Counterintuitivity

“Going forward, health specialists say that India will still be vulnerable from threat of importing the virus from neighboring countries. For instance, China, where the last indigenous polio case was recorded in 1994, had a polio case last year, which was traced to a visitor from Pakistan.”  ~Nikita Garia, The Wall Street Journal

Garia’s claim is a proposal, but not so much a proposal for intended change; instead it is a proposal for what is to come if polio is not eradicated in the Middle Eastern and Asian countries.  As for supporting the overall claim that polio must be eradicated, Garia insinuates that polio never will be absolutely gone; with India’s intense relief efforts, the risk is still there from neighboring countries.  The statistic about China does a fair job to drive this concept home, as it is a rather alarming notion that polio has suddenly occurred there for the first time in almost 20 years.

For this assignment I used Academic Search Premier.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9bb5c94f-1749-403b-9d10-e31cde710e32%40sessionmgr15&vid=4&hid=21

“The two main arguments that are used in support of a possible association are: (i) the prevalence of autism has been increasing at the same time that infant vaccination coverage has increased; and (ii) in some cases of autism, there is an apparent temporal association in which autistic characteristics become apparent within a few weeks to a few months after vaccination. Neither argument, however, is compelling.”

The article is about how measles vaccinations were closely linked to the cause of autism but are no longer linked to each other. It gives the reasoning as to why they were closely linked to each other. On the other hand the article also provides how those same reasons and new reasons why measles vaccinations are not linked any more.

• I searched the CDC website for polio eradication.
• “The number of worldwide polio cases has fallen from an estimated 350,000 in 1988 to fewer than 1300 in 2010—a decline of more than 99% in reported cases.”
• This supports the claim that it is possible to eradicate the polio virus. It also goes on to say that there are only four remaining countries that are polio-endemic. This is strong support because it shows strong statistics that show a sharp decline in the reported number of polio cases in a time span of only twenty-two years.

I decided to find information as to why everyone should be on board with the eradication of polio. This is a proposal claim to get the whole world to participate in polio eradication. To learn about the topic I typed “current eradication of polio” in the google search bar and clicked on the second suggestion which led me to the following website: http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmonitoring/Poliothisweek.aspx . This site provides a table from the WHO, World Health Organization, with information on the amount of total cases of polio in 2011 and 2010. A number that caught my eye is that only 17 countries were reported having cases of polio in 2011. Even more interesting is that in the 17 countries a total of only 647 cases. This makes the percentage of people effected by polio about .00000009%. This percentage being ridiculously low just proves how effective the eradication of polio has been so far. This proof alone should be enough to get everyone who is not on board with the vaccines on board so the world can finally be rid polio.

I have chosen to write about if the vaccine should be mandatory based on the fact that it actually infects about one in three million people instead of curing them (oral vaccine only).  After a quick google search I found a link to a CBS news article written in 2009 about some of the dangers that the polio vaccine itself carries.  This particular column was dedicated to the evaluation claim that the oral vaccine was not worth taking.  The article detailed how an outbreak caused from the vaccine can be more dangerous than a “naturally occurring” outbreak because of its ability to mutate into a more devastating virus.  At the time this article was written there were seven documented cases of the vaccine causing such outbreaks.

In this light, I do not think it fair to force the vaccine (especially the oral vaccine) on anyone.  Although the certain tribes may seem overly paranoid to people living in more industrialized countries we must remember that this is their culture and it should be respected.  The one in three million does seem to hold a very low possibility but most lotteries have significantly lower probabilities and many still choose to buy a ticket, so we should we not expect that some people might not want to tempt fate in a similar manner.

Total eradication of the polio disease does seem like an incredible thing but we need to realize the cost of doing something as radical as forcing people in places like Africa and other developing countries to take the vaccine is too high.  We cannot force people to do something that they view as immoral or dangerous even if it appears to be nonsensical.  A common practice in the United States is Jehovah’s Witnesses refusing to accept blood transfusions, even if it will save their lives because they believe it is wrong, this moral is upheld in our society even though to some it may seem odd.  The idea of “crop dusting” over certain tribes might seem good in theory but the hardship that it most certainly will cause is not worth it.

Edit: added link

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/14/health/main5242168.shtml

In the early 2000s, a British study was released, announcing the link between the measles and mumps (MMPR) vaccination could cause early onset autism or interfere with a preexisting condition. However, recent studies by Columbia University researcher Ian Lipkin and Irish pathologist and co-author of the previously released study have proved that the MMPR vaccination does not affect children with autism. The original study is now believed to have been misrepresented. The overall conclusion is that the fear of vaccinations caused a rise in both the MMPR virus and an unrelated rise in autism; there is no link between the vaccine and autism.

This is a definitional claim– it changes the way people can look at vaccinations and autism.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/06/autism.vaccines/index.html

There are some substances that are still believed to have altering effects on autism. Many autistic children have GI or other digestive issues, so doctors urge those with the disease to eat foods that will improve digestion. Items to avoid: gluten rich foods, dairy based products and other common allergens such as tree nuts. Other suggestions are to add vitamin and mineral substitutes. For example, iron and vitamins D, C, and B4 have had proven effects that can alter moods and even severe depression and digestive issues that coincide with various forms of autism.

definitional claim– How to treat eating habits.

http://www.foodforthebrain.org/content.asp?id_Content=1632