Measles Cases On the Rise Nationally

There’s no doubt about it. Measles, a childhood scourge of decades past, is making a comeback.

Why the concern? Although at its mildest, measles merely causes fever, cough, runny nose, inflamed eyes, light sensitivity and a rash, at its worst, measles brings encephalitis, brain damage or death.

Some health experts blame importation or immunization non-compliance. Others consider factors that increase susceptibility, such as a weakened immune system.

“Parents need to take into account the health status of their children,” said Dr. Steven Moore, who practices naturopathic homeopathy at Innerpeace Natural Healthcare in Joliet.

Whatever the cause, people today have more choices for preventing and treating it, with most health professionals recommending mass vaccination for prevention and control.

“The Unites States averaged approximately 500,000 measles cases annually prior to 1963, when the first national measles vaccine was introduced,” said Vic Reato, media services manager for the Will County Health Department.

“Cases are down more than 99 percent over those days, and that's the way it will stay if parents will only be sure to have their children receive regularly scheduled immunizations.”

Immunization appeared to be working. By 2000 the U.S. was said to have eradicated the disease in this country but the Centers for Disease Control maintains measles “is consistently one of the first diseases to reappear when immunization coverage rates fall.”

Yet vaccines cannot be indiscriminately administered.

“They can’t be spaced too far apart or too close together,” Moore said. “And there’s a certain demographic of patients who should not get them.”

Some parents still have lingering safety concerns, even after the 2010 Lancet retraction of Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s 1998-landmark research paper linking the measles mumps rubella vaccine to autism. Others hint that less than noble reasons are at the core for herd immunization.

However, Dr. Jose Bolanos, infectious disease physician at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, said one should temper theories of government conspiracy with the fact the government compensates with federal funds when vaccines cause problems.

“There is a risk of side effects with any vaccines,” Bolanos said. “We do worry about fever, muscles aches and that sort of thing. The risk of allergic reactions is pretty small and we definitely don’t like to give live vaccines to people with severe immune deficiencies.”

Unlike some physicians, Dr. Anatoly Belilovsky of Belilovsky Pediatrics and Child Health in New York, known for straightforward answers to pediatric health, will not turn away patients who don’t vaccinate. He does try, however, to educate them about the benefits of immunizations and diminish fears regarding them.

“I actually have three children in my practice who are fully autistic without a single vaccination,” Belilovsky said. “And blaming mercury doesn’t fly because they took mercury out of childhood vaccines in 2001 and that hasn’t affected autism rates.”

How serious is the measles rise? In January and February of this year, the CDC reported 29 measles cases nationwide. All but one was import-associated, with 13 being U.S. residents and seven were children ages 6 to 23 months.

In 2008, Will County alone had 37 confirmed cases, Reato said. Barb Thetard, director of nursing at the Grundy County Health Department, said she is unaware of any confirmed measles cases in the last 15 years.

“A case has to be confirmed by blood test,” Thetard said. “A person can’t just say, ‘I have a rash and the doctor thinks it’s measles.”'

Thetard also highly recommends vaccination and stresses the dangerous complications measles can bring. For instance, measles in a pregnant woman may cause deafness and mental retardation in her baby.

“A lot of people consider measles to be a childhood rite of passage, like chicken pox,” Thetard said.

She reminds people that if they hadn’t received immunizations in the recommended time, a make-up schedule is available.

Whether or not one vaccinates, Belilovsky recognizes other remedies. Vitamin A and, to a lesser extant, Vitamin D supplementation, may help prevent and possibly treat measles. Check with your doctor for dosages because Vitamin A can be toxic.

“Relatively small amounts will make people very sick,” Belilovsky said. “You can take Vitamin C a hundredfold over and it will only give you heartburn. But if you take Vitamin A tenfold over, it will probably put you in the hospital.”

What about herbal preventions, such as echinacea and goldenseal? Again, Moore said, one must look at the patient first. For example, patients with lupus or other autoimmune diseases should not take echinacea because its immune boosting properties could increase inflammation.

“A lot of people paint herbs with a broad brush stroke,” Moore said. “They need to step back and remember that herbs are drugs. They may be more benign but they do come with risks and benefits.”

If a healthy patient does contract measles, Moore may recommend various anti-viral herbs—such as mushroom extract and bitter melon—and plenty of hydration, while being vigilant for complications.

Heather Frelichowski, 26, of Gardner said measles was no big deal. She and her husband Nick both contracted the virus years ago as children and had no lasting side effects.

"I have been told by a few med professionals that it is actually better to have had it before going into a situation whether it be health care or war,” Frelichowski said. "The antibodies that the body creates from actually having the live virus work better and last longer than the ones we get from the shot.”

Whether one chooses to vaccinate, health professionals agree that eating well, exercising and getting plenty of sleep is essential to building up an immune system capable of resisting and fighting measles.

Moore would add a bit of playing in the dirt for children and a good multivitamin from a reputable source for everyone.

“There’s a reason why it’s called a healthy lifestyle,” Belilovsky said. “You don’t just look healthy. You are healthy.”