The measles outbreak in Ohio has raised concerns about the spread of the disease and that declining vaccination rates among children could lead to further epidemics.
Ohio had reported 85 cases as of Friday, mainly in Columbus and other parts of Franklin County, according to Columbus Public Health. Most of these cases were in unvaccinated children. Of those infected, 34 required hospitalization.
This is not the only recent measles outbreak in the country.
Minnesota had 22 cases in the Twin Cities area last year.
The outbreak, which has occurred amid growing anti-vaccine sentiment, has raised concerns among health professionals that declining vaccination coverage could lead to a further spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.
“For vaccine-preventable diseases, we’re always worried about not having enough herd immunity,” said Susan Colleter, M.D., director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
Herd immunity occurs when enough people acquire immunity through vaccination or natural infection and stop the spread of the disease.measles highly contagiousconversion rate Must be at least 95% to eliminate disease.
The outbreak in Ohio began in October 2022, with the majority of cases occurring in mid-November to early December. The cases in these areas are believed to be related to her one of four travel-related measles cases, said her Mysheika W. Roberts, M.D., Columbus Health Commissioner. increase.
Although most cases were in unimmunized children, six of the children had received the first of two doses of the combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Another 24 of her children were too young for any dose. According to agency wwebsite.
America Declared measleses-free However, travelers regularly bring infectious diseases. People who have visited countries where measles is endemic, i.e. where there are regular outbreaks, can return to their home communities and seed local outbreaks.
“The mere fact that unvaccinated individuals were allowed to travel to a measles-endemic country and then return to the United States means they likely could have caused this outbreak,” Roberts said. say.
One potential reason these measles outbreaks may be occurring Vaccine coverage has declined during a pandemic.
of Centers for Disease Control and Preventionn (CDC) reports Vaccine coverage among kindergarten children is high, but has fallen to 93% in 2021-2022 compared to 95% in 2019-2020.
The risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases is particularly high among children living in low-income households and rural areas, as vaccination coverage in these groups declined by 4-5% during the pandemic. According to C.DC.
The decline in childhood vaccinations is due in part to disruptions during the pandemic and financial and logistical hurdles, the CDC reports. However, growing vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccine activism also play a role, and have been major factors driving recent measles outbreaks.
The United States recently recorded the highest number of annual measles cases in history at 1,274 in 2019.He occurred in eight communities, most of which were not vaccinated by CDC.
“We live in a generation where most of the people who are hesitant about vaccines have never experienced these diseases,” says Colleter. “And because vaccination is so widespread, they’ve never had these diseases.”
“I think many parents feel safe not having their children vaccinated because measles is found in our area,” says Roberts.
She believes part of the vaccine hesitancy is the dissemination of misinformation. The unsubstantiated theory linking the MMR vaccine to autism is an example. That theory-based, unfounded concern may cause some parents to delay her MMR vaccination until just before the child starts school. This may mean that children receive their first dose when they are about 4 years old instead of 12 months old.
The MMR vaccine has been around since the 1960s and is very effective, Roberts said. “Without the MMR vaccine, measles could not have been eradicated.”
The politicization of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic has also fueled anti-vaccine attitudes, she says.
“Anti-vaxx [and] The vaccine hesitance community probably grew as a result of this pandemic, spilling from COVID-19 hesitation to vaccine hesitance of all,” Roberts notes.
Vaccine safety researcher Elyse Kharbanda says each family may be weighing their own individual risks and making decisions as such. Motivation to get vaccinated may increase when there is a high rate of transmission or recent memory of an epidemic, but without it, acceptance of vaccines may wane, she continues.
As vaccination coverage declines, Colleter is concerned that other vaccine-preventable diseases, such as tetanus, rubella and chickenpox, may rise. Koletar said rubella is more difficult to diagnose than measles and sometimes goes undetected.
A late teen or adult who has never had chickenpox and who has not been vaccinated can become seriously ill if they get chickenpox, she adds. “It’s a scary time as a doctor, especially when you have a young pregnant woman with chickenpox.”
For now, the situation in Ohio looks positive. The latest measles case he was detected on 24 December. This means that if there are no new cases by 4 February, the outbreak could be officially declared over.
Looking ahead, Carbunda said, more research is needed to see what interventions can help more people in vaccine-resistant communities accept vaccines.
Interventions such as alerts and letters “are effective in facilitating immunizations for families who are busy and forget to vaccinate their children,” Kharbanda tells The Hill.
But “this kind of simple intervention doesn’t work for fearful, vaccine-resistant families and communities,” she says. It takes time and good relationships with the community to understand what the beliefs that perpetuate vaccine hesitancy are and to earn their trust, she adds.
Visit The Hill for the latest news, weather, sports and streaming videos.
