A ten-month-old baby died on Tuesday November 26 in the emergency room of the Saint-Esprit hospital in Agen. If measles is probably the cause of death, investigations are underway.
Measles could be the cause of the tragedy. A ten-month-old baby died Tuesday, November 26 in the emergency department of theHoly Spirit Hospital, in Agen (Lot-et-Garonne). “Investigations are underway to determine the exact causes of death,” hospital management said in a statement. The child had been treated for suspected measles, an acute eruptive viral infection that mainly affects children from the age of five to six months and young adults.
“On November 23, 2019, a 10-month-old child was admitted to the emergency department with suspected measles. All the curative and preventive measures were immediately put in place, for him and his family, by the professionals who took care of him”, explains the press release. “The Regional Health Agency has been notified by the Hospital Center. The child was able to return home the same day with the appropriate treatment”, it is specified.
Then, three days later, “the child’s parents spontaneously presented to the emergency room following a deterioration in the infant’s general condition, which was therefore immediately taken care of by our medical teams. Despite all the care implemented by emergency, pediatric and resuscitation professionals, the death of the child has been confirmed”, concludes the hospital where a crisis unit has been set up.
Improve vaccination coverage
This tragedy is a reminder of the importance of vaccination against measles. This summer, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against the resurgence of this disease in the world. According to her, measles cases have tripled across the globe since the start of the year, with 364,808 cases diagnosed between 1er January and July 31, the highest figures recorded for thirteen years.
“The resumption of measles transmission is concerning. If we do not achieve high and sustainable vaccination coverage in each community, both children and adults will suffer unnecessarily and for some will have a tragic death”, therefore warned Günter Pfaff, president of the Regional Verification Commission. elimination of measles and rubella.
On this date, in France (where three people, adults, died of measles, in 2018), there were no less than 2,381 cases since the beginning of the year. But the measles being since the 1er January 2018 in the list of compulsory vaccinations for children, the epidemic peak has passed here and the number of cases is decreasing, according to Public Health France.
A virus that eliminates between 11 and 73% of antibodies in children
A few weeks ago, a study published in the journal Science, showed how the measles virus attacks the immune system. Extremely contagious, the disease infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body. The period of spread of the virus begins 2-6 days before the appearance of the rash. The affliction is usually transmitted by direct contact or through the air. However, the risk decreases from the second day after the appearance of the rash. In young children, sometimes complications occur, such as encephalitis which can have very serious sequelae, even lead to death.
During their work, the researchers found that measles eliminated between 11 and 73% of these protective antibodies in babies. The virus “resets your immune system and returns it to a more naive state,” says epidemiologist Michael Mina, co-author of the study. The mechanism is the same as for the AIDS virus, but the immune system is attacked more quickly. To hope for a return to normal, the antibodies must be re-infected by the pathogens, like newborns who take a lot of risks in the first years of their life”, he adds, therefore insisting on the need for vaccine.
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