According to the UN, more than 21 million children a year are not vaccinated against measles. Between 2010 and 2017 (latest
Usually, unvaccinated children fromtwo to five years; much less often - adults who have not been vaccinated and have not had measles in childhood. After suffering the disease, a persistent immunity develops, the recurrence of human measles without a pathology of the immune system is doubtful, although such cases have been described. In countries that conduct total vaccination against measles, the disease occurs in the form of isolated cases or mini-flashes (5-15 people).
These countries include almost all developed andmost developing countries - however, in 2019, according to forecasts of the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of measles cases will exceed 60 thousand. This is twice as many as in 2017, and the highest since the beginning of the century. In the first three months of 2019, 72 people died from the disease in European countries - twice as many as in 2017 (the last global study on the spread of measles was conducted in 2017 - “High Tech”).
US tops list of highincome, the majority of children in whom did not receive the first dose of vaccine between 2010 and 2017 — there are more than 2.5 million such children in the country. France and the United Kingdom follow it, where over 600 thousand and 500 thousand followed in the same period. unvaccinated children respectively.
Situation in low and middle countriesUnicef calls income critical - in the same year 2017, in Nigeria there were almost 4 million children under one year of age who missed the first stage of vaccination. According to this indicator, the country ranks first in the world - followed by India (2.9 million), Pakistan and Indonesia (1.2 million each) and Ethiopia (1.1 million).
"The basis for global measles outbreaks thatwe are seeing today, it was laid many years ago, - comments Henrietta Foret, executive director of Unicef. - The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children. If we take seriously the fight against the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we need to vaccinate every child in both rich and poor countries. ”
Source: Rospotrebnadzor
In Russia, the incidence of measles in 2018amounted to 1.7 cases per 100 thousand people, that is a little more than 2.5 thousand cases. According to Rospotrebnadzor, it is almost 3.5 times more than in 2017. In the first three months of 2019, 872 Russians infected with measles, the largest number of cases occurred in Moscow, Moscow, Vladimir and Ivanovo regions.
According to WHO, over the five years from 2014 to 2019,Two Russians died from measles (in 2014 and 2018). Moreover, until 1970, until a vaccine was invented for the disease, more than 130 people per 100 thousand Russians were sick with it - in other words, up to 300 thousand cases were recorded in the country per year.
Measles- a disease caused by ingestion ofhuman virus of the paramyxovirus family by airborne droplets or close contact. It is characterized by fever, high temperature (up to 41 °C), inflammation of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract, conjunctivitis and a characteristic rash on the skin.
The incubation period of the disease lasts 10–12days After that, the patient has a significant fever, runny nose, cough, redness of the eyes, small white spots on the inner surface of the cheeks. This phase lasts from four to seven days. Then, a rash appears on the human body, which spreads over the entire body for three days - from the neck and face to the chest, stomach and legs - and disappears in about five to six days. Thus, the disease lasts on average from 12 to 16 days.
The most dangerous complications areillnesses including encephalitis, severe respiratory tract infections, severe diarrhea and ear infections. In 2015, scientists from Princeton University found that measles negatively affects the body of a person who has had it for two to three years.
According to the CDC, for every thousand children who get measles, one or two people die.
Source: yaprivit.ru
What is the cause of the epidemic
WHO calls discarding vaccines one of the main2019 global threats along with air pollution, increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics, climate change and other factors. The growing number of supporters of the rejection of vaccines, according to the organization, has become the main cause of a sharp decline in the level of vaccination against various diseases - and measles in particular. This factor has led to the fact that measles around the world again returned to the status of an epidemic.
Sidebar
Proponents of non-vaccination include members.terrorist organizations. In Nigeria, the Boko Haram group regularly attacks the centers for vaccinating children against measles, polio, rubella and other viral diseases and kills the doctors working in them. In early April, in Pakistan, two men on motorcycles opened fire on the nurses of the children's vaccination center. As a result, one person died, four more were injured.
In Europe and the USA, participants in the movement againstvaccinations operate using more “civilized” methods - they use social networks to spread information that vaccinations are not just pointless, but can pose a health hazard to those vaccinated - primarily children.
The measles vaccine is administered both separately andas part of a combination vaccine - against measles (Measles), mumps (Mumps), rubella (Rubella) and chickenpox (Varicella), MMR or MMRV. Vaccination is carried out in two stages - for children aged 12-15 months and at four to six years old, for adolescents and adults - the interval between two vaccinations is only 28 days.
One dose of MMR is 93% effective against measles, twodoses - by 97%. The vaccine is a weakened live disease virus. This means that, after injection, viruses cause a harmless infection to a vaccinated person with very few symptoms, if any, before they are removed from the body. The human immune system fights the infection caused by these weakened viruses, and immunity develops.
The root of the theory about the dangers of measles vaccinations liesin a scientific publication by researcher Andrew Wakefield. In 1998, a now former English doctor, stripped of all professional and scientific degrees, published an article in the authoritative journal The Lancet that the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella) leads to the development of autism in children and inflammatory bowel syndrome.
Sidebar
Now the theory is completely refuted - for the followingFor ten years no laboratory has been able to confirm the results obtained by Wakefield. In 2010, the Commission of the Main British Medical Council decided that the doctor behaved "dishonestly and irresponsibly", and his main goal was to discredit the existing vaccine in favor of the new drug, in the development of which he was directly involved.
However, the theory that the measles vaccine leads toautism in children, by that time was firmly entrenched in society. With autism, children develop normally until they are one or two years old, and then begin to regress. This period roughly coincides with the time of MMR vaccination. Scientists don't yet know exactly what causes autistic disorder, and such a diagnosis leaves parents wondering what they might have done wrong. Their guilt is fertile ground for scammers who offer a simple explanation: vaccinations are to blame.
The Pediatric Academic Society presentednew review of scientific evidence regarding adverse effects following vaccination. Autism, asthma and many other serious diseases used by anti-vaxxers as arguments against vaccination are not included on this list.
Previously it was thought that there were 47 consequences, after the study it turned out that in fact the effects of vaccination are only 12! And, of course, they are extremely rare.
List of confirmed adverse reactions:
- Anaphylaxis (allergic reaction).
- Arthritis (mild, acute, transient and non-chronic).
- Deltoid bursitis due to an incorrectly administered vaccine.
- Disseminated varicella after vaccine against it, occurring only (!) In people with immunodeficiency.
- Encephalitis.
- Febrile seizures.
- Guillain syndrome - Barre.
- Hepatitis, occurring only (!) In people with immunodeficiency after the chickenpox vaccine (and only after it).
- Shingles.
- Immune thrombocytopenic purpura.
- Fainting.
- Meningitis.
Flu vaccines do not cause asthma, children’svaccines do not cause autism, vaccines do not cause diabetes, vaccines given to immunocompetent individuals do not cause hepatitis, influenza vaccines do not cause myeloma (malignant tumor) in adults, and vaccines against DTP and hepatitis B do not cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) .
According to an international survey of The State of Vaccine Confidence, in 2016, 27% of Russians expressed their distrust of vaccinations - above this level only in France, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina.
How Doctors Fight an Epidemic
WHO analysts believe that the cause of the measles epidemicthere was a sharp decline in the level of vaccination compared with the first decade since the beginning of the century. This decline is particularly noticeable in marginal European populations, whose numbers have increased dramatically due to the migration crisis. However, prejudice regarding vaccines also exists among fairly educated citizens who belong to the middle class, the study says.
To combat opponents of vaccinationThe governments of Italy and Germany have passed a law prohibiting the admission to schools and kindergartens of children who are not vaccinated against major diseases. We are talking about measles, rubella, polio, typhoid and others. If such children are brought to educational institutions, their parents face a fine of up to 500 euros.
In April, about the fight against the spread of falseRussian officials also began to think about information about vaccinations. According to First Deputy Head of the Ministry of Health Tatyana Yakovleva, the ministry is preparing a bill that would provide for administrative responsibility for disseminating calls for refusal of vaccinations.
According to "BBC", the deputy minister of education of the Russian FederationTatyana Sinyugina sent a letter to the State Duma, which calls for a bill to be drafted, “limiting the visits of educational organizations to children who have not been screened for infectious diseases and vaccinations against especially dangerous infectious diseases.” However, so far no concrete restrictive measures have been taken by Russian officials.
Source: “State of Trust in Vaccinations” (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
Under public pressure with the spreadsocial networks are fighting for vaccination refusals. On May 10, Instagram began blocking hashtags through which they spread “anti-scientific data” about vaccines. Among them are #vaccinescauseautism and #vaccinescauseaids. The hashtag lock automatically makes the content that it was marked inaccessible, the social network reported.
YouTube streaming service guide,which is called one of the main disseminators of conspiracy theories and anti-scientific information, also makes attempts to block videos talking about the dangers of vaccinations. However, the service’s actions so far are more like a targeted attack than a full-fledged fight against such content.