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                     A Shot Worth Considering?<3>
                     ----------------------------
                            by Ron Hoggan

[This article originally appeared last year in Calgary Celiac News,
published by the Calgary chapter of the Canadian Celiac Association
(CCA).  Ron is a regional director for the CCA.]

More than a year after I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I had
occasion to visit a doctor who specializes in lung disease and
allergies.  He prescribed a Pneumovax vaccine for me.  When I picked
up the prescription from my pharmacist, I read the pamphlet.  It
indicated that the vaccination provides protection against 25 of the
more virulent forms of bacterial infection that often lead to
pneumonia.  Although I experienced some abdominal discomfort, such a
vaccine seemed a reasonable precaution, and I was pleased that the
doctor had prescribed it.

In a recent discussion with a fellow CCA member, I learned that he had
recently had the same vaccination, and his celiac disease was
diagnosed several years prior to mine.  After some discussion, I
realized that this is an area where celiacs may need more information,
so I ran a search on Medline, which is an internet based service that
provides abstracts from most of the world's medical journals.

Although I have not yet read their full reports, two research groups
are recommending pneumococcal vaccine for people with celiac disease.
McKinley et al.  state:  "Vaccination of all patients with celiac
sprue seems appropriate."<4>  They make this recommendation based on
their investigations of ten patients with celiac disease.

The second report focuses on the spleen's contribution to the immune
system.  Abnormalities of the spleen are often found in celiac
disease.  This may increase the danger of bacterial infections, and
their more serious consequences, for a small minority of people with
celiac disease.  Sills recommends pneumococcal vaccination where the
spleen is compromised.  This investigator not only mentions celiac
disease as a group for whom to consider this vaccination, but also
closes the abstract by saying:  "Most deaths from hyposplenia-related
septicemia are preventable."<5>

If you have not been given this vaccination, I would like to suggest
that you contact your doctor for advice on this issue.  Pneumovax
could offer an important health advantage to people with celiac
disease.