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A series of terrifying interactive maps show how a measles outbreak could affect the United States as the country grapples with soaring life-threatening infection rates.
The maps show how the virus could spread to entire cities if current vaccination rates increased from 95% to 80%.
The simulation, developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, helps project the rate of infection in all major cities of the United States over a six-month period.
Interactive maps showing New York County after a measles infection show how the epidemic could affect the region in just six months if the vaccination rate fell to 80%
The simulation, developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, projected the infection rate in all major cities (Los Angeles County, Illustrated) in the United States over a six-year period. month.
They start with a single child contracting measles and show the possible spread of the disease. The red dots highlight the infected people and the blue dots represent the recovered patients.
If more than a few cases appear, the immunity of the flock has been lost and the disease spreads easily. If only a few cases appear, the immunity of the flock is still in place.
Herd immunity is a form of indirect protection against infectious diseases that occurs when a large percentage of the population has become immune to an infection, providing protection to those who are not.
The simulation includes two cards – one that assumes that 80% of children from six months to 15 years old are vaccinated against measles.
In the other, it is assumed that 95% of children aged 6 months to 15 years are vaccinated against measles.
In most cases, the difference between the 80% card and the 95% card is considerable.
Researchers admit that maps do not predict the effects of public health interventions in an emergency.
But they say the model shows the importance of a high vaccination rate to ensure the protection of the entire community.
Global measles immunization rates have fallen in recent years, partly because of anti-vaccination propaganda on social media.
More than 800 Americans have contracted measles this year in the biggest epidemic in decades, figures revealed Monday.
And the measles epidemic in Europe is on the brink of eclipsing last year 's record, while 34,000 people have already been hit by killer infection in the first two month of 2019, according to official figures. During the year 2018, 83,540 cases were registered in the European Union. region – this year, the numbers were almost halfway already in April.
Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that spreads easily in an infected person by coughing, sneezing or even breathing.
Symptoms appear between six and 19 days after infection and include runny nose, cough, sore eyes, fever and rash.
Maps begin with a single child contracting measles and show the possible spread of the disease (Philadelphia, photo). Red dots highlight infected people and blue dots represent recovered patients
Hypothetical maps show what could happen if Houston were to face a measles epidemic. Researchers admit that maps do not predict the effects of public health interventions in emergencies
UNICEF estimates that more than 2,500,000 children in the United States have not been vaccinated against measles between 2010 and 2017.
A controversial study conducted in 1995 by the disgraced British researcher, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, claimed that the MMR vaccine was associated with an increased risk of autism.
The research proved to be flawed afterwards and Wakefield was struck off by the General Medical Council.
A recent survey has confirmed no link between inoculation and autism after the scientists analyzed data from over 650,000 children who received the jab.
Pauline Castres, senior advisor for child health at Unicef UK, told MailOnline: "These numbers are indicative of the fact that we are currently in a measles crisis.
"Cases have skyrocketed around the world, including in places where measles had been eliminated, as in the United States. This year alone, the United States has already registered its second largest number of cases since 2000.
"Measles is a serious and contagious disease that can lead to death. Yet, at Unicef, we know that in the world, children lack life-saving vaccines, often because of parents' delay or refusal to vaccinate their children.
"Every child has the right to receive vaccines that save lives. It is essential for governments and health professionals in the United States and around the world to ensure that the public is aware of the urgent need for measles immunization and that services are accessible and affordable so that each child receives his vaccines at the right time. "
CAN ANDREW WAKEFIELD'S DISCREDITED AUTOMATIC RESEARCH BLAMATE LIBRARY VACCINATION RATES?
The discredited research of Andrew Wakefield has long been held responsible for a drop in measles immunization rates.
In 1995, Gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield published a study in The Lancet showing that children immunized against MMR were more likely to have bowel disease and autism.
He hypothesized that the injection of a "dead" form of the measles virus by vaccination causes disruption of the intestinal tissue, resulting in both disorders.
After a 1998 article confirming this conclusion, Wakefield said: "The risk of this particular syndrome [what Wakefield termed ‘autistic enterocolitis’] development is linked to the combined vaccine, MMR, rather than simple vaccines. & # 39;
At the time, Wakefield had a patent for single vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella and was therefore accused of a conflict of interest.
Nevertheless, MMR vaccination rates in the United States and the United Kingdom have fallen. In 2004, The Lancet editor Richard Horton called Wakefield's research "fundamentally flawed," adding that he had been paid by a group suing vaccine manufacturers.
The Lancet officially withdrew Wakefield's research paper in 2010.
Three months later, the General Medical Council banned Wakefield from practicing medicine in Britain, claiming that his research had shown "total disregard" for children's health.
On January 6, 2011, the British Medical Journal released a report showing that of the 12 children included in Wakefield's study in 1995, at most two had autistic symptoms after vaccination, instead of the eight that he declared.
At least two of the children also had developmental delays before being vaccinated, but Wakefield's paper claimed that they were all "previously normal."
Other discoveries revealed that no children were suffering from autism, nonspecific colitis or symptoms a few days after receiving the MMR vaccine. Yet, the study claimed that six of the participants had undergone all three.
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