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Steve Cochi is a 63-year-old physician and epidemiologist who thinks its time to totally wipe out Measles:
[F]or the past 25 years, Cochi has been pushing one of the boldest—and some might venture foolhardy—ideas in public health. He wants the world to undertake a huge new effort to eradicate measles. Not just tame the virus or control the outbreaks re-surging across the globe, but to obliterate it, wipe it off the face of the earth, as has only been done once for a human pathogen, smallpox, in 1977, and as the world fervently hopes will happen soon with polio.
Measles is the most contagious virus on Earth, infecting virtually everyone who is not vaccinated.
It would cost a lot of money. And a large percentage of people, when presented with the idea think Measles is not worth the cost or the effort, because measles is, in their opinion, only a nuisance. Indeed the CDC has stated that Measles was eliminated in the US in the year 2000. Subsequent outbreaks earlier this year served as a brief wake up call, but nobody died, and people have largely written it off and attributed it to anti-vaxers.
But more than half of the estimated 10 million infected with measles each year in the developing world fare far worse. The virus suppresses the body's defense system, especially in those already immune-compromised or with malnutrition or vitamin A deficiency, leaving them vulnerable to secondary bacterial infections. The problems are compounded by a lack of health care. Pneumonia is the most common cause of death; diarrhea and dehydration is a close second. Measles is one of the top five preventable causes of blindness. Deafness is common. Inflammation of the brain can cause seizures and sometimes permanent brain damage. In poor countries, the fatality rate is 2% to 15%, soaring to 25% in the worst outbreaks.
In 2013, there were 145.700 measles deaths globally – about 400 deaths every day or 16 deaths every hour.
The article appearing on Science Mag's site outlines the problems involved, and the heartbreak of having Polio almost beaten, only to see it linger. It has a full discussion on why it should be doable, and why there are pitfalls.
Original Submission
(Score: 0, Troll) by stormreaver on Monday June 01 2015, @04:15PM
Ironically the anti-vac movement is one reason we still need the vaccination.
According to CDC data, Measles was nearly eradicated well before the Measles vaccine was introduced. Attributing the vaccine to the eradication of Measles is wilful ignorance. Like most contagious diseases for which we have vaccines, better nutrition and sanitation is far, far more effective at eradication than the vaccines. In all of the most recent Measles "outbreaks", the vaccinated had a higher rate of infection than the unvaccinated.
Moreso, rates of severe illness spiked in correlation to the implementation of systemic vaccination programs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 01 2015, @04:26PM
I believe you are confused. The mortality rate had already dropped to near zero before the vaccine, not the incidence. With regards to eradication we are talking about incidence (cases of measles).
(Score: 1, Informative) by stormreaver on Tuesday June 02 2015, @02:54PM
Like Slashdot, Soylent News needs a, "-1, I instinctively disagree but don't know why" moderation. I got moderated as a troll because the moderator's vaccine religion* doesn't agree with the raw data:
The Measles vaccine was introduced in 1963, and Measles deaths were extremely rare by that time (the decline in Measles roughly correlates to increases in cleanliness). The Measles death rate was nearly unchanged between 1963 and now, indicating that the Measles vaccine had an insignificant effect on the disease.
* A religion can be defined as a persistent belief in something despite all evidence to the contrary. Belief in the Measles vaccine is such a religion.