Anti-vaxx fears fuel measles outbreak in Europe -- with 37 fatalities already
LAST UPDATED ON AUGUST 28TH, 2018 AT 11:41 PM BY MIHAI ANDREI
Measles is killing both children and adults in Europe, in an outbreak largely fueled by anti-vaccination fears.
Between 1855 and 2005, measles has been estimated to have killed about 200 million people worldwide, being responsible for some of the worst outbreaks in modern history. The first measles vaccine was developed in 1963, and has since been significantly improved. As a result, fatalities have decreased tremendously in recent years — up until recently.
In the past few years, an anti-scientific movement has slowly risen up: antivaxxing. Emerging as a fringe movement and initially discarded and ignored — after all, why would anyone reject a scientific advancement that saves lives — antivaxxing has grown to the point where it’s having an important impact: scaring people away from vaccines, and making everyone more vulnerable to the threat of diseases like measles.
More and more people are avoiding the MMR vaccine, against measles, mumps and rubella, and, as a result, more and more people are starting to contract the disease. Two years ago, in 2016, there were 5,273 measles cases. In 2017, it grew to 23,927, and this year, in the first six months alone, there were over 41,000 cases — culminating in 37 fatalities.
As it happens, the measles virus got an unexpected ally: populist politicians, generally from the far right side of the spectrum. Donald Trump has placed himself in the antivaxxer camp, telling an alleged story about a two-year-old who “got” autism a week after she had the MMR — of course, without presenting any facts to support this idea. In France, Marine Le Pen has encouraged people to refuse vaccines, and it should surprise no one that her positions often fall in the far right. Italy’s attempt to boost vaccination hit a brick wall when the new populist government decided to relax legislation.
https://www.zmescience.com/medicine/antivaxx-measles-outbreak-europe-28082018/
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