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Thomas Kienzle/AP
Vaccine Fears Contribute to Jump in Measles Cases
August 22, 2008 10:34 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
The number of measles cases so far in 2008 is more than triple those reported in 2007, federal health officials say. Many blame parental reluctance to vaccinate.
30-Second Summary
The number of measles cases has risen to to 131 in 2008, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, far more than the 42 reported for all of 2007. No one has died from the potentially fatal, highly infectious disease, according to AP.
Approximately half the cases are children who weren’t vaccinated becase their parents “rejected the vaccine.”
Approximately half the cases are children who weren’t vaccinated becase their parents “rejected the vaccine.”
Some parents believe the measles shot or a vaccine preservative which contained mercury causes autism, but officials say there is no good evidence of that. But parents, who have heard about autism on television or read things about it online, are curious.
“This year, we certainly have had parents asking more questions,” Dr. Ari Brown, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Associate Press. Brown, a pediatrician in Texas, said she gives parents a 16-page, single-spaced document she wrote that discusses vaccinations for kids and why doctors don’t think they are a cause of autism.
The current outbreak also stems from people traveling to the U.S. from abroad. Ten countries—Switzerland, Israel, Belgium, Italy, India, Germany, China, Pakistan, Russia and the Philippines—are involved in the outbreak, which started in May.
In 1996, measles sickened 508 people, and 138 more fell ill in 1997. Before that, the last major outbreak in the U.S. occurred from 1989 to 1991, “when 55,000 people got measles and 123 died,” according to Reuters.
The CDC cites “Rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes” as symptoms of measles.
Headline Link: Number of nonvaccinated not yet known
More exact numbers of how many children aren’t vaccinated for measles won’t show up in federal health data for a few more years, according to an AP story in the Chicago Tribune. The American Academy of Pediatrics is trying to educate parents about vaccines’ safety.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Background: Nonvaccination linked to resurgence of childhood illnesses
More than 70 cases of measles, a potentially deadly illness, had been confirmed in the United States, after public health officials had claimed the disease was eliminated in 2000. One of the possible causes is that some parents do not want to get their children vaccinated for measles, fearing the vaccinations can cause autism, findingDulcinea reported on May 2, 2008.
Source: findingDulcinea
Measles isn’t the only preventable childhood disease rearing its head. Earlier this year public health officials reported outbreaks of mumps and pertussis in pockets around the country. Both conditions can be prevented with vaccines.
Source: findingDulcinea
“The biggest U.S. outbreak of measles since 1997 has sickened 127 people in 15 states, most of whom were not vaccinated against the highly contagious viral illness, federal health officials said on Wednesday,” Reuters reports.
Source: Reuters
Opinion & Analysis: To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate
On the parenting blog Mamas and Papas, Tucson Citizen reporter Heidi Rowley explains her decision to vaccinate her one-year-old child. “Over the last several weeks I have also spent quite a lot of time writing about the current measles outbreak which is linked to people not being vaccinated. I have made an informed decision to immunize my child against many potentially deadly and life-altering diseases.”
Source: Tucson Citizen
A blogger called Kandylini argues forcefully that doctors don’t have a legal right to force parents to immunize their children. If a parent can’t find a sympathetic pediatrician, Kandylini suggests avoiding “well baby” visits. “If she’s well, why go to a doctor and expose her to other sick children? The visits are really about pushing vaccines, not about wellness—unfortunately, most doctors don’t have a clue to how to keep you and your family well.”
Source: Kandylini
Reference: Measles
Measles begins with a fever and causes a red rash to appear a couple days later. It is spread through coughing and sneezing, and it takes up to two weeks after exposure for symptoms to appear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Complications from the disease include encephalitis. In pregnant women, measles can cause miscarriages or lead to premature births.
Source: CDC
© 2009 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
