MEASLES
By: Paul McCormac
Measles are a highly contagious airborne disease that affect about 20 million people per year, especially individuals living in the developing areas of Africa and Asia. They also infect countries currently recovering from natural disasters. Recently there has been an increase in people affected by measles in the United States which is deeply concerning due to the fact that it causes the most vaccine-preventable deaths of any disease. Jason McDonald, a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that “the emergence of these diseases — especially measles — is alarming, and mostly due to parents in the U.S. not vaccinating their kids. If you are unvaccinated and you come in contact with measles, there's a 90% chance you will get it” (1).
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He also points out that the resurgence of Measles in America and other developed countries is primarily linked to unvaccinated people, further cementing the issue taken up with anti-vaccers. Another huge outbreak of Measles has taken place in Switzerland. Although vaccinations are currently on the rise, this attempt to stifle the outbreak has failed. According to DeVore and Nguyen (2), In 1987, Switzerland set in motion a strategy to eradicate measles in their country by 2000. Yet in a report completed in 2017, over a decade past the due date, the vaccination rate lies at 87%, below the 95% that the World Health Organization deems a target for eradication.
Another common difficulty lies in the fact that young adults around the world often refuse vaccinations. Africa is another area where Measles infections commonly occur and it has been reported that there are parts in South Africa surpassing measles vaccination rates in North Africa. Akumu (3) states that the widespread availability of safe and affordable vaccines in even the most volatile and poor regions of African countries has seen immunization rates surpass those of in the US, according to the 2015 Africa Survey, an annual report by Good Governance Africa. Some African countries have nearly a 100% vaccination rate against measles due to this high availability and affordability of vaccines
References:
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1. Sifferlin, A. (2014). 4 Diseases Make a Comeback Thanks to Anti-Vaxxers. Retrieved from http://time.com/27308/4-diseases-making-a-comeback-thanks-to-anti-vaxxers/
2. DeVore, V. & Nguyen, D. (2017). Measles outbreaks continue to plague Switzerland.
Retrieved from http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/disease-data_measles-outbreaks-continue-to-plague-switzerland/42993356
3. Akumu, P. (2015). Measles vaccination rates in parts of Africa surpass those in North America. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/07/measles-vaccination-rates-africa-surpass-north-america