Health officials announced end deadly measles outbreak in West Texas in August – but the threat was far from over.
Flashes highly contagious and preventable infectious disease have recently took off in South Carolina, Arizona and Utah.with some cases linked to the same strain of the virus in Texas, according to New York Times.
Now the US may soon lose its long-standing measles elimination statusand experts say they know who is to blame.
The anti-vaccine movement has grown in popularity. even before the Covid pandemic. But unclear recommendations for measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine from Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.did not help, experts say.
“This is a very clear example of the damage that the anti-vaccine movement has done to the United States,” Fiona Havers, an associate professor at Emory School of Medicine and a former infectious disease official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said recently. Hill.
In August, the West Texas measles outbreak was declared over. However, outbreaks continue to spread across the US (Getty Images)
“There are a number of reasons why current outbreaks are very difficult to control. [Kennedy Jr.] The spread of the virus and others in the anti-vaccination movement has led to a decline in vaccination rates,” she said.
“The U.S. policy stance on health care and vaccination is outrageous,” said Rosana Richtmann, an infectious disease physician and coordinator of the immunization committee of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases. Guardian in October, discussing a surge in measles cases across the continent. “This is a problem for us.”
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to the report. The Independent please comment on the situation.
The beginning of the end
Last January, the virus struck predominantly unvaccinated communities in West Texas, leading to… death of two children.
Kennedy approved the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in April. But he has previously made “misleading” claims about the vaccine's effectiveness, according to the nonprofit. FactCheck.org.
Kennedy also said he would test untested measles treatments such as fish oil and said he was supplying vitamin A at the epicenter of the outbreak.
“Good nutrition remains the best defense against most chronic and infectious diseases,” he said. said.
Kennedy praised the work of the doctor, who was known for discussing the dangers of vaccines. In May, the Secretary of State even said that the vaccine was made from “fragments of an aborted fetus.”
Inaccurate and misleading claims about vaccines – including a false link to autism – spread during the height of this outbreak, according to KFF survey on health.
The poll also noted the impact of Kennedy's remarks.
However, according to researchers.
Doctors say a decline in measles vaccination rates is associated with an increase vaccine hesitancy and the spread of misinformation about vaccine safety.
“With MMR, historically we have been very close to elimination in the United States, and that makes it difficult to understand the rationale for vaccination or to vaccinate your children,” said Dr. Whitney Harrington, an assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Washington. ABC News.
“And then I think that coupled with the fact that we're seeing less exposure to these diseases, at the same time there's increasing concern about vaccine safety and increasing vaccine hesitancy among parents and families.”
According to the latest data, the percentage of children vaccinated before the age of two is 90.8 percent. dataor almost five percent below target.
Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are 97 percent effective against infection. This is how the US achieved its elimination status initially in 2000.
Measles across America today
Two doses of the measles vaccine are 97 percent effective against the infection, but growing vaccine hesitancy has led to virus surges (AP)
During and after the outbreak in West Texas, health officials in other states tracked cases in cities and major airports across the country, with more cases occurring among unvaccinated individuals.
Were 1912 confirmed cases There have been three deaths reported to date, as well as 47 outbreaks, according to the CDC.
The majority of confirmed cases—88 percent—are linked to outbreaks in places like South Carolina, Arizona and Utah.
Eat 129 cases of measles in and around Spartanburg County, South Carolina: 303 people in quarantine and 13 in isolation. Many of the cases were found in schools or a church in Inman, and 122 cases were known to be unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated.
Arizona saw 176 cases this yearhowever, 97 percent of those cases were unvaccinated. Utah reported 115 cases.at least 26 people have been diagnosed with measles in the past few weeks.
Most of these cases occurred due to the outbreak it has expanded since August.
If these cases continue to spread, the country's eradication status may be changed. The status indicates that there has been no continuous spread of the infectious disease for more than a year.
Still, the fact remains that measles is spreading in the U.S. — and “we can already tell the damn house is on fire,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Hill.
“We don’t have to wait for another smoke alarm to go off to know it’s happening,” Osterholm said. “Whether or not we formally lose that exemption status is not even that important to me because we already know we have a terrible, terrible problem before us.”
