<< Back To HomeRESURGENT MEASLES IN THE US, 2008
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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