Mennonite Measles in Texas

[Southerner]

All I see in the news right now is that measles cases are "underreported" and whining about "Trump funding cuts". In other words, it's a non-issue.

I’m afraid I don’t understand your point. Saying that cases are “underreported” and then calling it a “non-issue” is contradictory. If something is underreported, that usually suggests it’s more serious than people realize, not less.

In other words, they wish...

Just public health officials who wish...

How do you know this is what health officials are "wishing"?

[JohnH]

Yeah, the cases being reported suggest measles is a lot worse than it is if we disregard underreporting.

You can’t have it both ways. Either it’s been underreported or it’s more severe than you’re saying.

The actual way to assess an epidemic is not through self reporting.
Actual public health practice is through other means (surveys, etc.)

So the real question is why officials are whining about “underreporting” at all. Sounds like they are lazy and don’t want to do their jobs - one of which is rebuilding trust with the public.

[JohnH]

I’m afraid I don’t understand your point. Saying that cases are “underreported” and then calling it a “non-issue” is contradictory. If something is underreported, that usually suggests it’s more serious than people realize, not less.

In other words, they wish...

Just public health officials who wish...

How do you know this is what health officials are "wishing"?

In the words of Maya Angelou, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them.” We got to learn in 2020 what public health officials want.

[Soloist]

Yeah, the cases being reported suggest measles is a lot worse than it is if we disregard underreporting.

You can’t have it both ways. Either it’s been underreported or it’s more severe than you’re saying.

The actual way to assess an epidemic is not through self reporting.
Actual public health practice is through other means (surveys, etc.)

So the real question is why officials are whining about “underreporting” at all. Sounds like they are lazy and don’t want to do their jobs - one of which is rebuilding trust with the public.

Are you familiar with contact tracing?
If you want, I can post you some educational material.

[JohnH]

Are you familiar with contact tracing?
If you want, I can post you some educational material.

More familiar than I ever wanted to be after the COVID debacle. It was a complete waste of time, and I don't think most people would be interested in dealing with that again.

[Soloist]

Are you familiar with contact tracing?
If you want, I can post you some educational material.

More familiar than I ever wanted to be after the COVID debacle. It was a complete waste of time, and I don't think most people would be interested in dealing with that again.

Then please do tell how one would assess the spread of the measles in Texas.

[JohnH]

Are you familiar with contact tracing?
If you want, I can post you some educational material.

More familiar than I ever wanted to be after the COVID debacle. It was a complete waste of time, and I don't think most people would be interested in dealing with that again.

Then please do tell how one would assess the spread of the measles in Texas.

You'd conduct surveys including secondary ones of people like health care providers to assess the overall level. Relying on self-reports is so unscientific it's embarrassing it's even being discussed here.

Then again, during COVID, it seemed everything I'd learned about public health was completely disregarded.

[Soloist]

You'd conduct surveys including secondary ones of people like health care providers to assess the overall level. Relying on self-reports is so unscientific it's embarrassing it's even being discussed here.

Then again, during COVID, it seemed everything I'd learned about public health was completely disregarded.

Healthcare providers are required to report certain diseases to CDC and measles is one of them. That’s how you find identifiable case. You follow that case and trace exposures and risks attempting to either find the source i.e. your illegal immigrants you like to harp on, some missionary, or whether it’s unsourced. That often is the first way the CDC even finds out there’s a disease starting to move about. It’s not relying on self reports, although I don’t really see why you think that’s any different than a survey people answer…
It seems like you don’t understand how these things are managed or why they’re done the way they’re done which was the way it was done before Covid as well.
Surveys are notoriously unreliable, and I don’t really see how you would appropriately survey a Mennonite community to find out if they have a measles outbreak. It’s much more realistic to contact trace a laboratory proven infection.

[JohnH]

Healthcare providers are required to report certain diseases to CDC and measles is one of them. That’s how you find identifiable case.

That doesn't mean the counts from those reports are an accurate measure, though.

You follow that case and trace exposures and risks attempting to either find the source i.e. your illegal immigrants you like to harp on, some missionary, or whether it’s unsourced.

Yeah, and as we learned during COVID, "contact tracing" is mostly useless for a highly contagious disease.

That often is the first way the CDC even finds out there’s a disease starting to move about. It’s not relying on self reports, although I don’t really see why you think that’s any different than a survey people answer…

It seems like you don’t understand how these things are managed or why they’re done the way they’re done which was the way it was done before Covid as well.

I'm fully aware. I just think that COVID demonstrated that the way it was done doesn't work.

Surveys are notoriously unreliable, and I don’t really see how you would appropriately survey a Mennonite community to find out if they have a measles outbreak. It’s much more realistic to contact trace a laboratory proven infection.

I would refuse to participate in any "contact tracing" and I know many other people who would likewise refuse. I suspect the community in Texas would be among them.

[Soloist]

That doesn't mean the counts from those reports are an accurate measure, though.

Granted. I will point out though, that you think the numbers are lower than what the officials think. You think that them saying the cases are under reported is inaccurate based off of what you were saying.

I would refuse to participate in any "contact tracing" and I know many other people who would likewise refuse. I suspect the community in Texas would be among them.

Seriously?
If you yourself would refuse to do it why are you disputing what they’re saying about under reported cases? You are arguing both sides