An unprecedented measles epidemic owes its existence to the anti-vaccination movement



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Small outbreaks of measles have been reported in several areas in recent months, but Monday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that these collective cases set a record for a new national record. According to the report, 704 cases were reported in the United States this year, exceeding the previous record of 667 cases in 2014. The disease was considered eliminated in the United States in 2000.

Last week, the CDC confirmed that there were 626 cases, which at the time indicated "in the coming weeks", that the number of confirmed cases would exceed that of 2014. This has it took less than a week for this to happen, which shows how quickly the disease spreads. Since last week, the number of reported cases has increased by 78.

The report states that more than 500 people infected in 22 states have not been vaccinated. Sixty-six people were hospitalized. The largest epidemics occurred in two New York communities: Rockland County and Brooklyn, New York State. Both have strong Orthodox Jewish communities, where misinformation about vaccinations has spread. Other cases reported to the CDC occurred in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York. York. , Oregon, Texas, Tennessee and Washington.

The CDC says some of these outbreaks are linked to travelers who have brought measles back from other countries such as Israel, Ukraine and the Philippines.

The national rise of measles is an indicator of the global situation: according to the World Health Organization, measles has experienced a 30% increase in the world since 2016. The World Health Organization has stated that "hesitation to vaccinate" posed a threat to public health.

"The resurgence of measles is a source of serious concern, with prolonged outbreaks in all regions, especially in countries that have reached or are on the verge of eliminating measles," said Dr Soumya Swaminathan , Deputy Director General of Reporting Programs earlier this year. "Without urgent efforts to increase immunization coverage and identify populations with unacceptable levels of under-immunized or unvaccinated children, we risk losing decades of progress in protecting children and communities from this devastating disease, but totally avoidable. "

Since the mid-1990s, over 91% of American children have been vaccinated against measles. Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases, but after decades of standardization of measles vaccines, national health experts said in 2000 that measles had been eliminated in the United States. In 1912, according to the CDC, "measles became a notifiable disease in the United States, forcing health care providers and US labs to report all diagnosed cases."

Thousands of people died of measles in the first two decades of the 20th century. After being declared eliminated, no deaths were reported until 2015, when a woman in Washington was the first to die in 12 years following a measles complication. . There have been no confirmed measles deaths in the United States this year.

Federal officials have expressed concern that the outbreak will spread to the United States if outbreaks are under immediate control.

"Vaccine-preventable diseases belong to history books, not to our emergency rooms," said Alex Azar, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, during a briefing. "The suffering we see today is completely preventable."

US President Donald Trump has already echoed a pseudoscientific rhetoric similar to the anti-vaccination movement. During a debate on the GOP in 2015, Trump launched a campaign to promote false narratives about immunization by stating, "Autism has become an epidemic." 25 years ago, he Thirty-five years ago, you look at the statistics, even if they are close, I am totally in favor of vaccines, but I want smaller doses over a longer period. "

The research of Andrew Wakefield, a British doctor who claimed in 1998 to have found evidence of a correlation between measles and autism, was completely discredited.

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