Blog: You, us, everyone

Speed read New growth in cases: Measles was officially eliminated in the Western world in the late 1990s, but a growing number of cases have been reported in recent years. Growing number of exemptions: Parents can opt out of the vaccination system for medical, religious, and personal beliefs, thereby exposing others who cannot be vaccinated. Who is and who is not: In the developed countries, the vaccination rate is about 91%, but it’s much lower among immigrant populations. Long-term growth opportunities: In the absence of strong top-down measures, there is a substantial risk growth opportunities could be missed in the developed world due to such health care issues affecting large parts of the population.

… in Europe and the States, a major health problem is quietly gathering strength!

In this article we are not arguing for or against one particular company, but rather explore the concerns around a growing negative health trend: people in the developed world missing out on basic vaccinations.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, medicine has made major progress in many areas, especially in the prevention of diseases such as poliomyelitis, measles, smallpox, pneumonia, diphtheria, tetanus, cholera, malaria, HIV and AIDS. As a matter of fact, communicable diseases such as polio, measles, and smallpox were once considered eradicated in the Western world. This was primarily thanks to decade-long vaccination campaigns which pushed the borders of these illnesses into the far outback. 

A number of people argue that vaccination against these illnesses is not bulletproof and not totally without risk for the human body. One myth frequently used by anti-vaccination campaigners is that a number of cases of autism have been reported after vaccination. However, in such cases, the emergence was rather due to a genetic predisposition for autism. Other people argue that being a member of a society where only a few people would be skipping vaccinations for philosophical reasons, you are still extremely well protected.  Yet, there are today more than 15,000 children (the 9 %) without any vaccination in the greater region of Los Angeles. A closer look at the demographics points towards the fact that the majority of the children are from generally well-established families. 

Let’s consider the flip side of the coin. We are living in world where people are traveling more and more, inter-continental immigration is taking place at an astonishing rate, and once in a while we all enjoy our free time in public spaces such as leisure parks like Disneyland, where a recent US measles outbreak was traced to. More importantly, it’s not just humans that can act as vectors but also animals, which are often removed and transported, accidentally or not, from their original habitats. So it’s not hard to imagine that sooner or later you will bump into people (or animals) that are virus carriers capable of spreading these deadly diseases. 

Apparently the current measles case in the USA, where more than 100 cases were identified during the month of January, has its DNA roots in Indonesia, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and Dubai. A clear indication the disease had traveled widely. The actual numbers of measles cases are most likely higher than the number reported. Under reporting may occur due to: a) fear of negative impacts on travel and trade, b) limitations in surveillance and detection systems, c) inconsistencies in case definitions, and d) a lack of laboratory diagnostic capacities. The speed of contagion can be incredibly rapid, for instance in 2011 France reported nearly 15,000 measles cases; luckily the number fell to just 272 two years later. In the USA, during 1989 and 1991 more than 55,000 people got measles, regrettably more than 120 lost their lives as a result. 

Such health concerns should be seized by the present governments as opportunities for strong political decisions similar to other important issues that unify the common interest of native populations such as security, defense, and growth. Communicating a common message can unite a population seeking guidance and assurance. In the absence of some basic insight, some anticipation, and the courage to deal decisively with such urgent matters as health, security, defense, and growth, the present governments should be dismissed as ultimately economic growth will suffer, see the examples of the recent Ebola cases in Africa, where the economic systems of the concerned countries was shot down. Where are our predecessors like von Bismarck, Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Washington, and the ones from the more recent history like Helmut Kohl and Margaret Thatcher?  Didn’t they take bold measures during periods of stress?