The
world is lit up with reports of measles outbreaks, from the Philippines and
Ukraine to France
and the US. However, one lawmaker in Texas is not fazed by any of this
news. Bill Zedler, a Republican state representative and prominent
ally of anti-vaxxers, recently said the outbreaks of measles and other
viruses are not a concern because the US has antibiotics.
“They
want to say people are dying of measles. Yeah, in third-world countries they’re
dying of measles,” Zedler said Tuesday, according to The
Texas Observer. “Today, with antibiotics and that kind of stuff, they’re
not dying in America.”
“This
is not the Soviet Union, you know,” he added.
However,
measles is caused by a virus, not bacteria. Antibiotics are totally ineffective
against all viruses. It’s pretty much like fighting fire with a gun.
In
fact, there is no specific medical treatment for measles once a person is
infected. This is why it is so important to vaccinate and stop the disease at
the gates. Although the disease can be deadly, measles can easily
be prevented with two doses of a vaccine, which is often administered
through the combined MMR vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, and
rubella.
Zedler’s
comments come after Matt Krause, a Republican member of the Texas House of
Representatives, filed a bill to make it easier for parents to opt out of
vaccinations at a time where a lack of vaccinations is causing disease
outbreaks worldwide. Parents must currently apply in writing for an
exemption from the Department of State Health Services to opt out of
vaccinations for their child if they’re at a public school. Krause’s bill would
allow parents to simply print out a blank exemption form, making the process
significantly quicker and easier.
Meanwhile,
measles cases are on the rise in 98
countries across the world, including the US. The
World Health Organization (WHO) states that the prime cause of the
increase is the “failure to vaccinate”, which they say is often fueled by
misinformation. Much of this misformation, especially in Europe and the US, can
be trailed back to a fraudulent study by Andrew Wakefield that linked the MMR
vaccine to autism. The study has since been retracted and Wakefield is banned
from practicing as a doctor in the UK after the General Medical Council found
him guilty of “serious professional misconduct".
“The
level of misinformation – the world that we live in now – is causing threats to
that success in many parts of the world,” Professor Katherine O’Brien, WHO’s
Director of Immunization and Vaccines, told
reporters on February 14, 2019. “There has been an enormous bout of
misinformation that has caused damage to the measles effort.”