Misinformation is a problem at the best of times, and unfortunately, the Internet is full of it. People with no solid background in science, medicine, or healthcare are some of the worst offenders when it comes to misinformation because they often manage to package themselves as “qualified” or “professional” when they actually aren’t either and this is a real problem because they inevitably attract followers via those looking for answers when things go wrong.

They are kind of like cult leaders, I think,  with an over generous dollop of pot-stirrer (to attract controversy) thrown in for good measure and are very good at roping in the type of people who will readily believe whatever they read or hear and in the case of parents looking for something to blame when their child is not born perfectly healthy…well they’re just fodder for these self-styled “professionals”

Top of the list right now are the anti-vaccers. On the off chance you don’t know who they are, anti-vaccers are are loudly vocal group advocating that parents forgo vaccinations in the interests of their children’s health. They have proclaimed that vaccinations are full of poisonous toxins and are to blame for such conditions as asthma, schizophrenia, autism and eczema and that’s just for starters. No doubt there are other health issues out there just waiting to be labelled as vaccine-induced too but those I have mentioned above are the most common baddies at the moment. The anti-vaccine advocates would have you believe that it is actually good for children to contract nasty preventable diseases because, basically, they are “non-threatening” illnesses and once the child recovers they will have a natural immunity. Ri-ight, except that “recovers” is the debatable word here.

Let’s do a whip-around of those “non-threatening” diseases, shall we? We’ll start with Measles, Mumps and Chickenpox. Yes, children have caught these and most of them recovered, but measles and chickenpox can leave pockmark scars that don’t go away. Mumps can leave boys sterile. Adults who are unfortunate enough to contract these diseases are a lot sicker than if they had had the diseases as children. Adult males who contract mumps are more highly likely to end up sterile.

Next on the list is Diphtheria. This highly contagious bacterial disease attacks and causes inflammation of the mucus membranes. It also causes the formation of false membranes in the throat, which seriously hinders breathing and swallowing, as well as potentially fatal heart and nerve damage via the bacterial toxins in the bloodstream. Tetanus is another bacterial nasty which causes severe and painful spasms and rigidity of the voluntary muscles and locks the jaw. There is no cure. Tuberculosis (TB, Consumption) is a bacterial infection that especially infects the lungs. Symptoms are fever, coughing fits that get more severe as the disease progresses and death is usually caused by eventual haemorrhage. The most common form, Pulmonary Tuberculosis, has caused millions of deaths. And let’s not forget Poliomyelitis (Polio). This infectious viral disease attacks the central nervous system, causing paralysis. Those making a recovery are left crippled. Many ended up in an iron lung, a big metal device which provided prolonged artificial respiration. Before vaccination, hospitals had a lot of these.  And then there’s Whooping Cough, a highly contagious bacterial disease characterised by compulsive coughing. Also know as Pertussis, it is usually fatal in babies and toddlers. Seriously, who would do nothing to prevent their child catching one of these when the means to prevention is readily available???

The advent of vaccination means these diseases have, thankfully, all but disappeared in developed countries. The bacteria that causes them is still present in our world but the controlled dose of lab-grown versions of them means we can be safely “infected” but not catch the disease, let alone die from it! But vaccination is most effective when everyone gets it and that’s where those refusing to vaccinate their children are causing so much damage. A vaccinated child coming into close proximity with an unvaccinated one who is sick can still contract the disease and can then pass it on to others, like babies not yet old enough to have begun the vaccination program, those with other health issues and the aged and it is often fatal for them.

In an extreme effort to promote non-vaccination, anti-vaccers have propagated a rabid campaign of misinformation which has caused a lot of confusion for some parents who naturally want to do the best by their children. This is very unfair. Interestingly, many of the anti-vaccination supporters soon lost their fervour when the Australian Government imposed welfare cuts and the non-payment of other government assistance to those refusing to vaccinate their children. Funny that! But with the reintroduction of many of these nasty but preventable diseases, due to a stubborn and misguided group of individuals opting out of vaccinating, some hefty action needed to be taken  and withholding the government handouts these people enjoy was probably one of the most effective actions it could have taken.

Because money talks.