As measles cases soar, should parents be forced to give their kids the MMR jab?
The anti-vax movement has been named as one of the biggest global health threats in 2019
THE World Health Organisation has called the anti-vax movement one of the top ten global threats of 2019.
And the numbers of kids contracting the potentially deadly disease has been on the rise - so what can we do to stop it?
Measles virus is spread by people coughing and spluttering on each other.
The vaccine, which is highly effective, has been given with mumps and rubella vaccines since the 1970s as part of the MMR injection.
When it became widely available, the number of measle cases around the world fell dramatically - so we know it works.
But many still believe that it can cause autism, thanks to the (now discredited) work of Andrew Wakefield, and that's why numbers are once again on the rise.
Most children suffering from measles simply feel miserable, with fever, swollen glands, running eyes and nose and an itchy rash.
The unlucky ones develop breathing difficulty or brain swelling (encephalitis), and one to two per thousand will die from the disease.
Professor Tom Solomon, from the University of Liverpool, says that this was the fate of Roald Dahl’s seven-year-old daughter, Olivia, who died of measles encephalitis in the 1960s before a vaccine existed.
The author was apparently horrified that not all parents vaccinated their kids against the disease and wrote an open letter appealing them to do so in the 1980s.
Symptoms of measles
Approximately 10 days after the illness is contracted, signs become noticeable.
The NHS outlines the initial symptoms of measles…
- cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, sneezing, and a cough
- sore, red eyes that may be sensitive to light
- a high temperature (fever), which may reach around 40C (104F)
- small greyish-white spots on the inside of the cheeks
A few days after these flu-like symptoms manifest, a rash often begins to appear.
Distinctive red-brown blotches spring up on the body, typically beginning at the upper neck and spreading downwards.
Severe complications can occur, including miscarriage in pregnant women, brain swelling and the risk of death from pneumonia.
According to Dahl, kids were more likely to choke to death on a chocolate bar than from the measles vaccine and he pressed for the UK and American governments to force parents into having injections done.
So should parents be forced to give their kids the MMR vaccine to prevent the spread of the debilitating and sometimes deadly illness?
Professor Solomon tells The Conversation that vaccines are a little like cars...
In rare circumstances, a seat belt might actually cause harm by rupturing the spleen or damaging the spine. But the benefits massively outweigh the risks and there are not many campaigners who refuse to buckle up.
I have some sympathy for those anxious about vaccinations.
They are bombarded daily by contradictory arguments. Unfortunately, some evidence suggests that the more the authorities try to convince people of the benefits of vaccination, the more suspicious they may become.
I remember taking one of my daughters for the MMR injection aged 12 months.
As I held her tight, and the needle approached, I couldn’t help but run through the numbers in my head again, needing to convince myself that I was doing the right thing.
How can you get vaccinated against measles?
In rare cases, measles can be fatal.
Worryingly, the contagious symptoms can even lead to other complications, including ear infections, pneumonia and even meningitis.
Adults and children over the age of six months are able to get a MMR vaccination to ward off the illness.
The NHS advises: “It’s never too late for your children (or yourself) to ‘catch up’ with MMR vaccination if they missed it earlier.
“Children up to the age of 18 and adults without immunity should have a catch-up MMR vaccination.”
The MMR vaccination is free for adults and children on the NHS.
To get your MMR jab, ring your local GP practice and ask for an appointment.
The vaccination is completed in two doses, which will be administered a month apart.
Babies under the age of six months can’t get vaccinated against measles.
The NHS recommends: “The best approach for children under six months is to try to avoid them having any contact with measles.
“It’s also a good idea to make sure the rest of your family have had the MMR jab, especially if you are planning to visit an outbreak area, as the greatest risk is in the household.”
And there is something unnatural about inflicting pain on your child through the means of a sharp jab, even if you know it is for their benefit.
But if there were any lingering doubts, I just had to think of the many patients with vaccine-preventable diseases who I have looked after as part of my overseas research programme.
Working in Vietnam in the 1990s, I cared not only for measles patients but also for children with diphtheria, tetanus and polio – diseases largely confined to the history books in Western medicine.
I remember showing around the hospital an English couple newly arrived in Saigon with their young family.
“We don’t believe in vaccination for our kids,” they told me. “We believe in a holistic approach. It is important to let them develop their own natural immunity.”
By the end of the morning, terrified by what they had seen, they had booked their children into the local clinic for their innoculations.
In Asia, where we have been rolling out programmes to vaccinate against the mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus, a lethal cause of brain swelling, families queue patiently for hours in the tropical sun to get their children inoculated.
For them the attitudes of the Western anti-vaccinators are perplexing.
If faced with the horrors of the diseases they prevent, most people would soon change their minds.
This article originally appeared on The Conversation
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