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Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) got together with the Pan American Health Organization to announce some promising news: there have been no new transmissions of the rubella virus in the entire Western Hemisphere since 2009. As a result, the virus has been declared eliminated in this region, joining smallpox and polio on that elite list.
Rubella, commonly called the German measles, doesn't cause severe symptoms in the vast majority of infected individuals. If a pregnant woman is infected, however, the disease can cause miscarriages or a suite of birth defects. Before the advent of an effective vaccine, the WHO says that up to 20,000 children a year in Latin America and the Caribbean were born with rubella-related birth defects; that's also the number that occurred during the last major outbreak in the US.
The widespread use of the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella) is partly to thank for the virus' elimination. Caribbean countries also used an adult vaccination program to help cut transmission in their populations. As a result, the last infection with a local origin occurred in 2009. Since then, several cases have been reported within the hemisphere, but all have traced back to infections overseas.
(Score: 3, Funny) by MrGuy on Friday May 01 2015, @01:22PM
Now we can finally all stop vaccinating children against Rubella, right?
(Score: 4, Informative) by ikanreed on Friday May 01 2015, @01:40PM
Quite possibly, but there are still potential infection vectors from other continents, and it'll be up to public healthy experts to determine the effective transmission risk.
One of the things about disease eradication is that it's important to KEEP it eradicated while you eradicate it elsewhere.
If it's not common in places that people from the Americas visit a lot(like, say confined to rural regions abroad), then they may well take it out of the MMR vaccine, and just make it an MR. If not, then we'll have to a wait a while.
(Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 01 2015, @04:52PM
And filthy nasty criminals with anal herpes are pouring in from South America by the thousands. Good luck with that, Amwhorica.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday May 01 2015, @06:00PM
Hey dumbass, it's eradicated on both American continents, and Mexico and many South and Central American Countries have a higher immunization rate than the US thanks to the anti-vaxxers here.
This post provided by the Facts for Bigots fund.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Friday May 01 2015, @01:41PM
Only if you never plan on leaving the country or letting anyone else in.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Friday May 01 2015, @01:47PM
... and nobody getting in who's not supposed to.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Friday May 01 2015, @01:53PM
Actually that might be an agenda of certain groups... which also seem to coincide with anti-vax groups too...
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday May 01 2015, @05:38PM
Anti-vax groups are generally against immigrants or for?
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Saturday May 02 2015, @04:20AM
Anti-vax and anti-immigration tend to be the conservative/republican/religious groups in the USA. Though there are plenty of new-new-age anti-vax liberals as well.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Friday May 01 2015, @02:24PM
Maybe. It's complicated. We don't get polio shots in the US even thought the disease isn't quite eliminated worldwide.
Because where it still exists doesn't have much traffic going here. And we can immunize just those visiting the location, and screen those arriving, rather than immunizing everyone. The larger the remaining areas with the disease, the harder this becomes.
(Score: 5, Informative) by lrmo on Friday May 01 2015, @02:59PM
We certainly do still get polio vaccinations in the US. Here is a link from the CDC [cdc.gov] on recommended childhood vaccinations.
It is good that polio is almost eliminated worldwide. But until that happens we still give the immunize our population against it.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by ikanreed on Friday May 01 2015, @03:37PM
Point withdrawn in the face of evidence.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Joe on Saturday May 02 2015, @03:03AM
We actually may still have to vaccinate even if there are no detectable cases.
"Live" vaccines can revert back to a disease-causing virus and can infect others. Inactivated (non-infectious) vaccines protect people from disease (getting into the nervous system and causing flaccid paralysis), but are unable to prevent infection and spread.
A better "live" vaccine (that can't revert) will probably be necessary to fully eradicate the virus.
- Joe
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday May 01 2015, @05:42PM
The question is what will be done with those that refuse vaccines? and immigrants with the disease or without vaccination? handling of people traveling?
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday May 01 2015, @06:30PM
Only if you never plan on leaving the country or letting anyone else in.
So that means we can stop vaccinating about 50% of the US population though. Gotta start somewhere...
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 01 2015, @06:58PM
So, 50% of the US population never ever come into contact with foreigners? Have you got a citation for that?
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Friday May 01 2015, @09:25PM
So, 50% of the US population never ever come into contact with foreigners? Have you got a citation for that?
Yeah, it's called my apparently-not-funny sense of humor.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Saturday May 02 2015, @04:21AM
Well I don't think that is what he meant, but considering how absurdly racist a certain portion of the American population is... my guess is they have never seen anyone from another country.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Friday May 01 2015, @03:27PM
We'd better. I hear the rubella vaccine causes Paul Bunyan's Disease.