers, who were not vaccinated, and had spent two months before.
The child's mother sought medical attention after noticing that the child had developed weakness on the right side of his body. The doctors determined that suffered a stroke as a result of a chickenpox infection.
What is chickenpox
According to the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) it is an infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It can appear at any time of the year. It is a classic childhood disease and, unless vaccinated, almost all children go through it before adolescence.
Chickenpox is very contagious, so when there is a sick person in the house, 80-90% of the people who live there and did not suffer it before end up getting it. It is transmitted by direct contact with skin lesions or through droplets of saliva that are expelled with a cough or sneeze.
Patients are contagious approximately two days before the rash appears until all skin lesions have become scabs (about a week).
The Spanish Association of Pediatrics (AEP) recommends vaccination of all children with two doses of chickenpox vaccine since 2000: the first at 12-15 months of age and the second, between two and four years. It is included in the calendar of vaccinations 2018 funded by Social Security.
The dangers of not getting vaccinated
Dr. Tina Tan, a professor of pediatrics at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at the Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital (Illinois, USA) warns Today of regrowth of this disease that was already controlled, because parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children.
"They are not aware that widespread vaccination protects children who cannot get vaccinated, either because they are under one year old (such as a baby affected by a stroke), or because they have immune system problems."
Dr. Tan, who also chairs the Department of Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics, notes that “As chickenpox cases became less frequent, we were forgetting how dangerous the disease could be. And, although stroke is relatively rare, it is still a possibility. ”
This doctor explains to the American media that:
"The chickenpox virus infects the large blood vessels in the brain and causes inflammation. The blood vessels can heal and that can decrease the blood supply to the brain, which can cause a stroke."
The prognosis? The doctor says it is inconclusive:
"Some people recover with rehabilitation while others live with permanent disabilities, such as paralysis or seizure disorders, depending on which blood vessels are involved."
Other possible serious complications of chickenpox are: herpes zoster, a painful skin rash that causes blisters. You can also get meningitis, which is an infection of the spinal fluid around the cord or brain. And even encephalitis, pneumonia and severe dehydration.
If you are still not convinced that vaccines are a good option, taking into account the dissenting voices against immunizing children, you can read the Handbook of Vaccines for Parents: proven, scientific and truthful information about vaccines, published in Babies and more.
To conclude this article we are left with the reflection on the case of this American baby in the TV channel Today, of Dr. Nina Shapiro. This professor at the University of California School of Medicine in Los Angeles and director of pediatric otolaryngology at UCLA, states that:
"Collective immunity, which is what happens when the vast majority is vaccinated, is the only way to protect the vulnerable.""Parents should also remember that they are vaccinated not only to protect their own children, but also to protect vulnerable members of society who cannot be vaccinated, either because they are too small or because their system is compromised."
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