Everyone, everywhere around the world has had quite enough of pandemics, and unfortunately, it looks like we are—at least in the Western world—in the middle of one once again. Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease that once riddled the world and fortunately, it’s also a disease that is now well controlled by vaccinating against it. There are however certain parts of the world that question the science and the efficacy of vaccinations, and they are now experiencing outbreaks of measles not experienced in centuries.
Measles in Europe
The WHO reports that Europe is experiencing an unprecedented (compared to modern times at least) rise in measles in the region. Last year alone the region recorded a 45-fold increase in new cases presented. There had been 941 cases presented in 2022, which jumped to 42,200 in 2023. 20,918 of these cases occurred between January and October 2023. Two countries even reported five measle-related deaths. Dr. Hans Kluge commented on the situation to BBC.
“We have seen, in the region, not only a 30-fold increase in measles cases but also nearly 21,000 hospitalisations and five measles-related deaths. This is concerning. Vaccination is the only way to protect children from this potentially dangerous disease”
Dr. Hans Kluge
According to the WHO’s findings, measles is affecting all age groups across Europe. Four out of every ten cases presented were between the ages of 1 and 4. Two in ten occurred in adults aged 20 and above. For all that it left the European Union, the United Kingdom is not exempt from the outbreak either. The total number of reported cases in the UK since last October has now climbed up to 216, and 103 probable cases have also been reported. This resulted in the UK Health Security Agency declaring a national incident to address the growing risk.
Measles in the US
Things are much the same, and even escalating in the US. Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia have reported nearly a dozen cases of the disease in the past few weeks alone. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health confirmed a total of 9 cases over the past month. Patient Zero in Philly was an individual who had contracted the virus while travelling abroad. They subsequently passed on the disease to a parent and a child at a children’s hospital, which led to an outbreak among the children there. Departments of Health in Georgia and Virginia are all also warning residents who had passed through their airports after travellers led to localised outbreaks in the states.
Measles has been all but eliminated in most countries in the world, especially in countries where rigorous vaccination programs are carried out. It was eliminated in the US back in 2000. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, this was due to a highly effective vaccination campaign that ensured measles saw no spread for a complete year. Before the US started enacting its national measles vaccination program, between 400 and 500 people died of the measles virus every single year, this was out of 3 to 4 million people who contracted the disease annually. It is due to this program that the CDC reported only 56 cases of measles in the US in 2023. However, this is 56 too many when considered in the light of the highly effective vaccination that shields people from the virus.
One reason that vaccinating against measles is so effective is the virus’ requirement for a critical community size to support a measles outbreak. Critical community size refers to the concept that certain viruses depend on the continued generation of new hosts to support their outbreak. Once infected, the host develops immunity against measles, which means that a continuous stream of newborns is necessary to sustain the disease. This is likely why the disease is most often associated with children. Studies have shown that the critical community size for measles is likely around 250,000. It is necessary to vaccinate over 95% of the community to prevent an outbreak from happening.
It is impossible not to talk about measles and vaccinating against it without mentioning the stigma that vaccination programs are garnering in the Western world. This is primarily due to a false study that claimed that there were links between measles and autism. This study managed to create a lot of fear among the public that didn’t read too much into it beyond the headlines it created. The dip in vaccination rates that this ‘study’ created is now giving rise to the present outbreaks. According to reports, the average vaccination coverage in the EU/EEA has been declining since the turn of the decade. The ECDC shows that the coverage for the second dose in 2022 was around 89.7%, far below the required 95%. The Pennsylvania Department of Health also revealed that the vaccination rates among children in the state dropped to 92.8%. The affected regions need to carry out comprehensive awareness programs to ensure that the public benefits from the health programs that their governments provide for them.
Measles often presents itself with a high fever and a rash, which generally goes away within the first ten days. Other symptoms include flat red lesions that typically start from the face and progress downwards across the body from the chest and the trunk to the extremities. Untreated, these lesions can add up to a painful rash running across the body, leaving scars behind after the disease is long gone. It does not help that measles has a very long incubation period, taking up to 10 to 12 days for the first symptoms to start appearing. This long incubation period frequently results in misdiagnoses, as most physicians tend to confuse the initial respiratory difficulties for a cold or the flu.
Circumstances worsen however if added complications occur. These can include pneumonia, meningitis, seizures, and blindness. Infants who are too young to qualify for vaccinations as well as the immunocompromised, such as pregnant people are most at risk for these complications. Contracting measles during pregnancy can even result in premature births, miscarriage, and stillbirth. Measles can also lead to painful complications in children under 2 years of age, sometimes causing blindness, inflammation of the brain, severe pneumonia, and encephalitis. measles processes the capacity to compromise the body’s natural immune system making it more vulnerable to other infections as well. Caregivers must ensure their children obtain the necessary vaccinations to ensure that they are never exposed to this risk.