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Original poster

Measles outbreak in Europe

212 replies

bubbleymummy · 14/05/2011 20:33

Interesting that there was a large outbreak in Bulgaria in 2009/2010 despite a vaccination rate of 96% Figures here

OP posts:
Original poster
bubbleymummy · 14/05/2011 20:35

Germany also has 96% vaccination rate for measles containing vaccines (mcv)

OP posts:
Original poster
bubbleymummy · 14/05/2011 21:12

Spain has 98%!

So much for herd immunity.

OP posts:
Gooseberrybushes · 15/05/2011 22:49

However it's a good reason for the government to recommend getting an extra MMR dose if you're going to Europe in the summer.

Apparently. Hmm

Because, like, it's that effective, like.

DelGirl · 15/05/2011 23:06

interesting, I live in a small village in Italy and there have been 3 children we know with measles in the last couple of weeks. Thankfully dd had the mmr and seems unaffected though I know the incubation period is fairly long Hmm

balia · 15/05/2011 23:14

So...are you saying that people who have had recommended immunisations are getting measles? Or moaning that people who haven't, but have relied on others taking the risk for them are getting it?

Gooseberrybushes · 15/05/2011 23:19

I think the point is that people who have been immunised have caught measles in large numbers.

Was someone moaning? I think a point was being made rather succinctly by the figures themselves rather than by anyone "moaning".

Knackeredmother · 15/05/2011 23:23

My friends lo caught it recently from a trip to France.

Gooseberrybushes · 15/05/2011 23:24

Hope the child was alright. Unvaccinated?

AitchTwoOh · 15/05/2011 23:26

if you get it and you are vaccinated does it affect you less badly?

DelGirl · 16/05/2011 07:28

don't know aitch, am hoping so. DD did have a temperature for a day or so around the time the others had it and was wondering if it was connected but she seems ok.

celadon · 16/05/2011 07:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SardineQueen · 16/05/2011 07:47

From the linked article

"In Belgium, the national surveillance system has reported 100 cases of measles so far in 2011. The country reported only 40 measles cases in the whole of 2010. In the hot spot of this outbreak, Ghent, the virus is affecting primarily children younger than one year (and therefore unimmunized) and students of anthroposophic schools (unimmunized due to beliefs)."

It is a worry isn't it.

SardineQueen · 16/05/2011 07:49

The article seems to imply that these outbreaks have happened amongst groups who are not immunised for one reason or another.

It is a big worry. We had a suspected case at nursery recently. As with the last time that the manager told me about a few years back, more than half the parents rushed out to get their children immunised. It's amazing that you get these pockets of low take-up.

Knackeredmother · 16/05/2011 08:37

My friends little boy was due to have his mmr the day they returned!

Original poster
bubbleymummy · 16/05/2011 16:05

I think there's always a point made about the majority of cases being in the unvaccinated but there are also cases in the vaccinated - they just don't get highlighted. Vaccines dont guarantee protection and I don't think there's any way of knowing if you have a milder case because you've been vaccinated - you may have had a mild case anyway.

It was mainly the herd immunity aspect that I found interesting. Obviously that target 95% that gets quoted everywhere still isn't enough to stop outbreaks.

OP posts:
Gooseberrybushes · 16/05/2011 18:12

Bubbley - was looking at various websites today including WHO. Anyway it seems they point to belgium as an unvaccinated population getting it. But don't say anything about Spain, Bulgaria, France etc etc - and I bet if they could blame it or cast it on the unvaccinated, they certainly would.

So I think we can induce that it's only in Belgium that the unvaccinated issue arises.

The other countries - not the same.

Plus whatever is the point of being vaccinated if you're going to catch it as soon as your unvaccinated next door neighbour does?

Gooseberrybushes · 16/05/2011 18:14

"The article seems to imply that these outbreaks have happened amongst groups who are not immunised for one reason or another."

I think this isonly in Belgium. I'll try to do a couple of links later but you could find it yourself. WHO is one of them.

Also it's gorn to the states where vaccination is mandatory for education.

Gooseberrybushes · 16/05/2011 19:12

The unvaccinated thing is a red herring really. If measles is about on one of it's three yearly jaunts then unvaccinated people will get it. But that's why vaccinated people have vaccinations. So they don't.

bigfatcath · 18/05/2011 17:55

But if everyone had the vaccinationt then the virus would die out completely.... surely???

MigratingCoconuts · 18/05/2011 18:00

Yes bigfatcath...thats the way they got rid of smallpox. The last case was in 1979 and they are officially calling it iradicated as of this year.

Vaccinations do work and to suggest otherwise is scare mongering. Just like any other infection you have, once you have immunity, you are virtually guarrenteed not to catch the disease...and if you are very unlucky to do so, the form you get will be so mild as not not cause any of the serious problems linked with measles at full strength.

hulababy · 18/05/2011 18:10

Is it saying that vaccinated children are getting measles - I can't fine it anywhere?

We believe that DD may have had measles when she was 13 months old. She had a MMr and two days later fell very poorly. At the time we phoned and took her to the GPs several times and assumed it was a reaction to the MMR and tbh I feel that the doctors and HV were so busy saying it wasn't - it was the time when there was lots of in the media regarding mmr concerns - that noone would check her properly for anything.

DD was ill for several days, lost lots of weight, had fevers, blotches, not sleeping well, etc.

At the time there had been an outbreak of measles in the town where DD went to nursery bt not where we lived or where or GPs was.

It is only later when we refused the mmr booster that ayone listened prperly. We went to see a consultant in the area, they looked at all her records, we went through the symptoms again - I had them written down due to posting on a similar parenting site at the time - and they took a proper history and researched a bit for us. Her symptoms immediately pointed to measles, and linked with what we know about the measles outbreak near her nursery it was concluded she had probably had measles.

However they wouldn't chek her immunity and we did int he end give her the mmr booster, and she was fine.

onagar · 18/05/2011 18:15

....and if you are very unlucky to do so, the form you get will be so mild as not not cause any of the serious problems linked with measles at full strength.

So... you mean vaccinated people can still carry it? in that case total vaccination wouldn't eradicate it would it and presumably the Un-vaccinated can catch it (and must have in this case) from vaccinated people.

I'm not really against vaccination, but the claims for it seem not to add up. Also there's plenty of scare mongering on both sides. I had measles as a child - We all did back then (I'm from the olden days :o ). It was quite unpleasant for a day or two, but not that big a deal.

belgo · 18/05/2011 18:16

This was reported more then a month again in Belgium, since then I haven;t found anything on the news about it. I'm going to Gent this weekend.

Bunbaker · 18/05/2011 18:16

"I think there's always a point made about the majority of cases being in the unvaccinated but there are also cases in the vaccinated"

How old were the vaccinated children? The first MMR jab offers immunity to most children, but it is the preschool booster that increases immunity.

hulababy · 18/05/2011 18:18

onager - if it is what DD had as a baby then she was very poorly for several days; was really very unpleasant for her and us. It was bad enough to warrant night time trips to the out of hours surgery on more than one occassion.

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