Polio Eradication, or lack therof

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/spread-polio-now-world-health-emergency-23586786?page=2

Reading this story is somewhat perplexing.  I understand the spread of Polio in places that the virus exists, and how the social and political climate affects the level of protected individuals.  When they bring up Ukraine, however, I am a bit confused.  Has Polio been reported there, in the drinking water? 

A quick google search turns up this helpful article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/15/us-ukraine-polio-idUSBRE9AE0LJ20131115

In this article, it is spelled out more clearly: low vaccination rates in the middle east contribute to the rising rates.  With lower levels of trust in the government, Ukraine's citizens are vaccinated on a lower level, and so are vulnerable to travelers from the mideast. 

Interesting.

Nursing Shortage

Granted, it is a USAToday article.  Okay, but I will read more later when I can.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/05/07/ozy-nursing-shortage/8807937/

What I am paying attention to here is the nursing shortage abroad.  Don't get me wrong - I want to also serve in the USA - probably the majority of my career.  But I want to live abroad as well and am wondering if there are places in Sub-Saharan Africa and/or India that could work while raising a family.

MERS and Contagion?

This makes me think of Contagion, althuogh it is only one of an unfathomable number of diseases that are dangerously spreading from animals, and then slowly around the world, due to increased crowding and travel. 

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0502-US-MERS.html

The following paragraph was interesting to me:
While experts do not yet know exactly how this virus is spread, CDC advises Americans to help protect themselves from respiratory illnesses by washing hands often, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, avoid touching their eyes, nose and/or mouth with unwashed hands, and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.

Aren't all respiratory illnesses basically spread through the virus making its way to your hands through coughing or sneezing, or someone else coughing or sneezing, on a surface?  And we touch our faces and eventually infect ourselves by touching a mucus membrane?  How would this vary?

What I'm Reading Today

How Public Health Advocates are Trying to reach Non-Vaccinators

The approaches described in the article are interesting, because the situation was actually the opposite for me.  While pregnant with my first son, I was unsure whether to vaccinate.  One of the factors in arranging a meeting with his pediatrician was whether the practice would allow us to skip vaccinations or modify the schedule.  This practice allows that, and is the only one in our area that I found that did.  When I went to meet with the pediatrician, I asked him about vaccinations.  He calmly explained with facts, and offered articles as support, why vaccinations are safe and why the risk from not vaccinating is much greater than from vaccinating.  His approach made sense to us, and we choose to vaccinate our children.  When we go to our check-up appointments, the vaccinations are a part of the appointment.  That is, if we were non-vaccinators, we would have to actively deny the vaccination. 

With more understanding, I know why it is so important that my children, and all children who are able to be vaccinated, are.  I still agree with the practice's approach of allowing non-vaccinated children, because those children, whose parents are making a bad decision, should also have a right to health care.  I wish our provider didn't have to be the one to provide it, because I did worry before my children were vaccinated, but I felt the quality of care we receive there was excellent, so I did not change providers.

Public Health Concern: Conspiracy Theories

A survey getting some press today indicated that half of all Americans believe in health-related consipiracy theories.  This survey was conducted by political science professor Eric Oliver at the University of Chicago, and published in JAMA. 

Some of the conspiracy theories include:

• Vaccines cause autism
• Cell phones cause cancer
• The FDA is deliberately preventing access to natural cancer cures
• The use of GMOs in food is a program designed to shrink the world population

This, to me, represents a very difficult challenge in public health. I believe that, in buying into these myths, people believe they are being responsible and thinking critically.  It is hard, though, to refute the "evidence" that people have access to: they saw it on the internet, and therefore it must be true.  This is tough to refute not because it is true, but because what people believe is true often has little to do with what actually is. 

To give examples of concrete issues with these views, if a patient believes that there is a natural food out there that will cure him of cancer, and meanwhile refuses to accept chemotherapy, there will be a real consequence to that person and his family. Unfortunately, that consequence could come too late for it to be useful as a learning experience to that patient.  I have not heard of a situation in which this is happening en masse, however.  The anti-vaccine mamas, however, are, as a group, taking a path that not only puts their own babies at risk, but those children and adults who are not able to be vaccinated.
In a more abstract sense, would trying to change these views by any means lead your patient to distrust you, and do more damage to the situation than good?  I feel this is extremely likely, and this secondary danger may be even more dangerous than the first situation.  It certainly depends on the patient.