You didn’t die from it 30 years ago and you’re not going to die from it today.

Those words were spoken by Meryl Dorey, arch-antivaxer and chief fallacy-pusher of the Australian Vaccination Network, on Channel 7's "Sunday Night" programme. The segment was discussing measles and pertussis outbreaks here in Australia, and focused on the tragic death of little Dana McCaffery from pertussis.

The non-factual basis of this quote is beyond question, however just for good measure, let's look at some mortality figures for measles and pertussis. First, let's see about 30 years ago.

Here are some figures from the mid-1970s, a time when I, a 30-something, was making my first faltering steps into the world. The figures are from the US, and the abstract reads

During 1971-75, an average of 35.4 measles-related deaths were recorded each year; one death for every 1,000 measles cases reported

an annual average in the US of 35.4 doesn't sound like zero to me. Then again, Meryl has "a brain" and apparently that makes her qualified. But that was 30 years ago. How about now?

Well, again, here are some figures.

During 2000–2008, global mortality attributed to measles declined by 78%, from an estimated 733,000 deaths in 2000 to 164,000 in 2008 (Table 1, Figure), but the decline leveled off during 2007–2008 (Figure

This is, of course, worldwide. You work witrh the figures you've got, I suppose, but again, we're looking at an emphatically non-zero number.

So that's measles done. What about pertussis?

Again, some figures.

Now, the mortality rate for hospitalized patients in the United States and in Europe is about 1 per 500 cases (<0.2% of those reported). The overall infant mortality rate is 2.4 per 1 million live births. The CDC reported 39 deaths from pertussis in 2005; 32 (82%) occurred in infants younger than 3 months. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 294,000 children died from pertussis worldwide in 2002.

Earlier in the article, we get some historic overview

The rate of pertussis peaked in the 1930s, with 265,269 cases and 7518 deaths reported in the United States. This rate decreased to a low in 1976, when 1010 cases and 4 deaths occurred. The rate recently peaked to 25,616 cases (8.7 cases per 100,000 people per year) reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2005

Again, busted. Meryl, of course, is lying. People die from measles and pertussis.

Worse than that, though, given that we know Meryl lies, was that this quote was blurted out within spitting distance of the grieving parents of little Dana McCaffery. Not only is Meryl a liar, she's a callous, heartless one.

Of course, this is old news, but I've re-raised it specifically for the "That Meryl!" video series, which highlights some of Meryl's finest moments for a visual audience. Please do subscribe, there'll be a lot more to come, if we know Meryl.

posted @ Tuesday, May 18, 2010 2:00 PM

 
 
 

Comments on this entry:

# re: "You didn’t die from it 30 years ago and you’re not going to die from it today.”

Left by MWFan at 5/22/2010 12:00 AM
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Aha! Mainstream! You should send that in to Media Watch.

# re: "You didn’t die from it 30 years ago and you’re not going to die from it today.”

Left by Steve Packard at 7/1/2010 6:14 AM
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The numbers are not necessarily as low or as isolated as they seem.

first lets just consider that the direct death rate might be as low as .2% Is that low? Well, if an aircraft had a service record where .2% of passengers were killed by crashes, it never be allowed to fly by any aviation authority. That would be insanely high. Even in the early days of passenger aviation in the 1930's, when small piston engine planes flew at only a few thousand feet, such a safety record would be considered abysmal.

But lets not forget, Measels is not the only thing that Meryl Dorey seems to like to see kids die of. Add in mumps, rubella, typhoid, tetanus, pertussis, meningitis and so on and those tenths of a percent really start to add up to very signifficant amounts.

Then there's the other cost, that might not be reflected directly. Around the world, healthcare systems are under strain. Every time a life needs to be saved by rushing a sick child to a hospital, that's one less bed for someone else, more money spent that didn't have to be, and which could have paid for better treatment for another. That;s more doctors and nurses being sent to care for a patient who didn't need to get sick.


Then there are those who didn't die but carry the complications for life. Measels can result in rental scaring which can cause life long damage to vision. Measels, mumps and chicken pox can cause life long scars and blemishes on the face and elsewhere. Mumps can result in hearing loss or loss of fertility. Measels can occasionally cause neurological damage due to fever and other complications due to dehydration.

Sure, these are not in the majority of cases, but they happen and they don't need to. If there was no measels vaccine there'd be hundreds of deaths a year in a country like the US. In the grand scheme of things, that's a small proportion, but that is hundreds of families torn apart, hundreds of potentially long lives snuffed out. Hundreds of mothers who will cry for months and hurt for years and years. Hundreds of fathers left with lifelong heartbreak visiting the grave of their child and wondering what he or she could have been. Hundreds of brothers and sisters scared by the terrible loss of a sibling. Thousands of playmates and classmates facing tragedy at a young age.

Yes, this is what Meryl seems to want for the world. Many lives cut short, many many more ravished with the pain of loss and many others facing life long disability or the pain and difficulty of caring for a loved one with vision problems, hearing problems and other issues.

You will find few others who manage to harbor such unrestrained cruelty and blatant disregard for the suffering of their fellow human being.
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