US measles cases skyrocket amid growing concerns over vaccines

The rise in the number of cases of measles has been put down to increased concerns and disinformation around the MMR vaccination
The rise in the number of cases of measles has been put down to increased concerns and disinformation around the MMR vaccination Credit: Eric Risberg/AP

The US has counted more measles cases in the first two months of this year than in all of 2017, with public health officials blaming "misinformation" for the growing epidemic.

Six outbreaks of the disease have been reported across the country since January 1, totaling 159 cases, in the states of Washington, Colorado and New York.

Since 2000, between 50 or several hundred cases have been reported a year, even though the highly contagious disease was declared eradicated at the start of the century.

Public health officials who were summoned to the US Congress this week to confront the growing threat said one of the largest challenges was the proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

“Misinformation is an important problem," Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, told the hearing.

“The spread of misinformation that leads people to make poor choices, despite their well-meaning, is a major contributor to the problem we’re discussing.”

Protesters at a "March for Medical Freedom" rally in Olympia, Washington demand an end to mandatory vaccination programmes Credit: Lindsey Wasson/Reuters

The subject has triggered a furious debate in the US, with a rising anti-vaccination movement gripping the country. An audience of both pro and anti-vaccination groups filled this week's hearing in the US Capitol, which was paused twice because of the interruptions from members of the public.

Deep divisions on the issue have also emerged between politicians in a number of states where outbreaks have occurred. 

Officials in some states have responded to the epidemic by suggesting tougher rules prohibiting parents from opting out of getting their children vaccinated.

The proposals have been met with fury in some quarters. A Republican state representative in Arizona likened the ideas to communism, arguing that a crack down on vaccine exemptions was giving up "the very sovereignty of our body, because of measles".

“I read yesterday that the idea is being floated that if not enough people get vaccinated, then we are going to force them to,” Kelly Townsend wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. “The idea that we force someone to give up their liberty for the sake of the collective is not based on American values but rather, Communist.”

A sign warns of a measles outbreak at a clinic in Vancouver, Washington Credit: Gillian Flaccus/AP

Meanwhile in Texas, where there have been eight reported cases this year, a Republican state representative suggested he is unconcerned about the epidemic because antibiotics can treat the virus.

Bill Zedler told the Texas Observer that he had measles as a child, before a vaccine for it was developed. "They want to say people are dying of measles," he told the paper. "Yeah, in third-world countries they're dying of measles. Today, with antibiotics and that kind of stuff, they're not dying in America."

Antibiotics, which are used to treat bacterial infections, are not effective against viruses.

One area in particular, Clark County, in Washington state has illustrated the potential dangers of vaccine exemptions. 

The area accounts for 65 measles of the cases nationally, 47 of them among children under the age of ten. In almost all 65 cases, patients had not been vaccinated.

Fifteen years ago, 96 percent of school children aged five in Clark County got measles shots. But in 2017-2018, the proportion was down to 84 percent.

In some schools, mainly private ones, the rate of use of the so-called MMR vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella was only 20 to 30 percent. In some of the schools, more than half the students had received exemptions.