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Public health officials warned parents not to be fooled by claims that they deliberately expose their children to the measles virus during what is known as the "measles festival". a safe alternative to MMR vaccine.
Dr. Herminia Palacio, Deputy Mayor of Health and Social Services of New York City, made this call at a press conference last week in the midst of an epidemic of the virus that has resulted compulsory vaccination.
Once eradicated in Canada, measles outbreaks have occurred in many countries this year. Canada had 33 confirmed cases in 2019. The United States has registered 465 confirmed cases so far this year.
It is unclear whether measles outbreaks are occurring, but advocates continue to promote the idea on social media.
"Measles was the chickenpox of my parents' generation," a woman wrote on Facebook on Sunday. "They would have measles parties to be able to catch measles because measles is safer to have a child."
"Zero dead, people. ZERO. The state of emergency, the forced vaccinations, the bullying, the warrant for zero deaths and an infection they admitted, we had the habit of having normal parties against measles, "wrote a other saturday.
Rachel Alter, a public health educator at March for Science, told CTV News Channel that the idea may have come from the "parts of chickenpox" that took place before an effective vaccine was developed. the chickenpox virus. Some people felt it was better to expose children to chickenpox, because the complications can be worse if they are contracted into adulthood. The US Centers for Disease Control strongly recommend against this practice.
Alter says vaccines have made the idea questionable. "The vaccines are so effective that we really despise the parties," she said. "In some jurisdictions, they can be considered sexual abuse."
"For measles, which is an extremely contagious disease with a very, very effective vaccine, there is no reason to go to these evenings," she added.
Having measles in your childhood "gives you a much greater chance of disability later in life," said Alter. "The most dangerous part is called SSPE, which is an abbreviation for subacute sclerosing panencephalitis," she said. SSPE is a "progressive neurodegenerative disease that occurs after measles, about 10 years later".
"It's fatal. It's painful. This is completely avoided if you receive the vaccine, "said Alter.
Steven Hoffman, a professor at York University and director of the Institute of Population and Public Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, said measles outbreaks are "a terrible idea."
"Measles is a very serious virus. In Madagascar, 120,000 people have contracted measles in recent months and 1,200 have died, "he told CTV News Channel.
"This is not something we should take lightly," added Hoffman. "How lucky we are today to live at a time when you can get vaccinated."
More on this story from CTVNews.ca
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