Measles - it’s back
Measles is back.
Either < Middle Dutch masels measles, formally the plural of masel blood-blister, pustule, spot on the skin (Dutch mazelen measles), or < Middle Low German maselen (plural) measles (the singular masel a red spot on the skin is extant but rarer; cf. Old Saxon masala blood-blister, German regional (Mecklenburg) Masseln (plural) measles); both cognate with Old High German masala (Middle High German masel) blood-blister (the Old High German and Old Saxon words both gloss post-classical Latin flemen, variant of phlegmon PHLEGMON n.), Swedish regional massel, masla (1538 as matzla), and further with the German and Dutch forms noted s.v. MASERS n.; ultimately from the same Germanic base as MAZER n.1 and MASE n., which is tentatively identified by some scholars as being related to the Indo-European base meaning ‘rub, smear’ which is reflected, in extended form, by SMITE v. Cf. also MEASLINGS n.
More cases of measles have been reported in the UK in 2007 than in any year in the last decade. All this stems, of course, from the research published in 1998 which showed (or didn’t show, depending on who you believe and which papers you read) a link between the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, inflammatory bowel disease, and autism.
Uptake of the vaccine fell from 92% to 75%, and it appears that we are now paying the price. you can download details of the latest numbers here.
As a doctor I should of course now start banging on about herd immunity, and how important it is to always have your child vaccinated along government guidelines. But I’m also in the fortunate position of not having any kids of my own. I have to say that I would think twice and more about the MMR vaccine. Not for any scientific reasons; by now most agree that there is no link between the vaccine and autism. But the doubt would still be there. And you would have to consider the possible scenario of your child having the MMR vaccine, and then going on to develop symptoms of autistic behaviour. No matter how much you believed the science, would you really be able not to blame yourself - even though it is in all probability complete coincidence?
It’s a difficult one, and as usual, no easy answers.
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