Measles, Oh My!

Measles “outbreaks” making headline news. Should we be very, very afraid?

History is repeating itself. We’re back in 2014, folks.

Remember the absolutely horrifying and sure-to-be-lethal “outbreak” of the measles at Disneyland? The one that killed caused a rash in so many children?

That same measles scare prompted mainstream media to call for parents who did not vaccinate to be put in jail (this brilliant idea came to us courtesy of Useless USA Today).

It was also used to justify the idea that vaccine choice needed to be abolished to keep us all safe. (Thank you, Washington Post)

So here we are again, hearing about measles outbreaks

In the last two days there has been a new onslaught from the media—from television news to internet sites—seeking to terrify parents about a small number of recent cases of … yeppers … measles.

The Atlantic is reporting a “Return of Measles” (because of three cases in Chicago).

STAT is regaling readers with tales about “What it’s like to watch children die of measles.” (Spoiler: it’s devastating to watch a child die of any cause. The chief of medical research who wrote this absolute must-read article lives in one of the poorest provinces in one of the poorest countries in the world where half the people are under 18 and almost no one has access to paved roads, clean drinking water, or enough to eat.)

And Live Science wants us all to know that 300 people have “possibly” been exposed to measles at the UC Davis Medical Center where a child was treated for measles on March 5^th.

To say nothing of the Big Bad Measles that have devastated hurt no children in Broward County, Florida.

Oh my god. I am so so scared.

I will rush out and get as many MMR vaccines as I can. For myself. And for my children. Shoot ‘em up. In the back arm.

Because if one measles vaccine works, like the CDC says, more will work even better!

And you can’t have too many of such a good, effective, and wonderful thing!

Besides, the ONLY way to not get the measles or not die from the measles is by supporting Big Pharma’s Big Profits.

Big Fear: 1 million
Commonsense: 0

But who’s keeping score?

Facts matter

So what are the facts?

Considering the tiny number of cases of measles cases compared to the total population of the United States (some 330 million people), “outbreak” is a misnomer.

Calling the handful of measles cases an outbreak is a convenient and effective way to instill fear in parents, foment hate against highly educated, rational, and fact-based lawmakers, and, yes, shame and blame those of us who are concerned about vaccine safety.

(Bbecause, after all, we are the root of all evil and the cause of every health problem in the nation world).

By the way, the Broward County measles “outbreak” has already been declared “officially over.”

I asked my co-author, retired pediatrician, Dr. Paul Thomas, who went to medical school at Dartmouth, spent his childhood in the former Rhodesia, and practiced medicine for three decades before he retired, his opinion about the recent wave trickle of measles in the United States.

Dr. Paul pointed out that every year we have a small number of measles cases.

There were approximately 1,274 cases of measles in 2019 and just 13 in 2020. In 2021 we had 49 reported cases of measles. In 2022, just 13. (Source: statista.com)

Measles is a cyclical disease. While the MMR vaccine appears to be an effective vaccine (though that is the subject of considerable debate), cases of the measles rise and fall in a cycle, whether the majority of children have been vaccinated or not.

No deaths from the measles

At the same time, in the vast majority of cases, measles is a mild and routine childhood illness.

In fact, there have been no deaths among healthy children from the measles in more than two decades.

The average number of deaths from the measles in any given year in America? Less than one.

Watch this now infamous 1969 episode of the Brady Bunch to see how American families felt about measles—and other childhood illnesses—in the time before vaccines became such a big business.

Oh wait.

You probably shouldn’t watch it.

And you definitely don’t want to view this compilation of how measles was viewed before the marketing of vaccines.

Because, you know, you’re not smart enough to draw your own conclusions. We must limit your access to … The Brady Bunch. For your own safety.

Benefits conferred

Unless you’ve been studying vaccine safety and infectious diseases for a long time, you may not know that there are benefits to getting childhood illnesses.

Medical doctors are just starting to realize what microbiologists have understood for years: We humans evolved to co-habitate with other species, including viruses and bacteria.

According to a 2015 Japanese study, measles and mumps infections in childhood reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

For this study, Osaka University researchers surveyed over 100,000 men and women, ages 40 to 79. These scientists found that getting just measles or mumps were both associated with a decreased risk of death from heart disease. Interestingly, people who had both illnesses in childhood had the lowest risk.

So it makes sense that our attempts to eliminate childhood viral illnesses appear to have unintended negative consequences. At least according to integrative pediatric neurologist Maya Shetreat-Klein, M.D.

“Just as bacteria are critical to children’s immune regulation, viruses appear to compost a protective ‘microvirome’—similar to our microbiome—that is essential to gut health,” Shetreat-Klein wrote in her 2016 book, The Dirt Cure: Healthy Food, Healthy Gut, Happy Child.

“Previously common childhood viruses like measles and mumps reduce allergy and even teach the immune system to target cancer, for example,” Shetreat-Klein, quoting several studies, explained.

As strange as this sounds to our modern ears, measles can be marvelous, helping the immune system in all sorts of ways.

The take-away: Don’t be afraid of the measles. The fear is being fomented not to help you improve your health. But as a means to sell vaccines.

Related posts:
More Parents Choosing Not to Vaccinate, Here’s Why
The Systematic Censorship of Health Information
MiraLAX is Not a Miracle. Far From It

Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., is an award-winning science journalist and book author. Support independent journalism and medical freedom by becoming a paid subscriber to Vibrant Life.