Injury Report: Vol. II (Updates in First Post) | Fleury, Bortuzzo + Määttä Being Tested for Mumps

[Winger for Hire]

mumps, another lifeform that adapts faster than Dan Bylsma

 

[Griffin6612]

mumps, another lifeform that adapts faster than Dan Bylsma

Beautiful.

But holy crap do I feel awful for BB. If he gets some kids sick too I hope he can manage not to get too down on himself. I would feel horrible about all this.

 

[MeticulouslyDishevel]

mumps, another lifeform that adapts faster than Dan Bylsma

I'm only laughing right now because he's no longer with the team.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Pittsburgh Penguins ‏@penguins
Jim Rutherford: “We have one player that has the symptoms for mumps. It is Beau Bennett. We don’t have the tests back yet."

Least surprising news ever.

Oh for ****'s sake.

 

[ByeByeBylsma*]

Oh for ****'s sake.

**** not him. Here comes meningitis, deafness, and sterility.

 

[JTG]

If there was one player on the team to also get mumps...it would be Beau Bennett.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Simple question: why hasn't the NHL gotten on top of this mumps epidemic sooner? Only the Isles and a handful of other teams have offered booster shots for mumps to their employees, and no team has publiclly come out and admitted that they've gotten their unaffected players re-immunized.

I mean, I know the NHL could give a **** about it's players and employees (as anyone who didn't fall off the turnip truck knows), but Jesus, this is stupid. College students have to stay on top of their vaccinations, immigrants have to stay on top of their vaccinations, and yet... hockey players, who are in an environment which would encourage the transmission of such things... don't?

The NHL is run by utter ****ing morons. That's what I hope. The alternative is far worse.

 

[NastyNick]

Bennett really should start a series of children's books in his down time.

Benny Boo Boo hurts his Knee
Benny Boo Boo hurts his Hand
Benny Boo Boo has the mumps (get your vaccinations edition)

In my humble, honest opinion.. the Pens are missing a real opportunity here. They need to get back into the referees good graces by gifting them some of Bennett and Crosby's blankets. Perfect for the cold winter that is coming.

 

[MeticulouslyDishevel]

Simple question: why hasn't the NHL gotten on top of this mumps epidemic sooner? Only the Isles and a handful of other teams have offered booster shots for mumps to their employees, and no team has publiclly come out and admitted that they've gotten their unaffected players re-immunized.

I mean, I know the NHL could give a **** about it's players and employees (as anyone who didn't fall off the turnip truck knows), but Jesus, this is stupid. College students have to stay on top of their vaccinations, immigrants have to stay on top of their vaccinations, and yet... hockey players, who are in an environment which would encourage the transmission of such things... don't?

The NHL is run by utter ****ing morons. That's what I hope. The alternative is far worse.

What are you talking about? A bunch of teams such as the Leafs, Jets, Flames and Canucks have given players and staff boosters, bring ozone machines with them to sanitize dressing rooms, increased monitoring of symptoms and have taken additional precautions to make sure guys don't share towels and water bottles. And they put these measures in place weeks ago.

The vaccine is about 80-90% effective. Take a team with twenty guys, and statistically there will be about 2-4 players per team who have received all their vaccines but will still get sick.

Keep in mind that the average NHL rink is like a cesspool on a good day. Players are spitting and shooting snot all over the ice and on the bench, putting in and taking out their mouth guards, etc.

I'm actually surprised that they've only had about 15 cases.

 

[HandshakeLine]

No, the issue isn't that SOME teams do it, it's that it's not mandatory for all teams. You immunize everyone, or give them boosters, and even if you get one or two cases, you don't get an epidemic of transmission due to herd immunity. That's how vaccinations work-- you need everyone to buy into it, not just most of the people. That's basic medicine.

What I'm irritated about is the total head-in-the-sand ********, and the owner's total disregard for the health of the players. Well, even more than usual. But, if we want to set the bar that low, I guess I'm also glad that there hasn't been a diagnosed case of bubonic plague in the NHL yet.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

I hope Beau has a good sense of humor about this and can laugh it off. If it was me, I would change my # because hockey players are weird like that.

But for Beau, it couldn't hurt..or it could, it is Beau Bennett here.

Go back to #78 when he was with the Vees.

 

[MeticulouslyDishevel]

No, the issue isn't that SOME teams do it, it's that it's not mandatory for all teams. You immunize everyone, or give them boosters, and even if you get one or two cases, you don't get an epidemic of transmission due to herd immunity. That's how vaccinations work-- you need everyone to buy into it, not just most of the people. That's basic medicine.

What I'm irritated about is the total head-in-the-sand ********, and the owner's total disregard for the health of the players. Well, even more than usual. But, if we want to set the bar that low, I guess I'm also glad that there hasn't been a diagnosed case of bubonic plague in the NHL yet.

I see what you mean. The whole anti-vaccination movement drives me nuts.

Keep in mind though that teams aren't allowed to force people to get vaccinated. Forcing someone to get injected with something is incredibly intrusive/a huge violation of personal integrity, so even employers such as hospitals aren't allowed to force employees to get vaccines.

The league can't even force the players to wear visors. The best the teams can do is offer the shot, educate the players, and maybe try to scare the reluctant ones into compliance.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Maybe it's Canadian law then, because I'm positive that US organizations/employers can mandate vaccinations. I know I had to be vaccinated in order to attend my undergrad, and then when I worked/taught at University of Chicago, I also had to prove my immunization was up to date in order to accept my teaching offer.

I'm not a lawyer, and I now live in Europe where such things seem to work way differently, so I differ to you on that

 

[theicebox]

I hope Beau has a good sense of humor about this and can laugh it off. If it was me, I would change my # because hockey players are weird like that.

But for Beau, it couldn't hurt..or it could, it is Beau Bennett here.

Go back to #78 when he was with the Vees.

I actually really really like this idea.

 

[Fordy]

i would love for beau to go back to 78

 

[MeticulouslyDishevel]

Maybe it's Canadian law then, because I'm positive that US organizations/employers can mandate vaccinations. I know I had to be vaccinated in order to attend my undergrad, and then when I worked/taught at University of Chicago, I also had to prove my immunization was up to date in order to accept my teaching offer.

I'm not a lawyer, and I now live in Europe where such things seem to work way differently, so I differ to you on that

Ontario has mandatory vaccination laws. Kids must receive specified vaccinations to register for school (they need to be vaccinated against 9 specified diseases to register in Ontario), but it is possible to get exemptions for religious or medical reasons. In the event of an outbreak the schools are able to force non-vaccinated students to stay at home. They also occasionally give vaccines in school. I remember lining up for them a few times in the gym, and kids freaking out because they were scared and trying guess which nurse would inflict the least pain.

There have been a number of grievances/lawsuits in Canada by healthcare workers who didn't want to get flu vaccines. They can't be forced to get the shots, but if they don't get them they have to wear masks during flu season. (I only know this because I'm a labour lawyer and have to keep up with this stuff). The US is much more strict than Canada on things like mandatory workplace drug testing, so I wouldn't be surprised if US employers had more leeway to force employees to undergo vaccination.


The issue with the mumps outbreak is that notwithstanding the odd complication it isn't really a lethal disease. It's not something like the Spanish flu that had a really high mortality rate where infringing on personal freedoms is justified in the name of public health. It's all a balance between public health and personal autonomy. If the overall harm to the general population is relatively low, the health authorities have less power to force people to submit to intrusive measures like vaccinations. If we were dealing with something like a really contagious strain of TB it would be a very different story.

 

[T1K]

Dejan is apparently gonna drop some knowledge on us at 11 about Sid/mumps, as per his twitter. Not sure how to post the link, but whatever.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

I'm sure it will be dramatic, antagonizing and smug.

 

[T1K]

I'm sure it will be dramatic, antagonizing and smug.

Yeah, and then he'll retweet all the idiots that tweet him praising him for how great his website is.

 

[MeticulouslyDishevel]

I'm sure it will be dramatic, antagonizing and smug.

Ding ding ding.


Where Were Adults in Crosby Mumps Mess?

http://dkonpittsburghsports.com/2014/12/15/column-grown-ups-mumps-mess/

Is this the article?

 

[Fordy]

apparently i'm the only one that doesn't consider the mumps a fiasco

the medical staff's explanation and timeline makes complete sense. they didn't miss anything. crosby had an injury causing facial swelling at the same time he got the mumps. initial tests were negative. so they rightly assumed he didn't have it. it's not a catastrophe, it's not inexplicable

 

[H382]

I used to love Beau, but I have a hard time hearing his name and not get this dejected feeling. He has officially worn out his welcome with me. I don't know if we will ever get to really see what we really have in him.

 

[BobCole]

I'll refrain from blowing my top over yet another 1 in a million injury hitting BB. At least this isn't a stroke, cancer, a blood clot, a torn ACL/MCL, a separated shoulder, a broken bone, or a sprain (we've had all of those in the last 12 months, yes?).

Not that the mumps can't be serious, but I'm sure this one won't do any sort of serious long-term physical harm to the kid. Just wait it out and get back out there so you can go back to your bone breaking ways, BB.

 

[ByeByeBylsma*]

The US is much more strict than Canada on things like mandatory workplace drug testing, so I wouldn't be surprised if US employers had more leeway to force employees to undergo vaccination.

Yeah, but unlike having a conniption because Michael Phelps smoked a bong, making sure that people are vaccinated against communicable diseases makes sense.

Too bad the freedoms that decent folk take for granted have to be wasted on the Jenny McCarthies and Alex Joneses of this world to be effective. Just like we all need our shots

 

[drpepper]

apparently i'm the only one that doesn't consider the mumps a fiasco

the medical staff's explanation and timeline makes complete sense. they didn't miss anything. crosby had an injury causing facial swelling at the same time he got the mumps. initial tests were negative. so they rightly assumed he didn't have it. it's not a catastrophe, it's not inexplicable

I agree.

(1) Crosby had none of the classical mumps symptoms (and other than the facial swelling still doesn't)

(2) He had a booster earlier in the year

(3) The whole team was tested for titers, and he had one of the best immune responses to mumps

(4) He had an injury and was likely taking anti-inflammatories which could mask and confuse the only symptoms of mumps that he eventually had

(5) He was tested twice for mumps with negative results

(6) The medical staff acted promptly when his symptoms worsened after/during morning skate on Friday taking additional samples, sending them to the CDC and informing management/coaching that there was a risk that Crosby had mumps.

(7) The people most susceptible to mumps infection from Crosby are those coming in contact with his saliva during his infectious period. First, I doubt anyone knows when Crosby was infectious because another injury and medication masked his symptoms, and second, it is most likely other players that would come in contact with spit.

Also I really don't think Dejan is a good reporter. He's sensationalistic and in this case has limited knowledge of the dangers of mumps infections. His but the pregnant women (who are likely not in their first trimester or in touch with Crosby's spit) is really stupid.

Also I doubt Bennett was infectious during the trip to the hospital as the infectious period is 1-2 days before symptoms like facial swelling and five days after making his infectious period around now if he indeed is positive for mumps.