Failure to vaccinate creates major risk

Immunization strongly supported by science,

Despite medical research’s march forward in understanding disease and the role of vaccines, lately it seems that society has, as a whole, fallen backward.

Eradicated diseases, preventable by vaccination, are making a comeback.

Reports of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases are popping up across North America. Measles, a highly infectious viral disease, has no specific treatment and the only prevention is immunization. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), measles is a leading cause of vaccinepreventable deaths in children worldwide.

In 1998, Canada declared measles eliminated. But imported cases and vaccine hesitancy has reintroduced measles to Canada. In the first eight months of this year, Canada recorded 112 cases of measles.

Measles is a dangerous disease and can be fatal for young children. As more children receive the measles vaccine worldwide, death rates have declined. Nevertheless, the disease still kills more than 100,000 people a year, most under the age of five.

However, getting infected with this virus risks much more than just a case of measles itself. Measles compromises one’s immune system. Complications can develop that could cause blindness, deafness, encephalitis (an inflammation of the brain) and pneumonia. Furthermore, if women catch the measles when pregnant, the infection increases the risk of maternal death.

There is another more lethal, long-term effect from the case of measles. Research indicates that not only does measles massively damage one’s immune system, it completely wipes out the immune system’s memory. As we become exposed to bacteria and viruses as children, we develop and accumulate specialized immune cells, each of which has developed the ability to recognize and target specific diseases. The measles virus kills these specialized immune cells, signifying that those who have had measles are incredibly vulnerable to other infections.

By not vaccinating, it’s not just a game of Russian roulette for the non-vaccinated individual. Vaccinations not only protect the individual but also protect the community at large by reducing the likelihood of vaccine-preventable outbreaks. Our society depends on herd immunity. If a sufficiently high proportion of individuals (i.e., greater than 95 per cent) within the community are protected against a disease through vaccination, the disease will be practically eliminated, which in turn protects those who cannot get vaccinated. By getting vaccinated, you protect sick children in hospital, cancer patients and newborn babies out in the community. These groups of individuals cannot get vaccinated and are often immunocompromised; as a result, they are more vulnerable to disease.

Although vaccination is not a completely risk-free choice, the possible side effects are typically not much more than minor inconveniences; major side-effects are extremely rare. By not vaccinating, you replace a tiny immediate risk with major future risk.

If you have concerns about vaccination, please consult a licensed health-care professional or your public health authority. They will discuss, not judge.

Rhyanna Melanson is a fourthyear science student at the University of Ottawa specializing in biology.