Measles outbreak: the spread of the disease could be catastrophic for the Pacific Islands

OPINION: I had measles. Naked and delirious, I fell into my parents' dinner one evening in 1966 to solemnly proclaim "Christ I am a crook", causing laughter and a quick return to bed. It's become a family legend.

Like most kiwi children of the 1960s, I healed. But I was a scammer. Half a century later, I have two unforgettable memories. The first was what is loosely called conjunctivitis, but it is actually an orbitopathy: everything in my orbits was inflamed, and the slightest glance from the side sent paroxysms of pain going through my skull.

The second date of my recovery and my jump in bed. The afternoon sun was sliding through the window of my room and, as I pulled off the covers, a cloud of shiny and lost skin – the after-effects of the rash – exploded across the piece.

After briefly gaining eradication status, New Zealand is at the heart of another measles outbreak. The issues raised are complex and nuanced: autonomy over collective responsibility, parental rights over state duty of care, and understanding of barriers to accessing a free health care intervention.

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In Te Tairawhiti, where I practice, we are isolated. We like to think that it is isolated. But we had syphilis, another illness in history that is currently touring the country. Now we are waiting for measles.

Over the weekend, a young adult from Bay of Plenty, who has now confirmed measles, visited the Gisborne CBD. In our clinic today, the phones fell because of traffic too dense. A family of seven unvaccinated children between the ages of 15 and 15 presented to request immunization. The children were seen in the parking lot.

Depending on how you measure it, measles is not the most contagious disease – this honor belongs to rotavirus, against which we also immunize. It is also not the most lethal infectious disease: rabies wins this price, but fortunately it is relatively difficult to contract rabies.

The problem of measles is that it occupies a unique place: it is extremely contagious and moderately lethal. Epidemiology has a ruthless logic. The more cases there are, the more likely it is that someone will die.

Doctors Without Borders, the international organization of doctors without borders, recognizes it. Before providing water, food or shelter to a refugee population, her first priority is to be vaccinated against measles.

The recent measles outbreak in New Zealand is of concern to me in many ways.

First, if enough cases happen here, someone will die. We have a well-developed health care infrastructure and world-class intensive care facilities. But Auckland, the epicenter of the current epidemic, is the largest Polynesian city in the world. If we export measles to the Pacific Islands, the result could be catastrophic. In 1911, measles was introduced on the remote island of Rotuma in the Pacific. Half of the children on the island are dead.

Second, the descent into tribalism on social media. People who choose not to vaccinate their children have their reasons. Do not vilify them, but rather identify the common values ​​and try to push the hesitant to vaccinate to adopt the vaccine.

The response of our society to a serious threat to health should bring out the best of us, not the worst, because we all love our children.

Fergus Aitcheson is a general practitioner at 3Rivers Medical in Gisborne.