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Dr. Michelle Barton has been working in the heart of the Ontario measles outbreak for months, trying to contain the damage that highly infectious disease can cause hospitalized children with the virus.
Barton directs the team of pediatric infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of the London Health Sciences Center in the southwest of the province, the region with the highest rate of the disease.
“We offer the best treatment we can under the circumstances,” said Barton. “If the child proceeds to deteriorate, it is difficult to see because you know that you would probably not be here if they had vaccines.”
Barton and other doctors are concerned that the shoots in Canada follow the same trajectory as those of the United States, where two unvaccinated children have died of measles. Pediatricians and immunologists say they are also observing extremely rare neurological conditions that can occur even years after children who have had measles recover from it.
Until Friday, the provincial health authorities throughout the country had reported 914 measles cases, exceeding 751 infections for all 2011. The total is the highest since measles was eradicated in Canada more than 25 years ago.
Most cases in the country have been reported in Ontario, with Ontario public health details 804 confirmed and probable measles cases this year so far.
In March, the province’s public health director said that the increase in measles cases in southwest Ontario was linked to a case related to New Brunswick trips last fall, which caused what the Canada Public Health Agency has called an outbreak of multiple jurisdiction.
PEI’s main public health office said that two adults who positive for measles on the island had traveled together to an area in Canada where the shoots continue. In the grasslands, provincial figures show that measles cases are rising in Alberta.
Barton is particularly concerned with children with suppressed immune systems, such as those who receive chemotherapy. If they contract measles and “do not reach the hospital quick enough, we could end up losing patients.”
Canadian doctors care that there will be deaths
In Alberta, each area of the province now has measles. Dr. Cora Constantinescu, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, is observing the cases of assembly and extended, calling her to worry about a death of “incredibly distressing” measles.
“We are probably seeing the beginning of a significant outbreak of measles,” he said.
To the south of the border, two children not vaccinated without underlying health conditions They have died of measles In Texas, including an eight -year -old girl last week.
Friday the US centers for disease control and prevention They reported 712 measles cases so far this year in 25 jurisdictions, including Texas and New Mexico. Gaines County, Texas, the center of the outbreak, measles counts on Friday increased to 355, compared to the 328 reported on Tuesday, the Health Services of the Texas State Department saying.
The Federal Agency said that 97 percent of US measles cases are people who are not vaccinated or have an unknown state of vaccination.
The reason why measles is so dangerous is because it is very infectious, said Dr. Dele Davies, Canadian Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at the Medical Center of the University of Nebraska.
Measles generally begins with cough, nasal secretion and red eyes, followed by spots inside the mouth and an eruption that begins from the top of the head and moves down.
The measles virus causes high fever, but also suppresses the immune system.
“The airway lining is affected and becomes an ineffective barrier,” Barton said. “Given this virus, which is what we call immunosuppressive, it can end pneumonia.” He pointed out that the ear and other secondary infections are also common.
Davies says that in children under five years, around 10 percent will receive ear infections and many will develop diarrhea.
The most serious complications include brain swelling or encephalitis In approximately one in every 1,000 cases, which can lead to drowsiness, confusion and seizures that are resolved, said Barton and Davies.
‘Horrible’ and rare complication
While they are extremely rare, long -term neurological problems may occur even after a young child has recovered from measles.
Barton says that the measles virus itself remains at a low level in the brain and can be woke up six to 10 years later as a devastating disorder called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE.
Immunologist Dawn Bowdish, a professor of medicine at McMaster University, says that the measles virus has mutations that allow him to hide from the immune system, then move from neuron to neuron where the parts of the brain required for cognition and movement can be damaged.
“Start with learning or memory challenges,” Bowdish said. “They do not reach their complete intellectual potential … something that no father wants for his son.”
Those with SSPE can have seizures. Medical experts say that in almost all cases, the disorder progresses until the patient is in a vegetative state, and finally ends in death.
Davies estimates that SSPE occurs in approximately one in 10,000 people with measles, but points out that “statistics are irrelevant to that mother whose son [has] Now, suddenly, he obtained this really horrible disease. “
Very safe and highly effective vaccine, says the doctor
On the contrary, Davies says that the measles vaccine is very safe and highly effective. “It is important not only to save lives, but also to prevent chronic diseases.”
In Alberta, Constantinescu points out that the registration of electronic immunization of the province is precise, but vaccination absorption falls as low as 50 percent in some communities, which means that there are many unprotected people of measles.
“This is a great disease,” he said. “He doesn’t want to have what people call natural measles immunity because the risk of measles itself is very significant.”
Constantinescu suggested that what the silent majority of the parents who have vaccinated their children should share why they did it in their social media accounts to help others feel safe to do the same and “finally protect our communities and stop these outbreaks.”
