Measles!

A recent article from Daily Mail reminds people how serious measles can be and explains how the vaccine can eliminate the measles. Measles begins with relatively mild symptoms, such as a fever, cough, and rash, but these symptoms can be quickly followed by life threatening complications, such as pneumonia, seizures, and encephalomyelitis (which causes neurological damage if you are like me and did not know what this was). Despite these possibly deadly complications that can arise, more and more people are refusing to vaccinate their children against measles due to false evidence spread by anti vaxxers, especially on social media. Many people who opposed vaccinations claim that they are associated with autism among other disorders, and the MMR vaccine seems to be the main culprit. However, extensive research has proven that these concerns are not relevant and the risk of developing measles without the vaccine is far more severe than the risk associated with receiving the vaccine.

              As we learned in class, herd immunity is an important factor in protecting immunocompromised people in a population from a certain disease. Some people in an immunocompromised state are unable to be vaccinated against measles because their immune system is too weak to protect them from event the attenuated version of the virus found in the vaccine. To protect these individuals, the people around them should be vaccinated so that they do not spread the disease to an unvaccinated and immunocompromised individual. To achieve herd immunity, 95% of the population needs to be vaccinated. As fear of vaccines escalates, the percentage of children receiving the vaccine dwindles, and herd immunity is at risk. Measles was almost eradicated in the US, but more and more outbreaks are occurring as vaccination rates decline.

              Among escalating incidences of measles, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is starting a campaign to vaccinated 45 million children in 7 developing countries over the next 6 months. I found a recent article from UNICEF that explained this campaign. Children will be vaccinated against measles in Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Somalia, and South Sudan. Cases of the measles had been steadily declining from 2000 until 2016, but the numbers have been rising as the anti-vaccination movement takes hold. The CEO of Gavi explained how the vaccine against measles is inexpensive, effective, and safe, so everyone should be able to have access to it and measles should be eradicated. After reading about the anti-vaccination movement last week, I am glad to know that health professionals are still able to provide these life saving vaccines to children all over the world, especially where healthcare is not well equipped to treat people who fall ill to preventable diseases.