Tigdas

You may know that there are some significant outbreaks of Measles in the UK right now. And we have a 5 month old baby. Problem is we aren't certain about my wife's history and the extent or quality of her own immunisation. My wife thinks the equivalent of Measles is Tigdas and is going to ask her mom if she has had it. I also notice that "Tigdas-hangin" is the equivalent of German Measles aka Rubella.

Babies in the UK are not normally vaccinated against measles until they are 12 months old evidently.

Yes John, children need to be at least 12 months old before they can be vaccinated.

Maybe things are different these days, but it really used to be when children started school that they had a high risk of such problems.

I think if you're cautious and don't travel too much into crowded places then all will be well.
I understand your concerns about the protection or otherwise that your wife may have passed on.

Measles is not a nice thing at all.

Wasn't it the introduction of MMR jab that caused so many people to be put off of the vaccination?

I read somewhere that Mumps is making a comeback too.

Well, I had a chat with our Health Visitor yesterday and she was saying that the reason why the Measles jab isn't given before 1 year old is because the mother's antibodies would have provided the baby with sufficient to last a year. And to give the Measles vacination when the antibodies are in the baby, passed on from the mother, would cancel each other out. So it is important for the benefit of those under 1 year old to know the mother's history.

She has booked us an appointment with the GP so we will find out more then.

BTW I often go with my wife to our GP as sometimes key points are lost in translation.

Yes. That aswell.

Yes, fully agree. I've done that ever since we came to UK. I always ask now if she needs me with her and she always says yes.

Maybe it depends on the individual, but I found that my wife had didn't always seem to fully understand the questions that the GP would ask.

Yep. Same here. Or she doesn't always grasp their use of English.

For example, the Physiotherapist asked her to "pop yourself on the bed". You and I know what that means but my wife didn't!

When she was giving birth the midwife was politely asking her to push with her "bottom". I had to translate and say that whenever the midwife says "bottom", she means "butt"!

For the record our GP simply said that our baby was low risk and we will wait till she is 12 months old for her vaccination. The wife's mom seems pretty certain that my wife has had "Tigdas" so the baby will hopefully be immune until she is about 12 months old.

Wales measles: Long queues for MMR jabs at hospitals

Long queues have formed as four south Wales hospitals offer free MMR vaccinations aimed at curbing a measles epidemic.

People began waiting at one, Morriston Hospital in Swansea, an hour before the doors opened at 10:00 BST on Saturday.

By mid-morning about 75 children and their parents were outside the clinic.

The outbreak has affected nearly 600 people so far in south, mid and west Wales, and sessions are also being held in Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend.

Although aimed primarily at children, the vaccinations are available for anyone born after 1970 who has not had measles or been vaccinated.

Public health officials say confirmed measles cases have risen to 588 in the south Wales outbreak, which is centred on Swansea.

The latest figure shows 47 new cases of the disease since Wednesday, although this is less than half the increase of the previous week.

Public Health Wales has attributed the slowdown in the spread of the disease to a rise in the number of people being inoculated. But it has warned that 3,800 children have still not had both doses of the MMR vaccine.

It said just 600 in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board area received the jab in the past week.

That figure does not include children who are vaccinated as normal at 13 months and three years four months.

Public health officials are urging parents of unvaccinated children to attend the sessions at Morriston and Singleton hospitals in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot Hospital and the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.

The drop-in MMR vaccination clinics are being held until 16:00 BST on Saturday.

Officials have said it is "just a matter of time" before a child is left with serious and permanent complications, such as eye disorders, deafness or brain damage, or even dies.

Typical symptoms of measles include fever, cough, conjunctivitis and a rash. Complications are quite common even in healthy people and about 20% of reported measles cases experience one or more complication.

These can include ear infections, vomiting and diarrhoea, pneumonia, meningitis and serious eye disorders.

Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board said no appointments were necessary at its drop-in vaccination clinics and while they were targeting children and adolescents who had not had their scheduled MMR jabs, no-one would be turned away, including adults.

Some GP surgeries have also responded to the epidemic by offering extra clinics for the MMR vaccine.

Dr Marion Lyons, director of health protection for Public Health Wales, said: "I'm hopeful that through our collective efforts and with responsible parents getting their children vaccinated we can minimise the risks to children from this dreadful disease."

Although the epidemic is based on Swansea, cases continue to be reported across Wales.

The majority are in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, which as well as Swansea also includes Neath, Port Talbot and Bridgend; there are also cases in Powys and the Hywel Dda Health Board area, which covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases of measles across north-east England has reached 200 since September 2012.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has already declared the outbreak one of the worst in recent years.

There have been 200 confirmed and 176 suspected cases in north-east England, compared to just 18 confirmed in 2011.



Source:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22048635