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Health officials urge vaccination to quell pertussis, measles outbreaks
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Health officials speaking during the 16th Richard J. Duma/NFID Annual News Conference and Symposium on Infectious Diseases encouraged a multifaceted approach to boost immunization rates, as reports of diseases that were once thought controlled, such as pertussis and measles, are now making a comeback in the United States.
“It is imperative that we move toward more understanding of vaccine benefits, and that we incorporate other means to get that message out, including health specialists, cultural anthropologists, others; all must now be included in developing vaccine education efforts,” Gregory Poland, MD, said during the press conference,
Poland, who works with the Jenner Society, took aim at the antivaccine movement during the symposium and said the primary cause for falling vaccine coverage rates are “mistrust and ignorance among the public about vaccines. This is the direct negative effect of the antivaccine movement.”
Poland and other speakers on the media briefing, including Mark H. Sawyer, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, said falling vaccination rates are contributing to a resurgence of a number of diseases, including measles and pertussis.
He said the CDC has issued an emergency health advisory about measles because the number of confirmed cases will total about 156 this year vs. a usual total of 56 cases. Incidence also continues to rise in Europe, with France reporting about 12,000 patients; 1,500 patients in Italy; and more than 1,000 in Germany.
Regarding the pertussis outbreak in California, Sawyer said although rates seem to be returning to baseline now, there were more than 9,000 cases in 2010, which was the most cases reported in that state since 1947. Changes in pertussis vaccination recommendations are likely contributing to decreasing rates, but compared with the rest of the nation, California did not even have the highest rates of pertussis. He called this outbreak “sobering,” and said continued action is needed to quell disease spread.
“It is important to note that the vast majority of deaths occur in infants 0 to 1 month of age, who are too young to be immunized themselves, so the only way to protect newborns is to immunize those around them,” Sawyer said.
Both speakers said clinicians must discuss vaccination options with patients and parents of patients and emphasize to them that vaccines save lives.
“In the last 100 years, the average human life span has doubled, and there are a variety of factors that are responsible for that, but primarily that change is due to increased access to sanitation and widespread use of vaccines,” Poland said. – by Colleen Zacharyczuk
Disclosures: Dr. Poland chairs a data monitoring committee for Merck to monitor safety of several non-measles novel vaccines that are in clinical trials. Dr. Sawyer reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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