Yahoo News Measles cases rise by 300 percent as anti-vaccination campaigns spread
Measles cases have soared around the world, according to new figures from the World Health Organisation, as anti-vaccine campaigners spread lies on social media.
The World Health Organisation said, ‘Preliminary global data shows that reported cases rose by 300% in the first three months of 2019, compared to the same period in 2018. This follows consecutive increases over the past two years.
‘While this data is provisional and not yet complete, it indicates a clear trend. Many countries are in the midst of sizeable measles outbreaks, with all regions of the world experiencing sustained rises in cases.’
The WHO said that 170 countries have reported 112,163 measles cases – while last year, 163 countries had reported 28,124 cases.
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The WHO said that some outbreaks are due to ‘clusters’ of unvaccinated people.
In America, unvaccinated children have been banned from public areas such as shopping centres and schools as a measles outbreak has gripped New York City.
Rockland County has declared a state of emergency, and banned anyone under 18 who is not vaccinated against measles from public areas.
Anyone in violation of the declaration could be charged with a misdemeanour punishable by up to six months in jail.
‘It’s an attention grab, there’s no question about it,’ Rockland County Executive Ed Day said – saying that health workers had faced resistance when investigating measles cases.
‘There will not be law enforcement or deputy sheriffs asking for vaccination records. That is ridiculous,’ Mr Day said.
‘However, parents will be held accountable if they’re found to be in violation of this emergency declaration.’
Every year, 1.5 million children around the world die from diseases which can be prevented with vaccines – and so-called ‘anti-vaxxers’ contribute to this.
