Measles is back, and sadly, the disease has already claimed a life in Ireland, the first in over 20 years. At time of writing, nine other suspected cases of the disease, all among children under nine, had been notified to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), compared to a total of four cases in 2023.
The upswing in measles here is mirrored throughout Europe, with the 30,000 cases recorded in the World Health Organization’s European region in the first ten months of 2023 representing a staggering 3,000 percent increase on 2022’s 941 cases.
How did this potentially deadly ‘Victorian’ disease, which had practically been eradicated, find its way back into our homes and respiratory systems?
Measles is a nasty old illness. Starting with cold-like symptoms, it progresses to a rash along with other unsavoury symptoms, including aches and pains, sore and sensitive eyes, fever, spots in your mouth, fatigue and irritability. Really, why would anyone want to get it?
Worse, measles in some cases diminishes, if not erases, the immunity of some survivors to other forms of infection for as long as several years.
Worse still, the disease can cause serious complications in small children, pregnant women, and the immunosuppressed, who often cannot be vaccinated.
Ah, vaccinations.
We pretty much had the prevention, if not the cure. But it appears a large number of people across Europe have turned up their noses at the opportunity to access a free, scientifically proven, safe means of prevention, preferring instead to listen to unverified conspiracy theorists and take their chances – and in doing so, selfishly placing others under unnecessary risk of illness, or worse.
The MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine works by stimulating the immune system to build up protection against these diseases. The more people in a population that are immune to a disease, the more a virus struggles to find a host, and eventually it dies away.
Measles is airborne and incredibly infectious, capable of quickly causing epidemics. One person can infect up to 18 others around them just by breathing, coughing or sneezing. To stop the spread of the disease, 95 percent of the population needs to be immune.
Within a population, a certain amount of people cannot take vaccines, and so, we vaccinate to protect those people as well as ourselves. It is perhaps another indication of the breakdown of the social contract in the Western world that we now think primarily of ourselves and not others when making decisions about vaccination.
Scepticism about the MMR vaccine originated around a now thoroughly debunked and discredited case series published in a medical journal back in 1998, which – based on a minute sample size of 12 – falsely linked the vaccine to autism.
Naturally, concerned parents were wary, and unfortunately the disproved narrative persists to this day, fuelled by dishonest online fear mongering that has contaminated the conversation around all types of vaccination, not just the MMR. Vaccination rates have fallen (to just 90 percent in Ireland), and the chickens are coming home to roost.
How do we address this? There is no easy answer.
Science is indisputable. But sound, logical arguments do not always win out over bad, illogical ones.
Debunking myths and addressing lies about vaccine efficacy by simply pointing out the inaccuracy of these arguments is unlikely to change minds, particularly if implying that those who disagree with the facts are stupid or uneducated. Most of us, when challenged on an opinion, would prefer to double down in our positions rather than admit we are wrong, even in the face of hard evidence to the contrary. The nature of the debate, as with the majority of online discussions, is confrontational and toxic. But surely the spread of lies can be challenged?
We all know that social-media platforms profit most from content that makes us angry. It is very obvious at this point that the social-media behemoths have no interest in the common good of society, or even in keeping people safe. Toothless regulators consistently fail to hold them accountable for allowing the spread of false information. But it is essential to hold traditional or ‘mainstream’ media outlets – including the local media – and their role in this too.
As a matter of urgency, these professional media must acknowledge their responsibility to promote accurate information, and critically, to moderate their own social-media accounts and for false, hateful content. Too many Facebook comment sections are sewers of conspiracy theories, and indeed unchecked racism, xenophobia and lies. ‘Old’ media outlets might blame new media for collapsing the industry, but that does not mean they should join them at the bottom of the barrel.
Human and humane conversation is needed. Many people have genuine concerns, and for one reason or another are afraid and untrusting. Authority has let us down constantly in recent decades. Trust in institutions – and corporations, including pharmaceutical companies – is shaky. Questions remain over the Covid vaccine, for example. The Thalidomide scandal is still fresh in the minds of many. We have had countless health scandals. It is any wonder that people are sceptical, and reluctant to be condescended to? We promote the value of critical thinking, and yet when people question the status quo, we ridicule them. There must be a better way.
But equally, the MMR vaccine has been proven safe, beyond all reasonable doubt, and as a society, we must do the right thing. We have obligations and responsibility to each other that must be met, and that includes vaccination. What is the alternative? A descent into dystopia, or a return to Victorian times?
OPINION: Vaccine education vital in measles battle
9
1
15.02.2024
Measles is back, and sadly, the disease has already claimed a life in Ireland, the first in over 20 years. At time of writing, nine other suspected cases of the disease, all among children under nine, had been notified to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), compared to a total of four cases in 2023.
The upswing in measles here is mirrored throughout Europe, with the 30,000 cases recorded in the World Health Organization’s European region in the first ten months of 2023 representing a staggering 3,000 percent increase on 2022’s 941 cases.
How did this potentially deadly ‘Victorian’ disease, which had practically been eradicated, find its way back into our homes and respiratory systems?
Measles is a nasty old illness. Starting with cold-like symptoms, it progresses to a rash along with other unsavoury symptoms, including aches and pains, sore and sensitive eyes, fever, spots in your mouth, fatigue and irritability. Really, why would anyone want to get it?
Worse, measles in some cases diminishes, if not erases, the immunity of some survivors to other forms of infection for as long as several years.
Worse still, the disease can cause serious complications in small children, pregnant women, and the immunosuppressed, who often cannot be vaccinated.
Ah, vaccinations.
We pretty much had the prevention, if not the cure. But it appears a large number of........
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