RESURGENT MEASLES IN THE US, 2008

Friday, 19th of September 2008 Print
 
 RESURGENT MEASLES IN THE US, 2008
 
 This recent editorial from the New York Times highlights the near doubling,
 in 2008, of measles cases. The resurgence of measles owes much to
 importations from endemic countries, but much as well to unfounded fears on
 the part of the general public of the purported link between MMR
 vaccination and autism, a linkage refuted by several careful studies of the
 subject.
 
 “Most people have forgotten, but measles was once an uncontrolled scourge
 that infected three million to four million Americans annually. Victims
 typically suffered a rash, fever and diarrhea, but severe cases could lead
 to pneumonia or encephalitis. In bad epidemic years, some 48,000 Americans
 were hospitalized, 1,000 more were chronically disabled, and 400 to 500
 died.
 
 
 
 “Then the development of effective vaccines and compulsory vaccination of
 schoolchildren drove the disease to the sidelines. Health authorities
 declared that measles had been eliminated from the United States in 2000.
 Only a few score cases have been reported annually in recent years, mostly
 imported from abroad.
 
 
 
 “Nearly all of the outbreaks this year were triggered by a mere 17
 travelers or foreign visitors who contracted the virus abroad. The alarming
 wrinkle this year is that, once the virus is imported, it seems to be
 spreading to more people than before.
 
 
 
 “Outbreaks have occurred among home-schooled children who escaped the
 compulsory school vaccinations, and among children whose parents oppose
 vaccination, for philosophical and religious reasons or fear that the
 combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is dangerous. Many fear that
 the vaccines cause autism, a theory that has been thoroughly debunked by
 multiple studies and by authoritative medical organizations..
 
 
 “Israel, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Britain are reporting sizable
 outbreaks of measles among populations that have refused vaccination.
 Although vaccination rates remain high in this country, some experts fear
 that they may be starting to drop. Because it is so contagious, measles is
 one of the first diseases to reappear when immunization coverage declines.
 If confidence in all vaccines were to drop precipitously, many diseases
 would re-emerge and cause far more harm than could possibly result from
 vaccination.”
 
 Those with specific interests in this subject can consult the CDC report,
 available online at
 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5733a1.htm
 
 Good reading.
 
 Bob Davis
 

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