Measles cases at highest for 20 years in Europe, as anti-vaccine movement grows

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Measles cases at highest for 20 years in Europe, as anti-vaccine movement grows

A climate of doubt about vaccine safety is putting lives at risk, experts warn

Sarah Boseley Health editor
Fri 21 Dec 2018 14.00 GMT

A growing anti-vaccine movement in Europe, fuelled by social media and anti-establishment populists, is putting lives at risk and may be to blame for measles outbreaks surging to a 20-year high, health experts are warning.

A fresh Guardian analysis of WHO data shows that measles cases in Europe will top 60,000 this year - more than double that of 2017 and the highest this century. There have been 72 deaths, twice as many as in 2017.

Health experts warn that vaccine sceptics are driving down immunisation rates for measles, HPV against cervical cancer, flu and other diseases - and that their opinions are increasingly being amplified by social media and by rightwing populists equally sceptical of medical authorities.

The European Union’s health commissioner, Vytenis Andriukaitis, accused rightwing populist politicians of irresponsibility, peddling “fake news” about vaccine safety and stoking the climate of doubt.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/21/measles-cases-at-highest-for-20-years-in-europe-as-anti-vaccine-movement-grows

[SWBTATTReg]

1. This is going to backfire on these people...we've already had instances in the US where...

this happened (parents not getting their kids vaccinated) and schools/legislatures had to mandate that kids be vaccinated if kids were going to public schools. Of course if homeschooled, this wouldn't apply, but they are putting lives at risk...