MFOHome About Commentary Discussions Funds The Best Resources Support Us!

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register

Categories

In this Discussion

Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

    Support MFO

  • Donate through PayPal

Texas Measles Outbreak Continues to Spread- Cod Liver Oil Recommended

Old_JoeOld_Joe
edited March 4 in Off-Topic
Following are excerpts from a current report in The New York Times:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the H.H.S. secretary, claimed that doctors had successfully treated children with unconventional remedies, including cod liver oil.
A measles outbreak that has spread over a swath of West Texas, killing one child, shows no signs of slowing, according to data released on Tuesday by state health officials. The Texas Department of Health reported that since late January, nearly 160 people have contracted measles — 20 more cases than reported on Friday — and 22 have been hospitalized.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday that it would send some of its “disease detectives” to Texas, one of the first steps the new administration has taken to help manage the outbreak. The news comes amid criticism of federal officials for underplaying the need for immunizations with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, one of the most important tools in quelling an outbreak.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services, on Sunday described vaccination as a personal decision.

In a prerecorded interview that aired on Fox News on Tuesday, he said that the federal government was shipping doses of vitamin A to Gaines County, in West Texas, and helping to arrange ambulance rides. Mr. Kennedy did not mention vaccination.

Doctors had seen “very, very good results,” Mr. Kennedy claimed, by treating measles cases in Texas with a steroid, budesonide; an antibiotic called clarithromycin; and cod liver oil, which he said had high levels of vitamin A and vitamin D.

While physicians sometimes administer doses of vitamin A to treat children with severe measles cases, cod liver oil is “by no means” an evidence-based treatment, said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. Dr. O’Leary added that he had never heard of a physician using the supplement against measles.

In comments that seemed to refer to conventional safeguards against measles, Mr. Kennedy said, “We’re going to be honest with the American people for the first time in history about what actually — about all of the tests and all of the studies, about what we know, what we don’t know.”

“We’re going to tell them, and that’s going to anger some people who want an ideological approach to public health.”

In Texas, measles cases have been confirmed in nine counties, many of which have vaccination rates below federal recommendations.

About one in five people who catch measles will be hospitalized, according to the C.D.C.

The virus also weakens the immune system in the long term, making its host more susceptible to future infections. A 2015 study found that before the M.M.R. vaccine was widely available, measles may have been responsible for up to half of all infectious disease deaths in children.
Comments:

• Mr. Kennedy's claim that cod liver oil is an effective measles treatment is self-evident: there has never been a documented case of a codfish catching measles.

• "Helping to arrange ambulance rides" would seem to be somewhat less effective than immunization, but then I'm not a medical expert myself.

Comments

  • yogibearbullyogibearbull
    edited March 4
    On ambulances, our local community now bills $3,400+ & $15/mile for 911 ambulance calls. It says that payments are not required from residents, but it wants insurance info to collect some money from insurance.
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    edited March 4
    Note that "Helping to 'arrange' ambulance rides" didn't say anything about "Helping to pay for ambulance rides".
  • MarkMark
    I'm also 99% sure that 'Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases' will be out of a job ASAP once what he stated is reported to the firing goon in charge.
  • CrashCrash
    New Mexico, too. So stoopid. MAGA Orange = dumb as rocks. Ignore facts and science. Instead, pander to your own absurd preconceptions. But the prerequisite is to let a worm eat away part of your BRAIN. This is despicable negligence.
  • gman57
    edited March 5
    Actually I vote let him run it.... what's it called thinning the herd? Natural selection? Get rid of stupid people faster?
  • BenWPBenWP
    Maybe Kennedy will endorse bleach for Covid. Just the mention of cod liver oil takes me back to the unpleasant taste of that horrible stuff my mother must have thought we needed. I much prefer the algae capsules I take today.
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    "Just the mention of cod liver oil takes me back to the unpleasant taste of that horrible stuff my mother must have thought we needed."

    You too, h'mmm? Although I do have to say that algae capsules don't sound so great either.
  • Sven
    I too had cod liver oil as a child. Gross! I will stay with a well balanced diet.

    By the way, I got a measles vaccine recently as my primary care physician recommended. Measles was eradicated from the US population by year 2000 through vaccination. Now is resurfacing in small pockets of the population in US. According to CDC, measles has a R sub O factor of 12-18, which means that each person with measles would, on average, infect 12-18 other people in a totally susceptible population. And that is highly contagious.
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28757186/
  • MarkMark
    Would one drink that liver oil with a shot of bleach on the side?
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    Maybe a shot of scotch, but I was too young for that.
  • hank
    edited March 9
    I have long taken daily fish oil capsules for med reasons. Great! Now I can expect to pay more as these follow toilet tissue (Trump I) and eggs (Trump II) into the stratosphere.

    PS - The capsules go down easily. No need for a shot of scotch at 8:00 AM when they are typically taken along with other meds.:)


    - Thanks for the note re vaccine @Sven. I’m confident I had the correct shots back in early 50s. But will ask my physician whether any booster is needed.
  • Sven
    edited March 10
    I believe all of us were vaccinated as kids when we entered public school, and it should still be effective against measles. For the elderly who have compromised health, a booster shot is recommended according to my doctor. Two confirmed dead in Texas involved one young health person and an older person with pre-existing condition. The risk is the ease of transmission via respiratory.

    Edit: here is recent article on recent measles outbreak in US and what it took to get it in control.
    https://apple.news/ApBdNb-LkQu-wDOsIsTZWbw
  • Soupkitchen
    Hank be careful of those fish oil capsules. They contain mercury but the manufacturers have no obligation to state how much. I know I sound like RFK Jr.. if you already knew this, the nevermind.Even if they use farmed fish to make the oil, they are fed fish meal that can contain mercury.
  • davidrmorandavidrmoran
    Please stop w this crap !

    Go read Mayo or similar reliable sources

    It has been measured

    Kerrist, such bunk from you
  • Sven
    Here is an article from National Institute of Health, “ Measurement of mercury levels in concentrated over-the-counter fish oil preparations: is fish oil healthier than fish?”
    Context: Fish consumption has been associated with a decreased risk of coronary artery disease. Recent studies have illustrated that the high mercury content in cold-water fish may negate the cardiovascular benefits of fish meals. Fish oils have similar antiatherogenic properties to fish, and similar studies should be performed to determine the level of mercury in fish oils.

    Objective: To determine the concentration of mercury in 5 over-the-counter brands of fish oil.

    Results: The levels of mercury in the 5 different brands of fish oil ranged from nondetectable (Conclusions: Fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and their consumption is recommended to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease. However, fish such as swordfish and shark are also a source of exposure to the heavy metal toxin, mercury. The fish oil brands examined in this manuscript have negligible amounts of mercury and may provide a safer alternative to fish consumption.
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14632570/

    Fish oil is extracted from oily fish such as anchovies and sardines; both are readily available in the wild. These fishes from low food chain have very low concentration of heavy metals. Swordfish, on the other hand, are on the top of food chain and thus concentrate heavy metals from consuming other fish from the lower food chain.
  • davidrmorandavidrmoran
    tnx

    https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-fish-oil/art-20364810

    Fish oil appears to contain almost no mercury, ....
Sign In or Register to comment.