Teething measles also affects adults

Measles: No harmless teething

04/28/2013

Measles are considered by most people to be so-called childhood diseases. However, adults are affected as well. In mid-April, a 25-year-old man in Wales died as a result of his measles disease. And in Germany, especially many adult Berliners are currently suffering from it.

Over 100 people in Berlin fell ill
In the beginning, symptoms such as headache, runny nose, cough and fever occur. Then it comes to a conjunctivitis and a considerably weakened general condition. You could mistakenly assume a bad cold. The typical red patches of skin on the whole body only appear after a few days. Measles, caused by the measles virus, is a highly contagious infectious disease that primarily affects children. However, adults are also affected, as is currently the case in Berlin, where there are over 100 patients. Dorothea Matysiak-Klose from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin said: „At the moment we have a really big outbreak in Berlin. "She continued: „Every day new cases are added, people are getting infected everywhere in the city, and some of them have even been hospitalized. More than half of those affected are over the age of 18. "By comparison, there were only 166 reported measles cases in the entire period of last year, although according to a recommendation from the Standing Vaccination Commission, everyone should be vaccinated at two years of age typical childhood illness in adults out.

Only transferable from person to person
Measles are a highly contagious infectious disease and are spreading rapidly from person to person. It can be diagnosed by an antibody detection in the blood. There is no specific therapy against it. Measles are harmless neither in children nor in adults, fever and a weakened immune system due to the virus attack can lead to middle ear, or even to meningitis. On average, one in every 3000 people dies in Europe. The situation in Berlin does not seem so dramatic right now. However, 30 percent of the patients were treated in hospitals. Unusually many adolescents and young adults have become infected. „In addition, the outbreak is not restricted to one district, but has spread throughout the city, "said Matysiak-Klose, experts from the Berlin State Health Office and the National Reference Center for Measles, Mumps and Rubella have now identified the site of the disease: a fruit fair in the Although the measles viruses are highly contagious, they could be eradicated, and since the virus is only found in humans, it would be possible to eradicate it by vaccinating all humans on Earth.

Eradicate the measles as a target
The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to the eradication of measles, experts call it „eradication“, the complete elimination of a pathogen. Having been targeted since 1984 to eradicate the disease from the European Region by 2010, 2015 has now been called a new date after the failure. While it is still uncertain whether this goal can be achieved, other results are hopeful. For with Pan-America, another WHO region has already managed to become free of measles ten years ago. At that time, on the American continents, for over twelve months, no one was affected by endemic measles, that is, measles that were not introduced by travelers. This is justified by health experts with the rigorous vaccination policy in the US and in many other countries in North, Central and South America. For example, "vaccination against measles must be proven at enrollment, otherwise the child will not be admitted to school". In Europe, there are actually many successes but also setbacks, as currently in Berlin. Or in our neighborhood, as Matysiak-Klose explains: „There was also a major setback in France: there were hardly any people suffering from measles until 2009. "But in 2010 and 2011, 30,000 people in Europe each became ill, with a clear focus on France, as the reason for the epidemic was recognized few people were vaccinated.

Vaccinations would help
Epidemiologists have calculated that a vaccination coverage with two vaccinations of 95 percent of the population is necessary to stop the spread of measles. Even if one or two out of 100 people are without vaccine protection, the likelihood of the disease breaking out is low. But if more people are not vaccinated, the risk of an outbreak increases enormously. The Robert Koch Institute states that in Saxony, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria currently less than 90 percent of new school children are twice vaccinated against measles. In addition, data from the Standing Vaccination Commission and the Child and Adolescent Health Survey show that in Germany, children are often vaccinated too late. Of the children born in 2009, only in Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein had a vaccination rate of 95 percent been achieved with the first vaccine dose, according to data from a recent survey „Epidemiological bulletin“ were published. Children under the age of two should already have received both the necessary vaccine doses.

Impflücken in those born after 1970
How is it possible that not all people in Germany and Europe are vaccinated? The two doses needed are less than one euro. The vaccine is safe and there are vaccination plans that require children to be vaccinated twice until they are two years old. The expert of the Robert Koch Institute explains: „The vaccination rate is actually relatively high in Germany. "And further: „But in 2001 the vaccination recommendations for Germany have been revised. The second vaccination, which children had until then at six to eight years, was preferred to the age of nearly two years. As a result, a few years passed through the grid. "The rate of immunized older children declined and the 95 percent rule was no longer reached.The recent outbreak in Berlin shows that apparently many young adults are without adequate protection. that people who were born after 1970 and who do not know whether they had measles as a child, or if they had been vaccinated twice, get vaccinated.

Religious reasons and a lying doctor for vaccinations
Günter Pfaff of the State Health Office in Baden-Württemberg recognized another problem in a survey of the censorship rate at the community level: the vaccination opponents. So he explained: „A comparison: In the south of the Netherlands there is the so-called 'Bible Belt', a region where many followers of strictly reformed churches live. Here, the rejection of immunization for reasons of faith is very high - and the vaccination rate against measles accordingly low. In Germany we do not have such regions.“ He also added: „However, there are communities within the country that have a relatively low measles vaccination rate. The causes of low vaccination rates can be different. There may be churches in which an alternative view of mainstream medicine plays a role or where doctors are still following an outdated vaccination plan. We still have to examine exactly what it is in an individual case. "Not yet conclusively, he says: „So far, we have only hypotheses. "The example of the Netherlands shows the effect that prevailing attitudes in individual communities could have on the epidemiological events of the entire country, where it is estimated that 30 percent of strictly Reformed people are not vaccinated there Among them, a measles epidemic in 1999. Another reason for the rejection of measles vaccines is seen in a 1998 medical scandal.

The British doctor Andrew J. Wakefield had warned then in the journal "The Lancet" that the combined measles-mumps-rubella vaccine could trigger autism. Years later it became known that Wakefield had received £ 55,000 in grants from lawyers representing autistic children. The publication in „The Lancet“ was withdrawn and Wakefield received in 2010 professional ban. Since then, many studies have shown that vaccination does not trigger autism. However, according to the Wakefield study, the vaccination rate dropped dramatically, especially in the UK and Ireland, and so there are many in a generation of adolescents who can spread the virus. Both countries are still struggling with measles today, partly because of the fake data of a corrupt doctor.

Doctors in charge
The skepticism about the vaccine persists in Germany in some circles, but should not be a big problem. So Matysiak-Klose says: „About one to two percent of the population in Germany are real vaccination opponents "and further „But if all non-vaccinates are vaccinated against measles, that's enough to eliminate the disease. "This is what effect medics get „herd immunity“ called. What is meant is that if enough people are immune to a pathogen, they rarely find enough people to multiply. The epidemiologists speak of the 95 percent rule. Whether the WHO goal of eradicating the disease by 2015 will be achieved by Germany and Europe ultimately lies with the physicians in private practice. „In some counties, for example, there are only a few paediatricians. If they do not take the measles vaccine seriously, the virus can survive in that region“, so Matysiak-Klose. In these areas, a reservoir for the viruses can then form and it could lead to outbreaks. This is not only a problem for Europe, but for the rest of the world, as the virus can easily be trafficked to other countries. Germany is also considered a measles exporter. („“Especially in poorer regions of the world, this can have devastating consequences. Every year, 100,000 people still die of measles per year, a disease that could have been eradicated by vaccines. (Sb)

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