Wisconsin moms make war on anti-vaxxer neighbor by distributing letters about him to the community

A group of "concerned" Wisconsin mothers have distributed letters in their neighborhood to warn other parents of an anti-vaxxer in their community.

In the letter, which was sent to Imgur and has since become viral, the moms called the woman by name and wrote that she "does not believe in getting vaccinated or protecting her family".

The mothers state that the decision of this woman exposes several people to the risk of catching communicable diseases, especially the immunocompromised or "medically fragile" people.

"Use caution when sharing your work or personal space, eating foods prepared by that person, or attending meetings at this person's house," reads part of this letter.

"Unvaccinated people pose a unique threat to infants, who often are not yet vaccinated, and can quickly become fatal or die."

Mothers then list the states in which epidemics of preventable diseases, including chickenpox, measles, mumps and pertussis, have been reported.

"Almost all outbreaks have been caused by unvaccinated individuals, who spread vaccine-preventable diseases to people who do not have adequate protection," they write.

The letter sparked a heated debate on social media. Some people supported the cause of the group and others denounced it.

"Do not worry about the stupidity of a person." If you are going to send something like this, SIGN your name! Otherwise, you are a coward, "wrote a user.

"I understand" the goal ", but it seems that it could quickly degenerate into an unfounded witch hunt," wrote another.

This has certainly been true in the case of the recent measles outbreak in the United States, which recently reached a total of 387, exceeding the 2018 total of 372, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The first measles vaccine was introduced in 1963 and in 2000 was considered eradicated in the United States.

However, the highly infectious disease has spread among people unvaccinated or living in states allowing non-medical exemptions for vaccines, federal officials said.

Cases have been confirmed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Texas. in Washington.

Of these states, six – Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, Texas and Washington – allow exemptions for philosophical and / or personal beliefs.

Wisconsin, home to letter writers, is one of 17 states that allow non-medical vaccine exemptions.

According to the Wisconsin Health Services Department, no cases of measles have been confirmed among residents since 2014.

However, last year, an unvaccinated Wisconsin man, suspected of being exposed to the disease, was charged by police with breaking his mandatory quarantine in order to get to the gym.

The 57-year-old journalist and his wife have been accused of exposing the public to a communicable disease, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Washington and New York, in particular, are struggling to contain their respective measles outbreaks.

In January, Washington declared a public health emergency as a result of a measles outbreak that affected 73 people in Clark County and one in King County, where Seattle is located.

Sixty-three of the cases involve residents who have not been vaccinated. Fifty-three cases involve children aged 10 and under.

Meanwhile, in New York, there have been at least 371 confirmed cases in Brooklyn, Queens and Rockland County since October 2018, all in Orthodox Jewish communities.

Just last week, Rockland County, in upstate New York State, took an unusual step in banning unvaccinated under-18s from being in public places for 30 days.

Officials also declared the state of emergency. However, cases continued to increase.

"People who do not believe in vaccines often have other opinions that go against widely accepted facts about science and medicine," reads the letter. "Protect yourself, your family and your community, being careful when interacting with these people."

In January 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) ranked anti-vaxxers as one of the major threats to global health.

The anti-vaccine movement is linked to air pollution and climate change, HIV and a pandemic influenza in the world.

"Vaccine hesitancy," as the WHO calls it in a statement, "threatens to reverse the progress made in fighting diseases preventable by the vaccination".