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Measles Prophylaxis Blog

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Measles Deaths Falling Worldwide

Posted 23 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, April 23 – Deaths from measles fell 74 percent worldwide between 2000 and 2010, but progress is still short of the World Health Organization's target, health officials reported Monday. "This is one of the most remarkable victories in the history of public health," said Anthony Lake, executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), during a morning press briefing, while calling for increased vaccination efforts. The WHO, which aimed to cut measles deaths by 90 percent between 2000 and 2010, said India – with the world's highest rate of measles deaths – and Africa have offset the considerable gains made elsewhere. In the United States, which since 2008 has had no reported measles deaths, 222 cases of measles were reported in 2011 – the most in 15 years. Nearly all stemmed from foreign travel, and a majority of those who developed the disease had not been ... Read more

Measles Vaccines Won't Raise Seizure Risk in Young Kids: Study

Posted 2 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, April 2 – Measles vaccines don't increase the risk of febrile seizures in children ages 4 to 6, according to a new study. Febrile seizures are brief, fever-related convulsions that are not fatal and do not lead to brain damage, epilepsy or other seizure disorders. The study, conducted by the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looked at data from nearly 87,000 children ages 48 to 83 months who received the measles-mumps-rubella-chickenpox (MMRV) vaccine; the MMR vaccine plus the varicella vaccine for chickenpox, administered separately but on the same day; or either the MMR or varicella vaccine alone. There was no increased risk of febrile seizures among the children during the six weeks after they received any of the vaccinations, according to the study, which appears in the current issue of the journal ... Read more

Doctors in a Bind When Parents Want to Delay, Skip Vaccines

Posted 28 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Nov. 28 – Mistrust of childhood vaccines is causing some parents to request "alternative" schedules from doctors, either delaying or skipping some shots. And a new study suggests that most pediatricians are willing to go along with these requests – up to a point. "Parents seem to be regularly requesting alternative childhood immunization schedules," noted co-author Dr. Douglas John Opel, an acting assistant professor in the University of Washington's department of pediatrics. However, he added, "there needs to be more research into the effectiveness and safety of these schedules." The report is published in the Nov. 28 online edition of Pediatrics. The issue of parents ignoring standard guidelines on childhood vaccination schedules is worrying to many experts. One study, published in the November issue of Pediatrics, found that more than one in 10 parents in the United States ... Read more

Many Parents Skipping Kids' Shots, Putting Other Kids at Risk

Posted 31 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Oct. 31 – By signing an affidavit that says "all or some immunizations are contrary to my beliefs," California parents can bypass requirements that their children be fully immunized before attending school, and new research indicates that many are choosing to do so. The new study shows that at some "hot spot" schools, one out of every five kindergarten students is now going unvaccinated by parental choice – putting not only these kids at risk of preventable infectious diseases, but also other children at the school. These are schools "where we might be concerned that 'herd immunity' has been compromised," warned lead study author Alison Buttenheim, an assistant professor in family and community health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. "Herd immunity is the protection offered to unimmunized people when most people are immunized or otherwise unsusceptible," ... Read more

Unvaccinated Kids Behind Largest U.S. Measles Outbreak in Years: Study

Posted 20 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Oct. 20 – The largest U.S. outbreak of measles to occur in 15 years – affecting 214 children so far – is likely driven by travelers returning from abroad and by too many unvaccinated U.S. children, according to new research. The finding could highlight the dangers of a trend among some U.S. parents to skip the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine for their children, out of what many experts call misguided fears over its safety. Dr. Andrew Pavlo, professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah and spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), said, "The good news is that we are seeing introductions of measles that are being contained as small outbreaks." Pavlo credits containment to high levels of vaccination and the rapid response by public health officials. However, if an outbreak occurred in a "really susceptible population the outcome could be very ... Read more

Some U.S. Parents Ignoring Vaccination Guidelines

Posted 3 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Oct. 3 – More than one in 10 parents don't follow recommended vaccination guidelines for their children, opting instead for an "alternative" schedule that could involve skipping doses or delaying shots. And parents who do follow official recommendations show some inclination to move toward an alternative schedule, according to new research. The findings alarm the authors of the study, published in the November issue of Pediatrics. "This really highlights to me that there's probably going to be a continuing increase in the number of parents who choose to follow alternative schedules," said study author Dr. Amanda Dempsey. "We really need to start allocating government and educational resources to stem the growing tide of discontent about vaccines among parents." This isn't the first time investigators have noticed the shift. "There's been a trend over the past couple of decades ... Read more

Vaccinations Aren't Just for Kids

Posted 16 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Sept. 16 – Public health experts often focus immunization awareness efforts toward protecting children, and with good reason: Facing a potentially bewildering schedule of vaccinations for their young ones, parents usually need all the help they can get. But vaccinations aren't just kid stuff. Medical science is creating an increasing number of immunizations targeted at adults, to help them avoid life-threatening diseases in middle-age and opportunistic infections when they're older. "Immunization is a life-long issue that we need to pay a lot of attention to," said Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Some adult vaccinations are very well-known, like the annual shot that aims to prevent the spread of influenza. "You need an influenza shot every year," Benjamin said. "Part of that is because the virus changes every year, ... Read more

Childhood Vaccination Rates Remain High in U.S.

Posted 16 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Sept. 16 – U.S. childhood immunization rates remain high, with coverage for most routine vaccines at or over 90 percent, a new federal report shows. Among children aged 19 to 35 months, less than 1 percent had not received any vaccinations, according to the 2009 National Immunization Survey of more than 17,000 households with children born between January 2006 and July 2008. Coverage for vaccination against poliovirus, hepatitis B, chickenpox, and measles, mumps and rubella remained relatively stable and near or above the national Healthy People 2010 target of 90 percent or higher, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. Rates of vaccination for hepatitis A and the birth dose of hepatitis B increased by more than 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively, from the previous year. Forty-four percent of the children had received rotavirus vaccine ... Read more

Infants Vulnerable to Measles Before 1st Shot

Posted 19 May 2010 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, May 19 – Babies aren't scheduled to be vaccinated against measles until they turn a year old, but new research suggests that infants are vulnerable to the disease from the time they are 2 to 3 months old until they get their shot because the immunity they inherit from their mother wears off. The study, based on an examination of the medical records of 207 healthy women and babies at five Belgian hospitals in 2006, was published online May 18 in BMJ. Among the mothers in the study, the women who had contracted the measles at some point in their life became immune and gave more of an immune boost to their babies than women who were vaccinated and never experienced the illness. Still, protection derived from the mother only lasted from one to four months for all the women. Between 95 percent and 99 percent of the infants had lost the components of their immune systems, known as ... Read more

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Health Tip: Vaccinations for Adults

Posted 5 Dec 2008 by Drugs.com

-- Vaccinations aren't just for kids. There are periodic vaccines that adults should get to stay healthy, too. The Cleveland Clinic lists these vaccines recommended for people aged 18 and older: Get a tetanus booster shot every 10 years. A pneumonia vaccine is suggested at age 65. People with a chronic illness should get it before age 65. An annual flu shot is recommended for anyone 65 or older, health-care workers, people with chronic illness, pregnant women, and people who care for very young children. A hepatitis B shot is suggested for health-care workers, homosexual men, people with multiple sex partners, I.V. drug users, people on hemodialysis, and anyone with a weakened immune system. A measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is suggested for women of child-bearing age, college students, health-care workers, and people who travel internationally. All of those people – plus teachers and ... Read more

Worldwide Measles Deaths Drop Dramatically

Posted 4 Dec 2008 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Dec. 4 – Worldwide deaths from measles plunged 74 percent between 2000 and 2007, according to a new report, and experts say the trend is clear evidence that an international campaign to increase measles vaccination rates is working. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, the number of deaths fell from 750,000 to 197,000. Moreover, measles deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean region, which includes countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan, dropped by 90 percent, from 96,000 to 10,000 deaths, beating by three years the United Nations' goal of cutting measles deaths in that area 90 percent by 2010. "The progress made today is a major contribution to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development target of reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015," Dr. Peter Strebel, of the World Health Organization's Department of ... Read more

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Measles Cases Highest Since 1996

Posted 21 Aug 2008 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Aug. 21 – Some parents' refusal to vaccinate children seems to be behind the highest rate of measles cases reported since 1996, federal officials said Thursday. Between Jan. 1 and July 31 of this year, 131 measles cases have been reported in the United States, many of them among children whose parents have philosophical or religious objections to the vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 15 patients, including four children 15 months or younger, were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. By comparison, 55 cases of measles were reported in 2006, 66 in 2005, 37 in 2004, 56 in 2003 and 44 in 2002, for an average of about 64 per year. "Every year, we experience importation of measles from other countries and from those going abroad, but this year is different. Once measles is imported here, we're seeing it spread to many more ... Read more

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