Michael Rosenthal

(5/2019) Every day in the newspapers we read about the resurgence of measles, a highly contagious infectious disease caused by a virus. Symptoms of measles generally appear 10-12 days after exposure to the virus, and last 7-10 days. Symptoms typically include high fever, cough, runny nose, and inflamed eyes. Small white spots inside the mouth may form, and a flat red rash starts on the face and spreads over the body. One can be lucky with measles and not have further complications. I had measles in grade school in the 1940s, and recovered without any problems.

In my childhood a quarantine period was initiated in which you were required to stay in your house, and they placed a red sign next to your house door warning people that a measles case was within. I was fortunate. I recovered from the affliction with no lasting effects, and I went back to school and moved on with my childhood. Some folks were not so lucky. Complications included diarrhea, a middle ear infection, and pneumonia, and in rare cases, seizures, blindness, and brain inflammation have been known to occur.

Measles is an endemic disease, meaning that it can be continually present in a community, and fortunate people develop resistance. Its impact on underdeveloped communities can be illustrated by horrific historical statistics. Between 1855 and 2005 measles is estimated to have killed some 200 million persons worldwide. As an example, measles killed 20 percent of Hawaii’s population in the 1850s. Seven to eight million children are thought to have died annually from measles before the vaccine was introduced.

So how do you get measles? Measles is an airborne disease which spreads through the coughing and sneezing of infected people. If you are unvaccinated, you can easily become infected by passing through a group of people who are infected with the virus.

Ninety percent of those persons who have not acquired immunity and share living space with an affected person can be expected to acquire the disease. In the United States in the 1960s before a vaccine was developed about 3,000 persons per million acquired the disease. The development of the measles vaccine, applied in childhood, led to the fall of measles to one case per million persons by the year 2000.

The vaccine was developed by Maurice Hilleman at Merck labs, where he eventually rose to be senior vice president. He then directed the Merck Institute for Vaccinology for the next twenty years, and he was an Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia until his death in 1985. A vaccine was licensed to prevent the disease in 1963, and an improved vaccine was introduced in 1968. Hilleman was an American microbiologist who specialized in vaccinology, and developed over 40 vaccines. He was the developer of vaccines for measles, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumonia and for several other viruses.

Measles currently affects some 20 million people worldwide annually, primarily in Africa and Asia. Global vaccination initiatives have greatly reduced the incidence of measles, but it is still a serious health hazard. Vaccination has had a major impact on prevention of the disease. In 1980, 2.6 million people worldwide died from measles. In 2014 the number of deaths globally fell to 73,000. Most deaths are children less than five years old.

So, we have a highly infectious disease which has potential for death, easily spreads, but has a vaccine available that protects one from the disease 100%. Why is there a problem?

As you see if you read newspapers or watch news on TV, U.S. Measles cases have risen to the second highest level in nearly 20 years, more in the first three months of 2019 than in all of 2018. As of early April, 387 cases of measles had been reported in 15 states, including New York, California, Texas, Michigan, and Washington State, and a handful of cases in Maryland. What has caused this dramatic increase in a preventable disease?

Across the United States and around the world, anti-vaccine activists have spread misinformation about vaccines, lowering child immunization rates. There are those who believe immunization causes autism. This is absolutely not true! The anti-vaccine movement is found in some religious and ethnic communities, as well as in some political groups.

In Africa measles cases are up 700% so far this year, compared to 2018. In Madagascar tens of thousands of people have been sickened and 800 people have died of measles since September. In poor countries around the world, the vaccine availability is a major factor in the increase. Worldwide, the World Health Organization reported 112,163 cases of measles in the first three months of 2019, compared with 28,124 cases for the same period in 2018. They also point out that the actual number of cases is even larger, since only 1 in 10 cases is reported.

In the United States this situation has led to a secondary battle as to whether vaccination should be required by law and whether legal bans from public places should on placed on unvaccinated children.

My scientific analysis of the situation is that there is absolutely no threat from measles vaccines administered by medical personnel. Be sure you and yours are adequately vaccinated! If you have not had measles and are unsure whether you have had an up-to-date vaccine, consult your physician.

We recently received a pamphlet from the Town of Emmitsburg entitled, Emmitsburg Cigarette Litter Prevention. Any of us who walks along the sidewalk becomes aware of all the discarded cigarette butts on and near the sidewalk. Cigarette butts are more than just irritating eyesores. They are carried in storm water runoff to local streams, rivers, and waterways. Cigarette filters contain cellulose acetate, a plastic that is not biodegradable, and thus accumulates in the environment. Tobacco litter represents 34% of all litter in outdoor recreation areas. The brochure makes the following recommendations: Carry a portable or pocket ashtray; the Emmitsburg Town Office will be handing out free ashtrays for a while. Use receptacles when they are available to dispose of cigarette butts. Do not throw cigarette butts out of car windows! According to the Emmitsburg Town Code, cigarette butts are considered litter, and accumulations are a municipal infraction and subject to a fine of $75 per day. The Town of Emmitsburg is trying to help solve this problem. A $2500 grant from the Keep America Beautiful fund is being used to purchase four receptacles along Main Street and one receptacle at the Community Pool. For more information on this topic, the brochure recommends the website: www.PreventCigaretteLitter.org

Read other articles by Michael Rosenthal