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The focus on measles in the Pacific Northwest intensified on March 1 when Oregon public health officials announced a new case of this highly contagious disease, unrelated to an ongoing epidemic in the Pacific. Washington State, which has sickened 68 people to date. (AP Photo / Elaine Thompson, File)
An unvaccinated six-year-old boy nearly died after contracting tetanus as a result of a deep forehead cut that his parents cleaned and sutured at home. This was the first case of tetanus in children in the state of Oregon for more than thirty years.
Radio KIRO's Colleen O'Brien spoke with Dr. Carl Eriksson, an intensive care pediatrician in Portland, Oregon, for Seattle's Morning News. Dr. Eriksson was part of the child protection team and co-author of the case report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Six days after the child cut his forehead while he was playing on a farm, he started crying, jaw tightening and feeling severe muscle spasms. have led to arching uncontrollably. Parents contacted emergency medical services when their son began to have trouble breathing. He was airlifted to the Doernbecher Children's Hospital, where he spent 47 days in the intensive care unit and eight weeks in the hospital, for a total stay of $ 811,929. This number does not include air travel to the hospital nor the 17 days that the child has spent in an inpatient rehabilitation program, relearning to walk.
Tetanus vaccines are so effective that most pediatricians in the United States never see a case like this, Dr. Eriksson said. He and the rest of the team of child doctors, many of whom specialize in infectious diseases, had to rely on studies by developing countries to develop a treatment plan.
Before leaving the hospital, the parents refused one dose of DTaP tetanus vaccine and all other recommended vaccinations. Dr. Eriksson said the conversation was difficult for many doctors and nurses caring for the child, who had seen how tetanus could be painful.
"It's always difficult for us to watch a child suffer," said Dr. Eriksson. "It's more difficult when you know they have an easily preventable disease."
Unlike most vaccine-preventable diseases, tetanus does not offer any significant immunity to those who have contracted the disease in the past. And since tetanus is present in the soil, herd immunity does not work.
"If everyone around you is vaccinated but you are not vaccinated, you run the same risk as if no one was vaccinated," said Dr. Eriksson.
In February, Washington State passed a bill that will eliminate personal or philosophical exemptions from the MMR vaccine. The vote took place in the midst of a measles outbreak in southwestern Washington, which prompted Governor Jay Inslee to declare the state of emergency on Jan. 25.
This bill has now been transferred to the Washington State Senate, where legislators are also considering a broader measure that would end the ability of parents to seek a personal exemption from all vaccines required by schools. The legislative session ends on April 28.
Dr. Eriksson said he was in favor of removing personal and philosophical exemptions from otherwise mandatory vaccines.
"I support this legislation, as a person who regularly deals with these diseases and the terrible effects they have on children," said Dr. Eriksson.
The CDC recommends a series of 5 doses of tetanus toxoid for all children under 6 years of age. Adults should be reminded of tetanus every ten years.
"I think one of the things that is illustrated by this case is that these diseases are absolutely terrible, they are or can be at least lethal, and that not vaccinating your child can have deadly consequences," said Dr. Eriksson. "[Tetanus] is a terrible disease and we tend to forget it because we never see it. "
Uninsured and underinsured eligible children can receive free vaccines under the Vaccines for Children program.
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