Measles outbreaks "more complex than the impact of anti-vaccine campaigns"

The state of emergency was declared in a number of states, in the Philippines and Madagascar, last month, following a measles outbreak. Officials said the most affected were children who had not been vaccinated against the disease, which led the debate between health facilities and anti-vaccination campaigns on the viability of the vaccine and the associated risks. .

But advocates of anti-vaccines say that using "outbreaks" to emphasize the importance of immunization is a mistake. According to Larry Cook, founder of the Stop Compulsory Immunization campaign in the United States, infectious diseases have a cycle in society and naturally appear collectively from time to time. "Children then get immunity from their mother through breastfeeding and other factors." Natural Immunity. "

In an interview with the BBC, Cook said that the refusal to vaccinate "is not a position but a way of life, in which families seek to provide their children with natural elements that allow their bodies to cope with the disease ". The goal is not to prevent children from contracting the infection, but to make sure that their body is strong enough (thanks to proper health conditions and adequate nutrition) to tolerate the symptoms and acquire a natural immunity that can protect their body forever. "

Impact of rejection campaigns

By early 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) had rejected the top ten threats to global health weighing on the Organization because of the dynamism of its campaigns and statistics showing the return of the world. epidemics about to disappear.

But there is another point of view that is more complex than the impact of anti-vaccine campaigns. According to Robben Nandy, head of immunization programs at UNICEF, the return of certain diseases to spread is linked to several factors, not necessarily to the impact of anti-vaccination campaigns.

Calls to refuse vaccination and alternative medicine are not a recent phenomenon and have always spread even at the height of the success of medical campaigns. But attention needs to be paid to involuntary abstinence from vaccination, if it is impossible to provide medical services, lack of awareness and adequate information, or poor communication with threatened communities.

Nandi attributed the recent measles outbreak in Madagascar, for example, to the lack of adequate vaccines and medical services. "In some areas (in Madagascar and elsewhere), mothers go through periods of up to three hours to get to the vaccination clinics and, if they do not receive the service, they may not return or to go beyond vaccination. "

The reasons for the voluntary rejection of vaccines against vaccine-preventable diseases are numerous. In addition to believing that it is dangerous or not, some communities refuse to take the vaccine for religious reasons. In some countries, governments also encourage vaccination as a Western conspiracy and as a trap to avoid.

Vaccine-resistant communities are ubiquitous even in countries where vaccination is mandatory. In the United States, for example, some people benefit from a "religious exemption" from vaccination, which in some areas contributes to the spread of the disease from time to time.

"Viruses are always looking for a vulnerable child," Nandy told the BBC. "Disease outbreaks warn us from time to time of the need to develop vaccination policies."

Lack of information

There are two ways to get the measles vaccine, first by injecting an active virus into measles alone, so that the body acquires immunity. And the second injection with triple vaccination against measles, rubella and mumps (MMR). Medical authorities consider that this method is a natural simulation of the disease, under medical control to contain the symptoms, and results in the formation of a natural body immunity to prevent the disease.

But Kok pointed out that vaccines are not a way to build and enhance the immunity promoted, but "highly toxic substances" that artificially stimulate the immune system to increase antibody production. "Instead of boosting the immune system itself, the success of the vaccine depends on the increase in the number of antibodies produced by the body. Most vaccines therefore need a boost. second stimulus. "

Over time, the child's body will not be able to develop an immune response built into any infection (the body's dependence on antibodies stimulated by vaccines), making it more susceptible to diseases, he added.

On the other hand, Nandi pointed out that these theories had been refuted and scientifically proven the feasibility and safety of vaccines, constituting a microcosm of the disease. The problem lies in the lack of a simple presentation of the information. "Failure to explain the natural side effects of vaccination encourages individuals to reject the concept of vaccination as a whole and to believe it unnecessary."

He added that natural methods of acquiring immunity and treating diseases without vaccines and drugs is a "very dangerous adventure" in which the child is exposed to risks that can not be controlled or changed.

Arab world "victim of conflict"

Arab countries have made significant progress in the elimination of infectious diseases through the expansion of medical programs. But political struggles have eliminated many of these efforts.

In Syria, for example, before the war, the country had established a strong health system and made significant progress ranging from 80 to 90%. But the war has devastated health services and the proportions have been cut in half, "Nandi said.

Yemen has another example of declining health system, which has led to an increase in diphtheria and measles, as well as a cholera epidemic, considered by scientists as "the worst of history ", affecting 1 million people and making 2,770 deaths.

The series of declines extends to other countries in the region, such as Iraq and Libya.

Nandi also pointed to other political and social factors, including the lack of trust in the health system and the political rhetoric of some right-wing extremist governments and groups, who view global health programs as a Western plot.

The future of vaccines

The World Health Organization celebrated in 2016 the global measles mortality rate of less than 100,000 cases for the first time in the history of the disease, accounting for 90,000 deaths. But the results quickly declined, bringing the number of deaths the following year (2017) by 20% to 110,000 deaths.

The increase continued in 2018, with measles killing 111,000 people worldwide. There are questions about the future of vaccine-tolerable diseases, but the world will see a resurgence.

In the opinion of opponents of the vaccine, it will soon become clear that vaccination is a proof of the infection of vaccinated children.

"The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have never conducted a long-term study on the health consequences of taking or rejecting the vaccine, because they do it and publish it. the results, parents worldwide will stop vaccinating their children, "said Cook.

Anti-vaccination campaigns are considered more important than vaccination, mainly against malnutrition, the extension of sanitation techniques, cooling and preservation of food and the improvement of living conditions of people. poor communities.

According to Mr. Nandi, it is difficult to predict the change in attitude towards immunization and should therefore be treated as a fait accompli and not as a way of reducing the problems faced by immunization programs. the diffusion of this type of speech. "Our duty is to develop an awareness discourse and present the facts to the companies."

But there is a need for livelihood reforms that support various immunization programs, describing the vaccine as "a limited intervention requiring support and threatening to collapse if other reforms are not found".

International organizations continued their prevention programs. The greatest risk is the lack of investment in immunization programs, despite the need for ongoing expenditures for equipment maintenance and the extension of clinics and services to the increasing number of children requiring vaccines.