Health Department contacting County Prosecutor/Child Protective Services HELP!

[Guest guest]

Hello,

This past Wednesday my 5 year old unvaxed son tried to pet a baby raccoon out at

dusk. It turned tried to bite him. The raccoon made contact with my son's hand,

but no marks were apparent to the naked eye. We washed his hand with soap and

water thoroughly. When I applied iodine (antiviral) to the area a couple of tiny

spots appeared. I was advised by a nurse-on-call to go get him checked at the

hospital. When we went the ER doctor immediately recommended the rabies series

without even looking at my son's hand. Since the doctor said we had about 24-48

hours of window to begin treatment, we declined the shots and went home to

research and discuss with my husband who had been out of town. The CDC

recommends 1 dose of rabies Immunoglobulin along with 1 dose of rabies vaccine

initially, followed by 3 doses of vaccine on Day 3, Day 7, and Day 14 following

the first treatment. After speaking with the County Health Department and doing

some research into the disease, we decided to get my son the IG dose as well as

the first vaccine dose. We went to the ER within 24 hours of my son's exposure.

I made sure to get the package inserts for later review. Based on the type of

exposure (provoked), the number of confirmed cases of rabid raccoons in the area

in the past three years (0), the fact that good wound care is the best defense

against rabies (soap and water, plus antiviral iodine application), that the IG

dose is providing passive resistance while my son's body starts antibody

production, and that the package insert (as well as a few studies I found)

stated that an acceptable level of circulating antibodies often is achieved in

one dose, my husband and I felt we more than covered the possible risk of

rabies. However, the woman at the Health Department does not feel this way, and

called me this morning to tell me that she had contacted the County Prosecutor

who may go to Child Protective Services. I told her that I would be more than

willing to have my son's antibody levels tested after Day 10 (as this is when

his body should be starting to produce antibodies), but because the CDC

recommendation is doses at DAY 3 and DAY 7 she says there is no time wait for

blood tests that also could take weeks to get results. A friend who was a county

prosecutor has told me that they can take my son away from me if they feel his

life is in danger. And the scary thing is, that the woman at the Health

Department is acting like she is going to pursue this to the fullest extent of

her power. At this point, I'm not even sure she would be satisfied if I agreed

to one more dose (his 2nd dose of vaccine), even though the clinical trials

showed 100% of the participants achieved many time greater titer levels than

recommended by the World Health Organization with just 2 doses given 1 month

apart. Please help me protect my family! Any advice or names of legal advocacy

groups in our area would be so appreciated. I had contacted NVIC and they

referred me to an attorney familiar with vaccine rights. I don't think I have

much time as Child Protective Services can act quickly if they feel it is

necessary.

Sincerely,

Rhian

Willoughby Hills, OH