In 1961, at the age of three, I was hospitalized with a high fever that brought about a fever convulsion. My illness was quickly diagnosed when the rash appeared, as Rubeola, more commonly referred to as “Red” Measles. By then, I had compromised patients and staff in both emergency and children’s wards before being placed in isolation and then eventually sent home. I was too young to remember how serious or complicated my sickness was but I know it was a very stressful time for my parents until I was finally well again.
I had chickenpox with my brother and the rest of the neighbourhood, as vaccinations for illnesses such as measles, mumps and chickenpox either hadn’t yet been developed or weren’t readily available. In the spring of 1966 I was stricken with a case of Rubella, or “German” Measles, which left me with a chemical imbalance. For the next three years, I suffered almost daily from severe and unpredictable hives. Every scratch test and elimination diet known to medical science failed to identify any other cause for this painful and debilitating condition. Fortunately, in a mysterious twist of fate, the hives vanished when I contracted poison ivy.
Fast forward to my adult years and the development of a chronic lung condition, usually associated with smokers, which I have never been: Ironically, Bronchiectasis can also be associated with having had measles around the age of three. And, while it’s likely I will never know for sure what predisposed me to this late onset illness, it’s possible that I might have been spared had I not experienced measles, as an unprotected child.
Immunization of a significant portion of a population provides some protection for those with underdeveloped immunity, and is a proven way to appreciably prevent the spread of contagious diseases and viruses. Combine this with scientific data, absolutely disproving the autism-vaccination link and the irrational fear of immunization, and it’s contemptible that an ignorant minority are able to put the general population at unreasonable risk by eroding our “herd” immunity.
I know that my parents would have moved mountains to keep me from suffering from any preventable illness, and themselves from anguishing over a seriously ill child. Hopefully, it won’t take a massive measles epidemic, or worse, to finally vanquish the current anti-vaccination movement!
