Measles are worrisome

Measles epidemic is rife in Berlin and Bavaria

06/28/2013

Germany is currently suffering from a measles epidemic. Especially in Bavaria and Berlin, the virus infection is rampant, and not only children can get sick of it. This year, a striking number of adults have been infected with the measles. One cause is the lack of vaccine protection of many people. Many people do not know that the disease can be very severe.

More and more adults are suffering from measles
„Measles are among the teething troubles“ many think. But the disease can affect adults and often takes a difficult course. In the worst case, the viral infection can be fatal to the patient. Many experts therefore recommend the measles vaccine.

What happens when people can not be vaccinated, is currently showing in Germany. Since January this year, 686 more patients have been infected with measles than in the previous year. Berlin and Bavaria in particular are struggling with the epidemic. More than 82 percent of measles cases have occurred in the two federal states so far. In Berlin, 323 cases were registered, compared to only 160 in 2011. In 2002, only two patients contracted measles.

„This year, especially many adults have been infected with the measles virus, "said Regina Kneiding of the press office of the Berlin Senate Health Administration compared to the „Berlin morning mail“. The Senate responded by expanding its vaccination recommendation. All Berliners should check their vaccine protection regardless of age and be immunized if necessary. The recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) refers to adults born after 1970. In earlier years, it is likely that they already have measles and are therefore immune.

Doctor could have infected baby with measles
Recently, a measles case made headlines in the Berlin Charité. A doctor might have infected a little girl with the virus. The doctor had treated the ten-month-old baby. A few days later, he noticed he was suffering from measles and not a cold as previously suspected. The girl then fell ill with the infectious disease. „There were nine days between the contact with the affected child and the measles diagnosis of the employee. Therefore, it can not be ruled out that the child could have been infected by another person outside the hospital“, Manuela Zingl, spokeswoman for the Charité, told the newspaper.

Nonetheless, the question inevitably arises of how a doctor can infect a patient with an infectious disease for whom vaccination protection is available. Contrary to the assumption of many patients in Germany, in contrast to many other countries in Europe, there is no compulsory vaccination - not even for doctors and nursing staff. Nevertheless, the STIKO gives a vaccination recommendation for these occupational groups. „The STIKO recommends, if given occupational exposure, all those born after 1970 who have been vaccinated against measles or whose vaccination status is unclear, once or in childhood, a single measles vaccine - preferably a MMR combination vaccine should be used. Occupational exposure may be suspected among persons employed in the health service and in the management of immunodeficiencies as well as in community facilities“, it says in the recommendation. It is not known why the Charité doctor evidently refrained from vaccinating.

Measles are among the most dangerous infectious diseases
„The measles are among the most dangerous viral infections that we even know in Germany. Therefore, anyone should be vaccinated, who has no proven vaccine protection or a documented measles infection in the past, "said Ulrich Fegeler, press officer of the professional association of paediatricians, told the newspaper to vaccination „act from an irrational point of view. In theory there may always be complications, but there is no valid evidence to show them specifically for the measles vaccine, "added Fegeler. „Being hit by a lightning strike or being hit by a traffic accident is much more likely.“

Measles vaccination is usually done with a combination vaccine (MMR vaccine). The first vaccine is given to children between the ages of 12 and 14 months, the second at the age of 15 to 23 months. As informed by the professional association of paediatricians, school entrance examinations have indeed shown, „that the measles quotas against measles have risen significantly in recent years, but so far only the five- and six-year-old students from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have achieved the necessary vaccination rate of over 95 percent for both measles vaccines“. Vaccination in childhood is very important, „because every adult who gets infected can, for example, infect infants that we can not yet vaccinate. And measles can have long-term consequences for these little children“, explained Dr. Martin Lang, Chairman of the National Association of Bavaria in the Professional Association of Children and Youth Physicians.

Measles can cause severe disease
While side effects of measles vaccination are rare, it can be especially in elderly and immunosuppressed patients to severe disease patterns in measles, for example, come with pneumonia. But even in previously healthy, younger people, measles can even be fatal. The so-called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a generalized inflammation of the brain with nerve demyelinating, causes severe damage and always ends fatally. It occurs in about one in 10,000 patients as a late succession. One in every 1,000 patients suffers from encephalitis, which can also be fatal.

SSPE has a long incubation period, which can take several years. Those affected suffer from the loss of brain nerve cells, which manifest themselves in mental and intellectual changes. In the further course, epileptic seizures and failures of important nerve functions occur until the patient dies.

The case of a 14-year-old from North Rhine-Westphalia who recently died of SSPE shows how important a measles vaccine is. The boy had been infected with the virus at the age of five months in the waiting room of a pediatrician. At this time, the child was still too young for a vaccine. Babies, in particular, depend on their contact persons to be vaccinated. „We know that especially infants who contract with measles have an increased risk of developing SSPE. Presumably, the immune system in the first year of life is not yet sufficiently able to ward off the dangerous viruses and prevent penetration of the pathogens into the brain“, explained Dr. Martin Terhardt from the Professional Association of Pediatricians. (Ag)

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