While the Italian Parliament discusses possible modifications concerning the decree of May 2017 making 12 vaccines mandatory for the registration of children in school, a new case has just shaken the country.
In the town of Monza, north of Milan, a child aged just 6 died of measles. The disease had been contracted by his brothers, who, like him, had not been vaccinated. Reached by leukemia acute lymphoblastic (a form of leukemia which now has a chance of recovery in 85% of cases), the youngest of the family was contaminated in turn. Due to the weakness of his immune defenses, the disease caused pulmonary and cerebral complications. Placed under respiratory assistance in intensive care, his condition deteriorated gradually until death.
“Only herd immunity could have saved him”
Giulio Gallera, in charge of Health at the Lombardy Regional Council, affirmed that “The story of this little boy is the very example of the importance of herd immunity. If, for example, 95 people out of 100 are vaccinated against measles, the five who have not been immunized will also be protected, simply because the virus does not have enough people to infect and it cannot spread”.
The death of this little boy is the first recorded in the Italian peninsula. The Italian health authorities are all the more keen to recall the importance of the vaccine.
Remember that since the decree put in place on May 19, 2017 in Italy, it is “impossible” to enroll children from 0 to 6 years old who have not been vaccinated in nursery or kindergarten. If this is not the case, the parents must pay heavy fines. Despite these new rules, after reaching a vaccination coverage rate of 90%, the rate of two-year-old children vaccinated against measles in Italy fell to 85.3% in 2015, while the WHO recommends a rate of 95% to prevent the circulation of this highly contagious virus.
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