Measles cases multiply by 20 in Madrid

Measles is a disease that according to WHO forecasts should be eradicated by 2015, however the reality goes in another direction. In the last year Measles cases multiplied by 20 in Madrid. They went from 29 confirmed infections in 2010 to 588 in 2011.

But it is not a problem only in Madrid, nor in Spain, where from 283 cases in 2010 they went to 1,876 in 2011, but also from the rest of Europe. This increase is due, in large part, to the fact that many parents refuse to vaccinate their children, and as a consequence the health of all is being endangered.

Pediatricians have decided to take preventive measures, recommending advancing measles vaccine in babies from 15 to 12 months the first dose and the second at two years.

The measles vaccine is given with the triple viral (measles, mumps and rubella), and although the disease seems harmless, it can be very serious. The most common symptoms are red spots on the skin and generalized weakness. But sometimes it causes pneumonia and even encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), which can even cause death.

Vaccination has become a controversial practice, a matter of debate between those who defend it and supporters of freedom of vaccination. There are many voices that rise against vaccination with arguments and beliefs without any scientific basis.

One of the biggest risks is that babies are becoming increasingly infected at younger ages, or from older siblings who have not been immunized or through contact with other children in nursery schools.

There have also been cases of adults who did not have access to the vaccine when they were children and who are now infected, as well as parents who relax with the vaccine schedule and forget to give their children the doses at the recommended ages.

The truth is Measles cases multiply in Madrid and in all the Spanish territory, with no prospect of stopping. Pertussis is also another disease that was almost eradicated and its incidence is increasing dangerously. The consequences of non-vaccination could become more serious than previously thought.

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