In the past six months, 285 cases of measles have occurred in New York. That does not sound like much, but in the whole of 2017 there were only two cases. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has now declared a state of emergency for parts of the Brooklyn neighborhood. Anyone living there now has to get vaccinated against measles. Otherwise, fines of up to $ 1,000 (about 890 euros) are threatened.
Measles outbreaks have recently occurred in several US regions. The authorities are responsible for the resistance of vaccination opponents. The district of Rockland County in the state of New York had also declared a state of emergency at the end of March. In fact, the disease was declared eradicated there in 2000. Despite large vaccination campaigns, nearly one in three in the region between one and 18 years is not vaccinated, authorities estimate.
One of the most contagious diseases ever
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared vaccination prevention or delay to be one of the top ten global health threats. This puts her on a list of Ebola, antibiotic resistance and air pollution.
A measles infection weakens the immune system immensely, more infections are therefore common. One dreaded episode is encephalitis, measles encephalitis, which can result in death or permanent damage. As a late consequence of a measles infection, a so-called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) can develop after years, an inflammation of the nerve cells of the brain and the spinal cord. It leads to the loss of brain functions and finally death.
Germany: Discussion about compulsory vaccination
In Germany, the issue of measles vaccination is currently being discussed again. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn supports compulsory measles vaccines for children in day-care centers and schools. It is an interference with freedom, but awareness-raising campaigns in recent years have not had the desired effect.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, a total of 236 people have been infected with the measles in Germany by mid-March. Measles are among the most contagious pathogens. If an infected person comes into contact with a person who is not protected by a vaccine or previous illness, he falls ill with a probability of 95 percent.
Actually, Germany, in consultation with the WHO, had set itself the goal of eradicating measles by 2015. For this, at least 95 percent of people would have to be vaccinated twice against the virus. Among the children who started school in Germany in 2016, 97.1 percent had received the first vaccine. However, the second injection could only show 92.9 percent.