Author Archives: Wilson Stringer

The Measles Epidemic is Surging

 

Baby with Measles

Baby with measles in Vienna, Virginia

“The scare tactics worked with the Walthers, and they decided not to immunize their daughter. It was a choice they lived to regret,” said Betty Bumpers. “Mary Catherine was lucky. She survived, but her ordeal certainly prompted her parents to question the health information they found on the Internet.”

Mary Catherine was born in the United States. As an infant, her parents decided not to give her the recommended childhood vaccinations. Little did they know, their baby girl would become deathly ill before turning the age of one, and her sickness could have been prevented by a simple vaccination. 

Vaccinations were invented in the late 1700s as a way to protect against deadly diseases. Edward Jenner invented the first vaccine against smallpox. He noticed that milkmaids who were exposed to cowpox did not develop smallpox. He then used the material from inside cowpox to make a vaccine. Over the next two hundred years, many vaccines were developed and scientists continue to discover new vaccines against emerging infections. Vaccines now exist against polio, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, and meningitis and are part of routine childhood doctor visits.

Vaccinations prevent two to three million deaths each year, according to World Health Organization. In a 2018 report, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported there were more than 140,000 deaths worldwide due to measles. Since the release of the CDC report, the number of reported measles cases jumped 300% worldwide within the first three months of 2019 compared to the first three months of 2018. The majority of these deaths occurred in low-income countries due to lack of access to the measles vaccine but in high-income countries, like the United States, measles has started to make a comeback due to the rise of the anti-vaccination movement. 

The Anti-Vaccine Movement started in Europe and the U.S during the mid-1800s. Since this movement began, it has progressively grown over the past 200 years with an increasing number of parents either delaying or refusing altogether to let their infants receive vaccinations. The most common reason for parents to refuse vaccines for their children is due to religious beliefs and fear of side effects. These views, for the most part, are guided by misinformation and false science.

One of the major reasons parents refuse to allow their children to have vaccines is fear of autism, specifically related to the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR). In 1998, Andrew Wakefield fueled this fear by publishing a study in the British medical journal, The Lancet. He claimed that infants who received the MMR were more likely to develop autism. His studies were filled with fraudulent research and false information and The Lancet later went on to remove his publication from their journal. Unfortunately, the damage had been done: negative propaganda exploded around the MMR. The number of vaccinations plummeted and the incidence of measles cases increased

In response to the misinformation around the MMR and autism, Dr. William Schaffner, Professor at Vanderbilt, compared rates of autism in children who were vaccinated and those who were not, and he found that the rates of autism were not increased among those children who had received the vaccine. He concluded,

“MMR vaccination does not increase the risk for autism, does not trigger autism in susceptible children, and is not associated with clustering of autism cases after vaccination.”

This study helped debunk the misinformation that linked autism to measles. 

In the fall of 2018, one of the largest US measles outbreak occurred among New York’s Orthodox Jewish Community. More than 285 under-vaccinated infants were infected in three different communities and this outbreak prompted health officials to give out mandatory immunizations. It happened because the NY Orthodox Jewish community is a very insular group. There have been many anti-vaccine campaigners in New York who were giving false information with regards to the measles vaccinations. These campaigners were spreading the message that vaccines were not safe or effective, which is completely incorrect. 

Parents who refuse vaccines think they are actually protecting their children, but in reality, they are placing them at risk of getting preventable diseases. In addition, these children do not have a voice or a choice. Refusing a child a vaccine is selfish because it affects that child, but also the community. As well as protecting the individual who gets a vaccine, vaccinations help keep those who have not been vaccinated safe, this is called Herd Immunity. Many diseases could be almost eradicated with the widespread use of vaccines. 

Robert Pearl MD, Stanford professor, former medical group CEO, and forbes.com contributor said it best in regards to why we should be using vaccinations:

“When my father was a child, his sister died of measles. Her death stayed with him throughout his life. That was before we had a vaccine to prevent measles. If she had been born in the 21st century, she might not have died at age 6… We need to ask ourselves this:  If economics are not the deterrent, why would a parent put their child’s life at risk by voluntarily foregoing a life-saving preventive measure? The answer is a combination of false science, outdated anecdotes, and fear-mongering.”

Although vaccinations are still voluntary, they hold an immense amount of importance to communities worldwide. All parents want to do the right thing and protect their children, but anti-vaxxers are instead placing their children at risk. Ongoing education is really important to promote uptake of childhood vaccines. The Centers for Disease Control Prevention has an obligation to help monitor outbreaks of preventable diseases and to work with local communities to disseminate information and dispel false rumors about vaccinations. Getting anti-vaccine parents to change their minds is difficult, and education is key. 

By: W Stringer

References:

  1. Belluz, Julia. “New York’s Orthodox Jewish Community Is Battling Measles Outbreaks. Vaccine Deniers Are to Blame.” Vox, Vox, 10 Apr. 2019, www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/11/9/18068036/measles-new-york-orthodox-jewish-community-vaccines.
  2. Bumpers, Betty. “Unprotected People Reports: General.” Some Parents Fall for Vaccination Scare Stories, with Deadly Results, 1 Jan. 2001, www.immunize.org/reports/report038.asp.
  3. Hoffman, Jan. “How Anti-Vaccine Sentiment Took Hold in the United States.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Sept. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/09/23/health/anti-vaccination-movement-us.html
  4. Iannelli, Vincent. “History of the Anti-Vaccine Movement.” Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 24 Jun. 2019, www.verywellhealth.com/history-anti-vaccine-movement-4054321.
  5. Koenig, Debbie. “2019 Measles Outbreak: What You Should Know.” WebMD, WebMD, 11 Apr. 2019,  www.webmd.com/children/news/20190411/2019-measles-outbreak-what-you-should-know.
  6. Pearl, Robert. “A Doctor’s Take On The Anti-Vaccine Movement.” Forbes, Robert Pearl, M.D, 20 Mar. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/robertpearl/2014/03/20/a-doctors-take-on-the-anti-vaccine-movement/#3b914e3328dc
  7. Shimizu, Yoshi. “Measles.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 5 Dec. 2019, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles.
  8. William Schaffner, “Anti Vaccination Movement Fuels Return of Measles.” Hospital Employee Health, 38. 5 (2019), 

Image Credit:

Lowell Georgia, Baby with measles in Vienna, Virginia, Baby Center, https://www.sciencesource.com/archive/Measles-SS2152242.html