Current Events > WHO decries 'collective failure' as measles kills 140,000

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-measles-who/who-decries-collective-failure-as-measles-kills-140000-idUSKBN1Y92CM?il=0

LONDON (Reuters) - Measles infected nearly 10 million people in 2018 and killed 140,000, mostly children, as devastating outbreaks of the viral disease hit every region of the world, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

In figures described by its director general as an outrage, the WHO said most of last years measles deaths were in children under five years old who had not been vaccinated.

The fact that any child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease like measles is frankly an outrage and a collective failure to protect the worlds most vulnerable children, said the WHOs director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus.

The picture for 2019 is even worse, the WHO said, with provisional data up to November showing a three-fold increase in case numbers compared with the same period in 2018.

The United States has already reported its highest number of measles cases in 25 years in 2019, while four countries in Europe - Albania, the Czech Republic, Greece and Britain lost their WHO measles-free status in 2018 after suffering large outbreaks.

An outbreak in the South Pacific nation of Samoa has infected more than 4,200 people and killed more than 60, mostly babies and children, in a battle complicated by a vocal anti-vaccination movement.
In 2018, measles hit hardest in Liberia, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Somalia, the WHO said, with these five nations accounting for nearly half of all cases worldwide.

Globally, measles vaccination rates have stagnated for almost a decade. The WHO and the UNICEF childrens fund say that in 2018, around 86% of children got a first dose of measles vaccine through routine vaccination plans, and fewer than 70% got the second dose recommended to fully protect them.

Heidi Larson, director of the Vaccine Confidence Project at Britains London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the numbers were staggering.

Some countries are scrambling to vaccinate in the face of serious outbreaks - far too late for many, she said.
Measles is one of the most contagious known diseases, more so than Ebola, tuberculosis or flu. It can linger in the air or on surfaces for several hours after an infected person has been and gone, putting anyone not vaccinated at risk.

Among wealthier nations, vaccination rates have been hurt by some parents shunning them for what they say are religious or philosophical reasons. Mistrust of authority and debunked myths about links to autism also weaken vaccine confidence and lead some parents to delay protecting their children.

Research published in October showed that measles infection not only carries a risk of death or severe complications including pneumonia, brain damage, blindness and deafness, but can also damage the victims immune memory for months or years - leaving those who survive measles vulnerable to other dangerous diseases such as flu or severe diarrhea.

The WHO data showed there were an estimated 9,769,400 cases of measles and 142,300 related deaths globally in 2018. This compares to 7,585,900 cases and 124,000 deaths in 2017.

Charlie Weller, head of vaccines at the Wellcome Trust global health charity, said the numbers were a tragedy. If we are to protect lives, we must understand and address the reasons why measles vaccine uptake is lower, she said.

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We should build a giant pool, herd all the anti-vax parents into it, and then delete the ladder

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they're just trying to speedrun their children into heaven :(

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Antivaxxers are always rich enough to live in houses because apartments dont have anywhere to dig holes

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imagine being rich, but allowing your children to die as a part of an ongoing health fad

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Reminder the US President is an antivaxxer

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/449525268529815552

Any parent who doesnt vaccinate their child should be charged with child abuse & have their child taken away. These people are dangerous

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https://twitter.com/ScienceFirst42/status/1203190450267414529?s=19

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This is what happens when you don't take stronger measures against what are practically bio-terrorists.

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With the exception of kids who can't get vaccines due to health reasons, if you opt out for "personal reasons", and your child gets sick with a preventable disease such as measles, then you should be stuck with the hospital bill, and if your child dies, then both parents should be thrown in prison for, at minimum, negligent homicide, if not outright murder.

This is getting insane and needs to be nipped in the bud. There's having freedom of choice and then there's being an outright dangerous threat to your child and other people's children

Instead of insipid talking points these medical agencies should be identifying the HOST VECTORS instead of politicking. Why is more important than what in an outbreak situation. It has to be coming from somewhere. Measles do not randomly spawn.

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davidg4l posted...

This is what happens when you don't take stronger measures against what are practically bio-terrorists.

Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137759/

It is bio-terrorism

Rexdragon125 posted...

Reminder the US President is an antivaxxer

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/449525268529815552

This alone should net him prison
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Rexdragon125 posted...

Reminder the US President is an antivaxxer

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/449525268529815552

Healthy young people participates in society, gets pumped with massive doses of viruses, doesn't feel good and changes - MEASLES. Many such cases!

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