>
>Dear Kathy,

No one should throw you off Lactnet...  I think immunization is probably
another one of those issues that we romanticize in the First World.  I
remember my first year in Honduras, 34 years ago and going to the hospital
to help save the life of my gardener's daughter, struck down by
measles.  Seeing her with her vision impaired and a permanent heart
problem...gave me a deep respect for the power of immunization.

In fact, I think that some of the issues that we have been talking about
lately in terms of breastfeeding not protecting against everything are
particularly true about immuno-preventative diseases.  Like measles and
tetanus. At this point in history within the US, we can perhaps have the
luxury of thinking that we might be able to avoid immunizing our
children... but we need to remember that the US is only a small percentage
of the human race.  We can certainly appreciate that breastfeeding enhances
immunity, but to imply that it could ever be a substitute for  basic
immunization would put us in a very untenable position.

I work at CARE and we have a special office dedicated to polio
eradication.  In the US, in fact in this hemisphere, its easy to forget
that this crippling disease still exists, but it does...and thousands of
people spend countless hours dedicated to its eradication.   Now, in the
US, we may have the luxury of not giving our children polio vaccine, but in
Latin America, which has 10 years of being polio free, there is still
universal polio immunization and there is constant monitoring.

Enough sounding off....

Judy


Judy Canahuati
520 Commerce Drive
Decatur, GA 30030
404-373-7396
email:mailto:[log in to unmask]

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