euronews science - Eliminating measles - personal stories
http://www.euronews.com/ Nastasia has made a spectacular recovery. Just a year ago she was in a coma after contracting measles. The 16-year-old who lives in Valence, in southeastern France, suddenly complained of a sore throat, red spots appeared and she had a high temperature. After one week at 41°C, she was hospitalised, diagnosed with encephalitis. Nastasia was in a coma for 12 days. It took her four months to recover. "The first things I remember are the physiotherapy sessions, because I was tetraplegic. After three weeks of physiotherapy, I could walk again, I could even climb the stairs. For one week, I could not speak. My first words were 'Hello mummy!'" "I still have urinary problems, because of the paralysis. Also all my muscles have shrunk: I went from 50 to 39 kilos. I often urgently needed to go to the toilet." Nastasia is one of many victims of the measles epidemic that has been thriving in Europe over the past few years. The highly contagious disease can lead to serious complications: pneumonia, otitis (a middle ear infection), diarrhoea and neurological problems. Over the past three years, in about a quarter of cases, hospitalisation has been necessary. In 2011, more than 30,000 people contracted measles in Europe. There were as many cases in 2010, that is four times more than in 2009. Eight patients died of measles complications, six in France, the hardest hit country. Ninety percent of the cases in Europe have been reported in five countries: France, Italy, Romania, Spain and Germany. The vast majority were not vaccinated or not sufficiently so. Two doses of the vaccine are necessary to ensure optimum protection - the World Health Organisation says that is the only way to reach its target of a measles free Europe by 2015. Pierluigi Lopalco heads the Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. "If 95 percent of the population is vaccinated, the remaining five percent who for whatever reasons cannot be vaccinated, like for example the newborn and immuno-depressed subjects, can be protected." Scientists call it "herd immunity". Once 95 percent of a population has received two doses of the vaccine, the virus cannot circulate anymore. An indirect protection is hence provided to the most vulnerable: that is immuno-depressed subjects, the rare individuals for whom one dose of vaccine would not be sufficient and babies under 12 months of age, who are too young to be vaccinated, according to European recommendations. Measles in the first year of infancy can have tragic consequences. Max was too young to be vaccinated. "Max fell ill when he was six months old. He was still a baby. He probably contracted measles at his brother's kindergarten. He got really sick. But after one week, the symptoms disappeared and after that, he developed normally. It was all forgotten, everything was back to normal. That's what we thought," explained his father Rüdiger Schönbohm. Measles had however triggered a subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE, a rare chronic, progressive and fatal neurological pathology. One case in 25,000 throughout all age groups, rising to one in 8,000 in children infected under the age of two. The first symptoms appeared 10 years after the infection. His mother, Anke Schönbohm a trained nurse, explained: "He has been in a persistent vegetative state since April 2006." Max will soon turn 18. His parents, Anke and Rüdiger have had a purpose built house constructed near Stuttgart, South Germany, adapted to his disability. "When people say that they don't vaccinate on purpose because the vaccine could trigger SSPE - which was categorically proven to be wrong - it makes me angry. Or when they say in a romantic way that having measles is important for the evolution of the child. When I hear that, I'm furious! Because when I look at my son, I think: how has this disease been in any way useful? What evolution? He has regressed and he is going to die," Max's mother said. The main reason for non-vaccination in Europe is that people simply forget about it. Others are concerned about the vaccine's side-effects, short lived high fever, temporary rash and skin redness and extremely rare allergic reactions. Nastasia was not vaccinated. Her mother Corinne, a nurse and physiotherapist, explained the reasons for her choice. Find us on: Youtube http://bit.ly/zr3upY Facebook / euronews.fans Twitter / euronews
