Mumps/Chicken Pox Immunity

[Rebean]

Hi
Has anyone ever heard that you are immune to Chicken Pox if you have had Mumps or vice versa? DH has had Mumps but not Chicken Pox and has been around people with Chicken Pox but never caught it. I have had Chicken Pox and not Mumps but have been exposed to Mumps and never caught it. I've heard the linked immunity theory from a few people - is it true?
We are having dilemma over wether to vaccinate for chicken pox and mumps because of the danger to adults catching these diseases from kids, especially pregnant woman and men for the Mumps thing. We've done no vaccinations so far for DS 2.5yrs and DD 7months.
Thanks.

[Jakaluma]

I doubt it is true - they are two totally different viruses. Though if you have a strong immune system, you're likely to only have a mild dose of either.

Also, mumps is one that if you have once, you'll more than likely have lifelong immunity, whereas chicken pox you can have more than once (even often - I know first hand of cases of 3 or 4 times)

Personally I wouldn't vax against chicken pox. My children have had mumps vaxes, it is particularly bad one for teenage boys or adult men to get. Rubella is another IMO important to get (very dangerous to a foetus if pregnant woman is exposed to it), and there are strong arguments for measles too for this reason (not as dangerous for the foetus as rubella, but still dangerous)

[emd]

I had mumps in primary school, and then chicken pox in high school.

It is possible for kids to get a very mild, barely noticeable case of chicken pox and therefore have immunity. If this happened, it might look like they have immunity to a virus that nobody is aware they've had.

Childhood mumps can cause infertility in men. Having known men who have this problem, I am very sure that I want my son vaccinated for mumps.

Chicken pox I'm not so sure about. 75% of the adult population have had chicken pox, as it's very contagious. My GP advises that 7 Australian children die each year from the complications of chicken pox (basically an uncontrollable fever causing brain damage), which is greater than the risk of complications from the vaccine, therefore we vax'ed our kids. But I'm generally pro-vax, so it wasn't a big decision.

[Nyree]

I had measles, mumps & rubella at least once each as a kid, but no chicken pox to speak of. I did also have the rubella vaccine in high school (although I probably already had immunity).

I don't think cross-immunity is likely given they are different viruses.

I couldn't have the measles vax due to a prior vax reaction (stopped breathing) & I have decided against vaxing DD. It is better to have the real illness in childhood & develop early immunity IMO, but of course there are different opinions on this.

[Jakaluma]

My GP advises that 7 Australian children die each year from the complications of chicken pox (basically an uncontrollable fever causing brain damage), which is greater than the risk of complications from the vaccine,

If you look into this further, it turns out that most (all?) of these were in not 100% healthy children - in other words, there were other issues, it wasn't just the chicken pox.

It is better to have the real illness in childhood & develop early immunity IMO,

I agree, for a lot of illnesses (but some better not to have...) Also vaccinations are often miscalled "immunisations". They are not 100%, and it varies hugely (chicken pox is one that is pretty ineffective, less than 75% of people vaxed become immune. Yellow fever is very very effective, getting close to 100%.)

I really think you have to look at the individual vaxes and make a decision based on specific research for each one. Finding unbiased information is incredibly tricky. Everyone has a vested interest, and there are a lot of scare tactics used by both sides of the argument. And so much info is based on all or nothing.

[Rebean]

Thanks for the info and opinions.
I am very much of the opinion that it is better to catch chickenpox, mumps etc as a child than vaccinating. (Although I didn't realise that mumps could cause sterility for boys if caught as a child). Trouble is that with all the vaccinations these days there is less chance of getting these illnesses.
I constantly research and struggle with my vaccination decision. Now I'm more worried about the effect my un-vaxed kids could have on adults who haven't had mumps etc
I think we will stick with our decision to do delayed, selective vaxing. Now I just have to decide which ones. The allergy thing is an issue for us as well. Most vaccines contain lactose and J has a severe diary allergy.
This vax thing drives me nuts!

[emd]

I do choose to wait with the chicken pox vax. I know that some families in my area have the vax done as early as possible because so many babies are in childcare where there are regular outbreaks. But from talking to my GP, it's better to wait as it is more effective in toddlers than little babies. Also, I have found that my kids get a lot of immunity from my breastmilk.

[earthmummy]

Interesting thread I have read and been told that every individual is different and therefore has a different reaction to vaccine's and also the level of severity of a disease. Measles, Mumps & Rubella have particularly nasty implications but again the severity of each can be different for individuals. Same with Chickenpox.

My personal choice/opinion was to have DS vax'd for Measles/Mumps/Rubella (all in one needle per age) and then have a seperate (own choice) vax for Meningococcal. I didn't choose to have DS vax'd for chicken pox as I was told my two seperate GP's that it can be managed if it became necessary at time of infection.

Chicken pox are a problem for pregnant mothers (my son's school always send a warning note on the newsletter if a school child has chickenpox).

Mumps and Chicken Pox are two completely different diseases, and although a lot of people show symptoms, some "carriers" don't show any signs of the diseases.

hope this helps

[Joey]

I have had mumps and chicken pox so its obviously not a foolproof theory.

[Jakaluma]

I have had mumps and chicken pox so its obviously not a foolproof theory.

Actually, so have i!