The anti-vaccination tragedy
Mar/31/09 10:07 Filed in: Vaccines | Healthcare Policy | Pseudoscience | Pharmaceuticals | Evidence based medicine
I have written about the anti-vaccination movement several times recently, yet every day, I read another article or another comment somewhere that reminds me of this situation. Today, I came across a recently published article in The Lancet, one of the most respected peer-reviewed medical journals, which reinforced one of the consequences of the anti-vaccination movement. The article, Measles in Europe: an epidemiological assessment, states that there were 12,232 cases of measles in Europe during 2006 and 2007. Most cases were unvaccinated or improperly vaccinated children.
Since we appear to have lost the collective memory of the consequences of measles, let’s review the complications of this disease:
Measles simply should be eradicated in the developed world. Sadly, because relatively intelligent and well-educated individuals are making bad choices, based on bad science, for their children, childhood disease will increase. Who are they going to blame when their children contract measles, mumps or any other childhood disease, and there are complications? Maybe themselves?
By Michael W Simpson
Since we appear to have lost the collective memory of the consequences of measles, let’s review the complications of this disease:
- Otitis media (ear infection) occurs in 7–9% of cases
- Otosclerosis, an abnormal growth of bones of the middle ear which leads to deafness, is nearly eliminated by prevention of measles through vaccination.
- Encephalitis, a serious viral inflammation of the brain, develops in approximately one in 1,000 measles cases.
- Pneumonia is a complication in 1-6% of measles cases.
- Diarrhea arises in 8% of cases.
- Death occurs in 1 in 5000 cases of measles.
Measles simply should be eradicated in the developed world. Sadly, because relatively intelligent and well-educated individuals are making bad choices, based on bad science, for their children, childhood disease will increase. Who are they going to blame when their children contract measles, mumps or any other childhood disease, and there are complications? Maybe themselves?
By Michael W Simpson