Sensitivity to chicken and eggs = flu shot?

[laurah]

I was sensitive to both chicken (2+) and eggs (61) on my Enterolab results. What does this mean for the flu shot? Does that warrant refusing it?

[tex]

Hi Laura,

It is risky for some of us to get a flu shot, because it can trigger an anaphylactic reaction under certain circumstances (such as when we are having a mast cell reaction, or an MC reaction that involves significant mast cell activity. It can also trigger certain permanent autoimmune issues for some of us. The first post in the thread at the link below describes some of the details of what can happen.

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... t=flu+shot

Obviously this doesn't happen to all of us, but at least several members here have reported having a similar experience. Personally, I've never had a flu shot, but I'm not a pediatrician, and I don't teach school, so as long as I stay out here on the farm and mind my own business, I do OK without a shot.

Tex

[laurah]

I emailed Enterolabs with this question and they suggested not getting the flu shot. I have only had them a few times in my life, when work required it and am happy to have a reason to refuse :-)

[tex]

Thanks for the update. It's good to hear that they agreed that the flu shot may be risky for some of us.

Tex

[laurah]

I just read today that there are now flu shots made from dog cells because they are better at growing the influenza virus and people who are sensitive to chicken and eggs can have them. Yuck though...for some reason this gives me more heebies than the chicken ones.

[tex]

Yuck though...for some reason this gives me more heebies than the chicken ones.

I hear you. And now I'm wondering if that means that we can catch the flu from canines.

Tex

[nerdhume]

They did keep a nurse's dog in quarantine for ebola. I have 4 dogs

[tex]

Theresa,

That's been on my mind ever since that decision was announced. And yet no one in the media (or anyone else) seemed to pay any attention to the significance of it. Why didn't they try to sensationalize that the same way that they blow everything else out of proportion? Is only positive news allowed about dogs? Dogs may actually be a much more likely vector for the spread of Ebola than humans, because they are asymptomatic (free of noticeable clinical symptoms) when they show positive serology.

From a CDC report:

During the 2001–2002 outbreak in Gabon, we observed that several dogs were highly exposed to Ebola virus by eating infected dead animals. To examine whether these animals became infected with Ebola virus, we sampled 439 dogs and screened them by Ebola virus–specific immunoglobulin (Ig) G assay, antigen detection, and viral polymerase chain reaction amplification. Seven (8.9%) of 79 samples from the 2 main towns, 15 (15.2%) of 99 samples from Mekambo, and 40 (25.2%) of 159 samples from villages in the Ebola virus–epidemic area had detectable Ebola virus–IgG, compared to only 2 (2%) of 102 samples from France. Among dogs from villages with both infected animal carcasses and human cases, seroprevalence was 31.8%. A significant positive direct association existed between seroprevalence and the distances to the Ebola virus–epidemic area. This study suggests that dogs can be infected by Ebola virus and that the putative infection is asymptomatic.

Ebola Virus Antibody Prevalence in Dogs and Human Risk

The red emphasis is mine of course, and you won't catch me kissing any dogs or allowing them to slobber on me if there is any possibility that they have been exposed. I also wonder if the incubation period is the same for non-primate animals as it is for primates.

Other animals can also catch Ebola, and they are also typically asymptomatic (or show only very mild symptoms). In Africa, the disease has been found in antelopes and rodents, and pigs, guinea pigs, horses and goats have been experimentally infected. But so far, cats seem to be immune.

But to date at least, there is no evidence that conventional canine influenza can be transmitted to humans, so we only have to worry about catching Ebola from them.

Tex

[nerdhume]

I watched a program from Nova on Ebola. The question was where had the virus been hiding? How and why did the people get it now? The best theory is that the bats in the area carried the virus and were asymptomatic. Because it doesn't kill them they can have it for generations and remain carriers.
I am hoping ebola doesn't spread here enough for my dogs to be an issue. I also hope the gov is telling the truth about the way it is spread. Somehow the guys in hazmat suits, double bagging anything that the patient has touched, leads me to think it might be easier to catch than we are being told.

[tex]

Somehow the guys in hazmat suits, double bagging anything that the patient has touched, leads me to think it might be easier to catch than we are being told.

I agree. There seem to be huge differences in risk, and the reasons are a mystery. On one hand, in certain situations it seems to be almost impossible to be careful enough, and at the other extreme, the risk seems to be almost non-existant.

I wonder if vulnerability/susceptibility/resistance might be the key. I wish we had access to the vitamin D levels of the patients who were diagnosed with the disease. I have a hunch that might provide some valuable insight.

Speaking of bats . . . I haven't seen a single one around here in at least a year or 2. A few years ago I found dead bats fairly often. Bats have a huge rabies problem in this part of the country, but I wonder if the West Nile Virus might be a problem for them also. West Nile almost wiped out the crow population around here, but they seem to be slowly coming back again now.

Now that you've told me about the Ebola issue with bats (on top of the almost constant rabies problem around here ), I'm beginning to view the little buggers as something less than the furry, cuddly image that is typically promoted for them.

Tex

[JLH]

Thanks for that info, Laurah. It is good to know that I made the right decision not to get the flu shot.

[Gabes-Apg]

Theresa /tex
Too funny you mention bats, back in 2007, when I was poorly, I saw the top immunologist in Brisbane, the only explaination he could give for med issues/symptoms was that I must have had contact with bat urine, in a cave in Papua New Guinea. (I hadn't)
(2 yrs later The MC Dx and discussions on this forum explained all the issues)

I wonder if bats is the go to answer, when things can't be explained??
(Or can't be blamed on Area 51 )

Tex, lots of bats here in Aus, big big issue, population out of control spreading virus that kills horses, and has killed children. Lissa Virus?? Lots of issues about controlling population. There are some towns that have not slept for months due to the noise the large population of bats make of a night. Anyone that gets scratched by a bat, has to go straight to the hospital
Horses get sick if they lick or ingest anything with the bat poop on it.
Humans get sick from a scratch..

[tex]

I wonder if bats is the go to answer, when things can't be explained??
(Or can't be blamed on Area 51 )

Maybe bats are the immunologists' version of "IBS".

That's bad news about the virus, because it's probably only a matter of time before it arrives over here, and Texas is loaded with weekend cowboys and cowgirls who spend small fortunes on their horses. Many of the larger bridges on interstate highways are home to colonies of bats that sometimes number in the millions. And some of those bridges are in the middle of, or close by, major population centers (such as Austin). When the bats fly out at dusk, they are so dense in the air for an hour or so that they show up on radar. And of course a lot of the surrounding ranch country has limestone caves, and many of the larger caves also house millions of bats.

Fortunately, I live about 30 miles from the nearest big colony, and they don't fly out this far (so far).

Tex

[JLH]

It cost us nearly $700 to get rid of bats roosting on the front of our house! None were in the attic, thank goodness. Good business for the bat guy. He had removed them from a neighbor around the corner previously and probably others since ours.

[JLH]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_HyPezYzmw#t=227

"It's not too late to not get the flu vaccine."