As the number of infected people increased in November RSV, influenza, COVID While parents across the country were worried, parents in Ohio faced another unexpected threat. children’s health: measles.
Ohio’s Columbus Public Health (CPH) and Franklin County Public Health (FCPH) announced a week ago in November that they were investigating the measles outbreak. Measles can be easily spread by coughing, talking or being in the same room and is highly contagious. In fact, measles is estimated to infect 90% of exposed unvaccinated people.that too surprisingly contagious: Only one known virus, SARS-CoV-2 (causing COVID-19). More contagious than measles.
Most adults and older children are vaccinated against measles, but the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is not offered to children under 1 year of age. This means that infants are often the most vulnerable.
Measles killed thousands in the first two decades of the 20th century. But by 2000, measles was declared eradicated from the United States, and no deaths were reported until a woman in Washington first developed measles in 2015. die in 12 years It is due to a complication of measles.
“This is certainly more important than we’ve seen in years.”
Since then, there has been a significant overall recovery in measles incidence across the United States, such as the recent outbreak in Ohio. , of which 9 were hospitalized. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) responded and deployed a small team to assist with the outbreak. But by December, the number of infected children had risen to her 59. Most recently, as of 6 January, the number of measles cases had risen to her 82 cases. 33 of them were hospitalized.
“Most measles outbreaks we’ve seen have been very limited to one or two cases,” said Dean Blumberg, associate professor of pediatrics and chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of California, Davis. “This is certainly more important than we’ve seen in years.
According to data collected by Ohio Disease Reporting System, 23 of the infected were under 1 year of age, and 74 of the infected were unvaccinated against measles. Four of her patients were partially vaccinated, and the vaccination status of her remaining four infected children was unknown.
Doctors recommend that children receive two doses of the measles vaccine. The first time she is 12-15 months old and the second time she is 4-6 years old. The numbers reported are alarming because most of these children were not vaccinated at all. Her single dose of measles vaccine is about 93% effective in preventing measles. Approximately 97% effective with 2 doses.
by CDCAn estimated 90% of children in the United States are vaccinated against measles. But why are more and more parents choosing not to vaccinate their children? The main reason is vaccine misinformation. Even before the COVID-19 pandemicWhile states like California, notorious for the 2014 measles epidemic, are usually thought of as having rampant vaccine hesitation among parents, the movement is taking hold in the Midwest as well. There is
“There are some pretty active anti-vaccine groups here in Ohio,” said Tara Smith, professor of epidemiology at Kent State University’s School of Public Health. told NBC News“I’m really worried that this is taking hold here.”
Blumberg told Salon that there are two big false claims surrounding measles vaccines for children.
“One is worrying about the adverse effects of the measles vaccine itself. The most common thing people talk about is autism. It’s been completely debunked,” Blumberg said.
“Unfortunately, with the way social media is set up these days, the guardrails have been removed and there is a lot of misinformation that goes completely unchecked.”
In fact, a study published in 1998 by a British physician named Andrew Wakefield claimed to find evidence of a correlation between childhood measles vaccines and autism. completely lost credibilityWakefield is also prohibited from practicing medicine in the UK.
The Journal of American Medicine recently reported, “Receipt of MMR [measles, mumps, rubella] the vaccine is Not associated with increased risk of ASD, [Autism spectrum disorder].”
Mr Blumberg said there is a growing misinformation that measles is not particularly dangerous.
“Most people will recover, but some children may die from measles or be left with problems such as blindness and brain damage,” Blumberg said. It can be very serious as it can cause pneumonia, which can weaken the immune system and leave the child vulnerable to secondary infections.
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Blumberg said there is a need for consistent public health messaging, which he believes is becoming more difficult with social media these days.
“Unfortunately, the way social media is set up these days has the guardrails removed and there is a lot of misinformation that goes completely unchecked,” he said. “I strongly encourage anyone with questions about vaccinations to really trust their health care provider and talk to them. They are an important source of trustworthy information, not influencers or celebrities. ”
As for the outbreak in Ohio, it appears to be slowing down, but public health officials are concerned that this is no fluke and is likely the new normal, not just in the United States, but around the world.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Wallenski said: “Measles epidemics demonstrate weaknesses in immunization programs, but public health officials are using the epidemic response to identify communities at risk, understand the causes of vaccination shortages, and provide We can provide tailored solutions to ensure that everyone is vaccinated.”
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