Measles is gaining ground in Europe. Remember, it was in June 2015: at the time, a measles epidemic had broken out in Alsace (in the Haut-Rhin) and 151 cases had been listed in the space of 6 months, including 10 deemed “serious”. The fault is insufficient vaccination coverage.
In Italy, the health authorities have decided to take the bull by the horns. This Friday, May 19, 2017, the government (under the leadership of Paolo Gentiloni) adopted a decree-law which “makes compulsory certain vaccines which were until now only recommended”. A total of 12 vaccines are concerned: polio, dyphteria, tetanus, hepatitis B, haemophilus B, meningitis B and C, measles, rubella, mumps, whooping cough and chickenpox.
Fines from the age of 6
Concretely, it will now be “impossible” to enroll unvaccinated children aged 0 to 6 in nursery or kindergarten. From the age of 6, the age of compulsory schooling in Italy, parents of unvaccinated children will have to pay heavy fines.
Caused by a paramyxovirus, measles most often affects young children in winter or spring. In 60% of cases, the child is cured without sequelae, if he has received the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine the first time at 12 months, then twice again, at 16 and 18 months. When not treated in time, measles can degenerate, especially encephalitis.
In Italy, the vaccination coverage rate is now 85.3%, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 95% at the age of 24 months. Between January 1, 2017 and May 14, 2017, 2,395 cases of measles were recorded, compared to only 860 for the whole of 2016.
To read :
Measles has disappeared from the Americas
The return of “disappeared” diseases
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