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Tag: measles

  • Kristen Bell Changes Her Mind on Vaccination, Argues That People Need to Think of Others

    Kristen Bell admits to being “pretty crunchy” in her real life, but said having her children, Lincoln and Delta, changed her mind about the anti-vaccination movement that is putting American children at risk.

    “I thought, oh well, I’m probably not going to vaccinate because we don’t need it, those diseases don’t exist,” Bell told Entertainment Tonight. “In the research I did, I found that there is actually a really big reason why we all need to. Which shocked me.”

    Kristen Bell and husband Dax Shepard felt so strongly about vaccinations that they insisted that friends and family be up-to-date on their shots before holding daughter Lincoln after her 2013 birth and are doing the same with newborn daughter Delta Bell.

    Kristen Bell is becoming increasingly vocal in advocating for vaccination in interviews and on social media.

    “It’s a very simple logic: I believe in trusting doctors, not know-it-alls,” Bell told The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview.

    Anti-vaccination proponents argue against getting immunized against diseases like polio and measles that haven’t threatened public health in America for several generations, however with a resent resurgence in measles, Bell argues that the decision to vaccinate affects everyone.

    “I think it’s really important to acknowledge that we have something called the herd immunity, where there are people that cannot get immunizations because of autoimmune diseases or cancer treatments,” she explained. “If we don’t get the vaccinations to keep them safe, then they’re screwed.”

  • Worldwide Measles Deaths Hit All-Time Low

    Worldwide Measles Deaths Hit All-Time Low

    The World Health Organization (WHO) this week announced that measles deaths around the world hit an all-time low in 2012. The organization’s new mortality estimates count only 122,000 measles deaths worldwide in 2012, a full 78% fewer deaths than the 562,000 recorded in 2000. Reported cases of the measles have dropped at nearly the same rate, down 77% from 853.000 in 2000 to just 226,722 in 2012.

    The WHO is crediting global measles immunization programs as the cause of the dramatic drop in deaths. The organization’s data shows that worldwide immunization coverage is now at 84%. It also cites 145 countries as now having introduced routine second doses of measles vaccines. An estimated 13.8 million measles deaths have been prevented through vaccinations.

    Though it appears humans are conquering measles the disease still remains a threat in many places around the world. While North America is largely measles-free (though imported cases and the anti-vaccination movement have combined to produce some small outbreaks in recent years), other regions around the world are still subject to major measles outbreaks.

    The WHO’s African region is the most at risk, mainly due to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC was found to have 72,029 reported cases of the measles in 2012, far more than any other country in the world. Burkina Faso and Nigeria were also high on the list of reported cases, with 7,362 and 6,447, respectively.

    The WHO’s South-East Asia region is also highly at risk. India (18,668) and Indonesia (15,489) led that region in measles cases in 2012.

    The European Region is led by Ukraine, which had 12,746 reported measles cases in 2012. Romania followed with 7,450 cases that year.

    Somalia (9,983), Sudan (8,523), and Pakistan (8,046) led the Eastern Mediterranean region in 2012 measles cases.

    Though China has managed to control measles much better than India, the country’s high population contributed to 6,183 reported measles cases in 2012, the highest of any country in the WHO’s Western Pacific region.

    Image via CDC

  • Measles Still a Threat Worldwide, Says CDC

    Measles Still a Threat Worldwide, Says CDC

    Though measles has been conquered in many parts of the world through the use of vaccines, the infection still poses a risk to global health, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    According to the CDC, 430 children worldwide die of measles each day. Though the virtual elimination of the disease was attained in the U.S. in 2000, doctors are still warning that the disease can still make its way to the country through international travel. The agency warned that international travelers can cause an outbreak in unvaccinated people.

    The numbers of unvaccinated U.S. children may also have increased in recent years due to unfounded vaccination worries. Measles diagnoses spiked in the U.S. this year, with 175 cases already reported. The CDC has linked most of these outbreaks to international travel.

    “A measles outbreak anywhere is a risk everywhere,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC. “The steady arrival of measles in the United States is a constant reminder that deadly diseases are testing our health security every day. Someday, it won’t be only measles at the international arrival gate; so, detecting diseases before they arrive is a wise investment in U.S. health security.

    A new paper published this week in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that U.S. doctors should still suspect measles for children with symptoms of high feaver and rash. This is especially the case for children who have, or have been in contact with those who have traveled internationally. The CDC is also calling for the U.S. to lead measles elimination efforts throughout the world, which would help stem measles outbreaks in the U.S.

    “With patterns of global travel and trade, disease can spread nearly anywhere within 24 hours,” said Frieden. “That’s why the ability to detect, fight, and prevent these diseases must be developed and strengthened overseas, and not just here in the United States.”

    Before measles vaccinations began in the U.S. in 1960, measles was seen as a childhood infection that nearly all children contracted. According to the CDC, each year around 48,000 children were hospitalized for measles, with nearly 500 dying and 1,000 suffering brain damage due to the infection.

  • Measles Outbreak Sickens 21 At Texas Megachurch

    Diseases that spread quickly among populations, such as measles, tend to move like wildfire through tight-knit communities. That is exactly what is happening as a measles outbreak continues to move through a megachurch congregation in Texas.

    Eagle Mountain International Church in Newark, TX started experiencing incidents of the disease after a a visitor to the church contracted it while traveling in Indonesia. Soon afterward cases began popping up. The current number stands at 21, including 9 children of which the youngest is 4 months old.

    Measles, which was all but eradicated after a vaccination was introduced in 1963, is not a common condition. The reason it has spread so readily through the Eagle Mountain community is due to the church’s stance on vaccinating children against certain diseases. The church subscribes to the belief that vaccinations could lead to conditions such as Autism in children. Such connections have been completely refuted by health officials.

    Effects of the condition are similar to those of influenza except for the characteristic rash that forms on the body of the infected. Is it recommended that all children receive two round of vaccination against the disease, one at 12 months and another at 4 to 6 years old. It is also recommended that adults that have not been previously vaccinated or had the disease should receive vaccination. Eagle Mountain recommends that individuals seek healing through God unless the case is extraordinary.

    [Image via JimtheEVO on YouTube]