It used to be that measles was very common and almost everyone got measles.
A measles epidemic hit New York City in 1951, as this front page NYTimes article reports.
While it was a so-called rite of passage and a part of growing up, it wasn’t something you looked forward to, as some kids didn’t survive having measles.
Can you explain why we will almost certainly have the second highest number of measles cases in one year since 1994, even though we see the devastation that high rates of measles is causing in Europe and other parts of the world?
How many people will get measles in the United States this year?
A lot has changed since we got reassurance from the CDC that we were seeing an expected range of measles cases, although there were plenty of warning signs then that this was going to be one for the record books.
Although no one is reporting on this, with several large ongoing outbreaks still not under control – it will be another record year for measles in the United States.
The Rockland County measles outbreak already exceeds the total yearly case count for 11 of the past 19 years!
And with several large outbreaks continuing overseas, next year doesn’t look like it will be much better, especially with reports of a measles resurgence in many regions of the world.
“Before a vaccine became available in 1963, measles was a rite of passage among American children. A red rash would spread over their bodies. They would develop a high fever. Severe cases could cause blindness or brain damage, or even death.”
CDC says measles almost eliminated in U.S.
Instead, most people develop 10 days of measles symptoms, including a high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and a rash. Photophobia, irritability, sore throat, headache, and abdominal pain are other symptoms that children with measles might have.
But isn’t it just older people or those with immune system problems that die with measles?
“From 1964 through 1971, 16.7% of the death certificates reviewed noted some underlying pathologic condition.”
Roger Barkin, MD on Measles mortality. Analysis of the primary cause of death.
Nope.
It is most often children, typically young children, without any medical problems who die.
Before the routine use of measles vaccines, most measles deaths were young children without any previous medical problems.
In the post-vaccination era, no one would be expected to die with measles, but those with immune system problems sometimes do, as most others are vaccinated and protected. As vaccinated rates drop though, even otherwise healthy children and adults can once again die of measles.
“Complications were reported in 672 (9.8%) cases, including otitis media in 318 (4.6%) cases, pneumonia in 178 (2.6%), diarrhea in 171 (2.5%), and encephalitis in five (0.1%). Nine hundred thirteen patients (13.3%) were hospitalized, and 10 measles-associated fatalities were reported (case-fatality rate: 1.5 deaths per 1000 reported cases). Eight of the deaths were reported in children less than 5 years of age, all of whom were unvaccinated. None had a reported underlying illness or immunodeficiency. Most deaths have been attributed to pneumonia.”
Measles — United States, First 26 Weeks, 1989
Probably not, but from 1989 to 1991 there were at least 123 measles deaths across the United States, even after measles had been declining for years with the introduction of the measles vaccine in the 1960s. Most of the deaths were otherwise healthy, without underlying medical problems.
Because we don’t typically hear any details about measles deaths, including the almost 90,000 measles deaths that continue to occur around the world each year, most people likely assume that measles only kills in third world countries, where kids are already sick or malnourished. Of course, that wouldn’t explain how over one hundred people died with measles in Europe over the past few years…
Still think that measles isn’t deadly?
Tragically, there are plenty of stories (although most are never reported in the news and we don’t hear about them) and case reports that will prove you wrong:
Olivia Dahl died with measles when she was 7-years-old (1962)
an unvaccinated 3-year-old died in Maricopa County (1970)
a 13-year-old girl who had previously been vaccinated with one of the first inactivated measles vaccines which were found to be ineffective and were replaced with the newer live vaccines died in Michigan (1978)
a 9-month-old died in Chicago (1990)
an unvaccinated 13-year-old died in Kansas (1990)
Tammy Bowman, an 11-year-old unvaccinated girl died in Michigan (1990)
an unvaccinated 13-year-old became the first person in the UK to die with measles in 14 years (2006)
a 14-year-old died of Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE), a late complication of a natural measles infection (2015)
an immunocompromised woman died after she was exposed in an outbreak in Clallam County, Washington (2015)
a 6-year-old boy with leukemia died in Italy caught measles from his intentionally unvaccinated sibling (2017)
an 11-month-old unvaccinated infant died in Greece (2017)
an intentionally unvaccinated 9-year-old girl with chromosomopathy, which is not a contraindication to getting vaccinated, died in Italy (2017)
a 10-month-old unvaccinated boy who likely caught measles when he had been hospitalized for an RSV infection, died in Italy (2018)
a 16-year-old who had received a heart transplant when she was 2-years-old died in France (2018)
an unvaccinated toddler in Jerusalem (2018)
Measles as a rite of passage?
“We baby boomers were apparently the last generation whose doctors, and therefore parents, accepted the measles as just one more annoying rite of passage of childhood that also happened to prime the immune system and provide lifelong immunity. Medical texts prior to the advent of the vaccine described measles as a benign, selflimiting (sic) childhood infectious disease that posed little risk to the average well-nourished child.”
Darrerl Crain, DC on The Great Measles Misunderstanding
While early pediatric textbooks did a great job describing the symptoms of measles, they also did a great job of documenting that measles was never a benign disease, something anti-vaccine folks still misunderstand because vaccines can do such a good job controlling the disease.
Even as overall mortality improved in the mid-20th Century, measles still wasn’t a benign disease.
Do benign, self-limiting childhood infections diseases kill hundreds of children every year?
This toddler died of measles in 1955.
Measles as a rite of passage is something we don’t want to have to go back to. It was a rite of passage that was endured because there was no other choice.
“Today, vaccination is a cornerstone of pediatric preventive health care and a rite of passage for nearly all of the approximately 11,000 infants born daily in the United States.”
Cohn et al on Immunizations in the United States: A Rite of Passage
Getting vaccinated and protected is a rite of passage that you can look forward to, thanks to the many benefits of vaccines, not one that you should dread or avoid.
But did he mock the father of a child who died of SUDC, within a day of getting vaccinated? A father who was carrying a copy of JB Handley’s autism book, who claims that “there is no money in dead babies,” and who is banging on the studio window during his interview with Paul Offit?
No.
He is simply pointing out, and seemed a little excited, that he had anti-vaccine protesters at his studio for the first time.
At a screening for Vaxxed, Paul Thomas, MD, joked that kids with autism were brain damaged. And everyone laughed.
But if anti-vaccine folks really feel outrage over this, why is it so selective?
Where is the outrage when the comments don’t come from someone who supports vaccines?
“I want to thank the warrior moms and dads. Those of you who have an autistic child, or a child who is otherwise damaged, you know the damage isn’t always clear-cut autism. Some times it is just some variation – your kids just not quite right.
That’s why I didn’t stand and say that I have an autistic child, because my kids, I tease them and say that they are brain damaged. Uh. Sorry son.”
Paul Thomas
I don’t remember any outrage over Paul Thomas’ comments or when Del Bigtree said “Eve is autistic, that’s right, otherwise, why would she have eaten the apple,” and made this statement on his show:
“When I go visit my grandma, why don’t I see any autistic people flapping in the corner of the room.”
But that isn’t even the worse thing Del has been recorded as saying…
“But I would think when you have a child with autism, you know, or on the spectrum, you have no reference point. You have no…
I don’t want this to sound wrong, but it’s a little bit more like having a dog or a Doberman or something that you don’t understand how it thinks, you don’t know. I mean, I mean a better figure than animal reference except… you don’t have their brain.
Or you hear about stories of people that bring home of exotic you know of chimpanzee or something where they can’t, and this is not sounding right.”
At least he didn’t want it to sound wrong…
“They get the shot. That night they have a fever of 103. They go to sleep, and three months later their brain is gone. This is a holocaust, what this is doing to our country.”
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr
The anti-vaccine world is full of talk of autistic kids being broken and damaged, they push dangerous and expensive “cures” on parents, and spread propaganda to scare parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids.
Dr. Jerry is a pediatrician who practices Translational Medicine and wrote the forward to Jenny McCarthy’s autism book.
And they hijack every disease, story, and tragedy to make folks think that everything is a vaccine injury.
As a physician, I assure you this story isn’t believable at any level. In my opinion, the “health officials” are conjuring meningitis fairy tales about an “unvaccinated” boogeyman to cover for the much more probable cause of this child’s death: VACCINES.
The much more likely cause is right in front of us: “The child had just received his 4-month-old vaccinations two days beforehand.”
Jim Meehan
Jim Meehan, for example, is so upset that he thinks Zdogg should lose his medical license, but he had no problem harassing the family of an infant who had just died of meningitis, claiming it was a cover up for a vaccine injury.
This is the modern anti-vaccine movement.
Have I mentioned that some of them lie about religious and medical exemptions to avoid getting their kids vaccinated and protected? And others sell those vaccine exemptions?
“A Clallam County woman in her 20s died this year from an undetected measles infection discovered only after an autopsy, state health officials said Thursday. The case is the first confirmed measles death in the U.S. in 12 years.
The woman was likely exposed to the highly contagious infection at a local medical center during a recent outbreak in Clallam County. She was at the site at the same time as someone who later developed a rash and was determined to be contagious for measles.”
Undetected measles led to death of Clallam County woman in her 20s
Where is the outrage when someone dies from a disease that could have easily been prevented by a safe and effective vaccine?
Those of us who understand the hypocrisy of the anti-vaccine movement know exactly where it is.
More on The Moral Outrage of the Anti-Vaccine Movement
Have you heard that the MMR package insert “contains 42 paragraphs of warning and adverse reactions?”
And some of those warnings include “seizures, encephalitis, pneumonia, deafness, death and MEASLES?”
Measles? From the measles vaccine?
Myths About Warnings and Adverse Reactions in the MMR Package Inserts
Is that really in the MMR package insert?
Package inserts aren’t so scary once you learn what’s really in them.
Let’s see, 42 paragraphs of warning and adverse reactions???
Nope.
Anti-vaccine propaganda is not informed consent.
The Warning Section, which lists all adverse reactions and safety hazards that may occur after getting a vaccine and what you should do if they occur, actually only contains five paragraphs!
There are 23 more paragraphs in the Adverse Reactions section, but as most folks understand, this section includes clinical trials experience, postmarketing experience, and voluntary reports, so it is not always possible to establish a causal relationship to vaccination for the adverse effects listed here.
What does the MMR package insert say about seizures, encephalitis, hearing loss, and death?
“Measles is also known as rubeola. It is a serious illness. Measles virus can be passed to others if you have it. Measles can give you a high fever, cough, and a rash. The illness can last for 1 to 2 weeks. In rare cases, it can also cause an infection of the brain. This could lead to seizures, hearing loss, mental retardation, and even death.
Mumps can also be passed to others. This virus can cause fever and headache. It also makes the glands under your jaw swell and be painful. The illness often lasts for several days. Sometimes, mumps can make the testicles swell and be painful. In some cases, it can cause meningitis, which is a mild swelling of the coverings of the brain and spinal cord.
Rubella is also known as German measles. It is often a mild illness. Rubella virus can cause a mild fever swollen glands in the neck, pain and swelling in the joints, and a rash that lasts for a short time. It can be very dangerous if a pregnant woman catches it. Women who catch German measles when they are pregnant can have babies who are stillborn. Also, the babies may be blind or deaf, or have heart disease or mental retardation.”
So the package insert is telling folks to get vaccinated and protected to avoid seizures, encephalitis, and death. Why don’t anti-vaccine folks ever mention that part of the package insert?
Anti-vaccine folks often try to tout the benefits of natural immunity.
So that’s why Big Pharma wants you to get measles! So you will get cancer.
That measles reduces your risk of cancer is probably one that you haven’t heard.
Neither are you likely to have heard of the conspiracy theory that Big Pharma wants you to get vaccinated and protected so that you don’t get measles, just so you are at increased risk of cancer later.
Does Having Measles Protect You from Cancer?
The idea of a viral infection protecting you from cancer doesn’t make much sense, after all, many viral infections actually cause cancer.
That’s why we have vaccines to protect us against hepatitis B and HPV infections! So much for the idea that Big Pharma wants you to get cancer. If they did, then why did they develop vaccines that prevent cancer?
But Brandy Vaughn has evidence for her claim, doesn’t she?
Kind of. She has a study, “Febrile infectious childhood diseases in the history of cancer patients and matched control,” that was published 20 years ago in the journal Medical Hypothesis. A study that consisted of a questionnaire that was sent to cancer patients who were seen by anthroposophic general practitioners in Switzerland.
Anthroposophic general practitioners? Think Rudolf Steiner and Waldorf Schools.
Understand the connection with vaccines now?
That’s right, a “study” done by alternative health providers who are against vaccines found a benefit to getting febrile infectious childhood diseases, many of which are vaccine preventable.
What Are the Benefits and Risks of Measles?
Not surprisingly, few other people talk about any benefits to having a natural measles infection.
Unfortunately, we also don’t hear enough about the complications of these infections either, mostly because they are rather uncommon these days since most folks are vaccinated and protected.
Not uncommon enough though, as we still do have outbreaks.
That’s a risk that you might be unfamiliar with, but it is the increasing popular theory that a natural measles infection resets your immune system to that of a newborn, so that you are once again susceptible to many infectious diseases. That’s likely why mortality rates from other diseases besides measles goes down when folks start to get vaccinated against measles.
Measles and Cancer Risks
What about the association of measles and cancer?
Unlike the idea that a natural measles infection might be protective against cancer, there are more than a few studies that actually associate measles with a risk of developing cancer, including:
lung cancer
Hodgkin’s lymphoma
endometrial cancer
breast cancer
Are these associations real?
Probably not, after all, why don’t rates of these cancers go way down after measles gets under control or eliminated?
And we understand the most dangerous association between measles and cancer that affects the most people – when unvaccinated people get measles and expose children and adults on chemotherapy who are immunosuppressed and can’t be vaccinated.
Many news organizations ran with a story about a multi-state measles outbreak recently.
The CDC tweeted a correction about the multi-state measles outbreak story.
They got something wrong though.
There is no ongoing, single, multi-state outbreak of measles this year.
Fake News About Measles Outbreaks?
Is it understandable that some media outlets would have been confused by recent CDC reports?
Not really.
The CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks page hadn’t been updated since late-July and is still reporting case numbers that are “current as of July 14, 2018,” so there really was no recent CDC report to generate all of this extra attention.
“From January 1 to July 14, 2018, 107 people from 21 states (Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington) and the District of Colombia were reported to have measles.”
CDC on Measles Cases and Outbreaks
Although it has been changed to say “107 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 21 states,” there was nothing to indicate it was a single outbreak that the CDC was monitoring as many sites reported:
Few sites were immune to using a click-bait title to scare folks about the “outbreak.”
NBC2 – Measles outbreak spreads to 21 states, infecting more than 100 people
Unfortunately, many of these reports are still online.
How did it happen?
It’s likely because you have reports from organizations and websites that seem to want to push out content, but don’t have much of a budget to pay health or medical writers to make sure it is accurate.
2018 Measles Cases and Outbreaks
It’s also unfortunate that some of these sites, in trying to correct the idea of a single, nation-wide outbreak, are now trying to minimize this year’s measles outbreaks.
No, there isn’t one large outbreak that is spreading across the United States, but there are a lot of smaller outbreaks, some of which are still ongoing.
And these outbreaks are not something that should still be expected, as we have had a safe and effective measles vaccine for over 50 years and measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000!
There is also something very much different about 2018, that not surprisingly, no one is reporting about.
With over 107 cases, things seem very similar to last year right, when we had about 118 cases?
The thing is, in 2017, there was one large outbreak, in Minnesota, with 79 people.
In 2015, at least 139 of 189 cases were from just three large outbreaks, in California (Disneyland), Illinois, and South Dakota.
See what’s different?
This year seems to have more individual cases in more states, each with the potential to grow into one of those big outbreaks.
Or they might have a friend, family member, or other immunization advocate that helps them be more skeptical of the information and advice that is scaring them away from vaccines.
Remember. The great majority of parents vaccinate their kids. And those that don’t, do often change their minds.
