Experts: Measles outbreaks risk becoming the new normal
The Trump administration's health policy could lead to measles becoming a common disease in the US again, writes the New York Times. Large outbreaks like the one currently underway in Texas could become the new normal, experts warn.
- We have really opened the door for this virus to come back, says Thomas R Frieden, who previously headed the CDC.
For an outbreak to start, the infection must first enter the country and then reach an unvaccinated population. The current policy increases the likelihood of both factors. First, because the international work against measles is greatly affected by the US decision to leave the World Health Organization (WHO), which increases the likelihood of being infected abroad.
In addition, cuts within the CDC mean that the agency will have to reduce its work to inform about the importance of vaccines.
Another child with measles has died in Texas
A second child with measles has died in Texas in the US, reports NBC News. However, the exact cause of death is still under investigation.
So far, more than 500 cases of the disease have been confirmed since the beginning of January and the outbreak is growing rapidly. An adult is also suspected of having died as a result of the disease, which had previously claimed no American lives in a decade.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy is expected to attend the dead child's funeral on Sunday.
The Trump administration's health policy could lead to measles becoming a common disease in the US again, writes the New York Times. Large outbreaks like the one currently underway in Texas could become the new normal, experts warn.
- We have really opened the door for this virus to come back, says Thomas R Frieden, who previously headed the CDC.
For an outbreak to start, the infection must first enter the country and then reach an unvaccinated population. The current policy increases the likelihood of both factors. First, because the international work against measles is greatly affected by the US decision to leave the World Health Organization (WHO), which increases the likelihood of being infected abroad.
In addition, cuts within the CDC mean that the agency will have to reduce its work to inform about the importance of vaccines.
Another child with measles has died in Texas
A second child with measles has died in Texas in the US, reports NBC News. However, the exact cause of death is still under investigation.
So far, more than 500 cases of the disease have been confirmed since the beginning of January and the outbreak is growing rapidly. An adult is also suspected of having died as a result of the disease, which had previously claimed no American lives in a decade.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy is expected to attend the dead child's funeral on Sunday.
Kennedy supports vaccines after new measles death
US Secretary of Health Robert F Kennedy Jr, known as a so-called vaccine skeptic, writes on X that "the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine".
Earlier in the day, a second child was reported to have died in the measles outbreak in the southwestern US, an unvaccinated eight-year-old girl, writes Bloomberg.
Kennedy writes that he is on site to provide support to the state's health authorities and comfort the affected family.
MMR is a combination vaccine and the letters stand for measles, mumps and rubella.
US Secretary of Health Robert F Kennedy Jr, known as a so-called vaccine skeptic, writes on X that "the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine".
Earlier in the day, a second child was reported to have died in the measles outbreak in the southwestern US, an unvaccinated eight-year-old girl, writes Bloomberg.
Kennedy writes that he is on site to provide support to the state's health authorities and comfort the affected family.
MMR is a combination vaccine and the letters stand for measles, mumps and rubella.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar