Avoiding Immunization Undermines One of Our Greatest Public Health Accomplishments

One of the great public health successes of the past century has been the elimination or dramatic reduction of deadly and crippling infectious diseases such as Smallpox and Polio, which had resulted in tragedy and heartbreak for millions of families around the globe.  Through widespread vaccination programs, we had also seen the near-elimination in many countries of childhood scourges such as Measles, Mumps, and Rubella – all of which were also responsible for life-threatening illness, disfigurement, and even death.  Sadly, though, some of these diseases are staging a comeback, creating a serious public health that could make stories such as one that I experienced all too common.

Many years ago, when I was an emergency room physician at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, there was an outbreak of Measles at a private Christian academy near the medical center.  The departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine held an in-service lecture on Measles because many physicians in practice and in training had never seen the disease.  This training was very timely because the next evening when I was serving on the night shift, three children, siblings who attended the school were brought to the emergency room for treatment.  The youngest, about 4 years old was the sickest, presenting with lethargy, shortness of breath, fever and rash. Her chest x-ray was dramatic with her little lungs completely whited-out due to Measles Pneumonia.  She was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit where she died several hours after admission.  I had been in practice for a number of years by this time and never saw a case of Measles.  Imagine my shock and sadness in experiencing my first case of measles with such a tragic, yet preventable end.

With this experience as background, I have read with deep concern several recent reports on the resurgence of preventable, communicable diseases such as Measles, Mumps, and Whooping Cough. (http://www.npr.org/2014/04/08/300518793/vaccinating-children-who-gets-to-decide; http://time.com/35839/ohio-mumps-outbreak-spreads-beyond-university-walls/; http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-78971408/; http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-78998712/).  The resurgence is illustrated alarmingly on a map at this link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/01/25/265750719/how-vaccine-fears-fueled-the-resurgence-of-preventable-diseases?ft=1&f.

While there are several factors driving the recent uptick, a significant issue in this country is the failure to vaccinate children in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control standards. (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs.pdf; http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/downloads/adult/adult-schedule.pdf)  

Due to misinformation and fear-mongering, many people believe that the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccinations can cause Autism.  This association is totally untrue.  For a well-informed assessment of the vaccination-Autism issue, please see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o65l1YAVaYc.

As a health professional with a strong commitment to the well-being of the community, I can’t stress strongly enough the need to embrace proven prevention strategies such as childhood and adult immunization protocols in conjunction with regular visits to a primary care provider.

Measles killed more than one million people in the 1500’s and Influenza killed over a million people in the 1917 influenza epidemic.  Rubella (German Measles) can cause serious first trimester birth defects in pregnant women.  Vaccines altered the mortality rates of these and other infectious illnesses dramatically.  The consequence of ignoring medical wisdom on this issue may be the occurrence of an avoidable illness that results in tragic consequences for a child and his or her family.  Far more tragic, though, is the real possibility of reduced immunity at the community level, resulting in epidemics that cause far-ranging and long-term health consequences – ones that could have been easily avoided!

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Dr. Perry received a B.A. in Biology from Swarthmore College, and M.D. from Temple University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and is board certified in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine. Prior to joining Trenton Health Team as Executive Director in 2011, she was the Director of Health and Product Stewardship for the Rohm and Haas Company. Dr. Perry is a Diplomate of the American College of Physicians and serves on several National Quality Forum working groups and task forces, the Board of Directors of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, Global Health Connections International, Temple University School Alumni Council, Ben Franklin Technology Partners Bio-Technology Advisory Council. The desire to work collaboratively with others to develop innovative and integrated solutions to health care issues was the impetus for her to join the Trenton Health Team.