The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Anti-vaccine movement hurts fight against measles
A growing band of immunization detractors are driving a surge in measles cases from the Philippines to Washington State that threatens efforts to wipe out the disease.
What it means
Worldwide cases of the viral illness increased by about 50 percent to 2.3 million last year, according to data from the World Health Organization, wh i ch included “vaccine hesitancy” in its list of top-10 threats to global health this year.
While measles’ resurgence can’t be blamed on a single cause, a reluctance by parents to vaccinate their children has emerged as a global driver.
Lingering wariness about the side-effects of some shots, despite evidence refuting a 1998 claim that linked the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism in children, is frustrating attempts to stop some 1.5 million young children from dying from preventable diseases each year.
The recent outbreaks are revealing a vulnerability to measles, even in countries where it was on the verge of elimination. The number of unprotected people in certain areas of the U.S. is now high enough to allow the swift spread of multiple contagious threats, experts said.
Why it matters
The disease, known for the rash it produces on patients’ skin, spreads easily because it thrives in the throats of infected people, heightening the chances of airborne contagion.
An estimated 90 percent of those who come into close proximity with an infected person will catch it unless they are vaccinated or have natural immunity, the CDC estimates.
What’s next
“You will then see subsequently other vaccine-preventable diseases manifest,” said Katrina Kretsinger, leader of the WHO’s measles and rubella team in Geneva. “We may see outbreaks of measles and then you’re likely to see outbreaks of diphtheria.”
Diphtheria, a bacterial disease prevented by a shot, is fatal in 5 to 10 percent of cases, according to the WHO.