Health leader says measles vaccine doesn’t cause autism

Recently there were 695 cases of measles confirmed in the United States, the most since 2000.

Dr. Anthony Fauci heads the country’s Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and he said measles is an acute disease, it lasts several days.

FILE – This Wednesday, March 27, 2019 file photo shows a sign explaining the local state of emergency because of a measles outbreak at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y. Measles is spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It’s so contagious that 90 percent of people who aren’t immunized are infected if exposed to the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“The only way you’re going to have an outbreak,” Dr. Fauci explained, “is if the people in the community are not vaccinated. And that’s what really the problem is.”

He said due to an anti-vaccination philosophy that is based on misinformation, some parents aren’t getting their children vaccines because they say measles vaccines cause autism.

“This is based on fraudulent information that was propagated several years ago by a physician in the UK. That has now been completely debunked and that person has lost his medical license to practice medicine in the UK. And yet, because of social media, because of the internet, this type of misinformation prevails.”

Dr. Fauci said measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to man.

“Some people are under the false impression that measles is a trivial disease,” said Dr. Fauci. “It is not. It can be a very serious disease, it can lead to death. Prior to the time we had vaccines available in the mid-60’s, there were about 2-3 million deaths per year, globally, from measles.

“Here in the U.S. there were about 500 deaths a year and a thousand cases of encephalitis, which is brain swelling.”

According to the Associated Press, U.S. health officials say at least 60 more measles cases have been reported recently, increasing a 2019 tally that is already the highest in 25 years.

Officials on Monday said 764 cases have been reported as of last Thursday. It’s the most in the U.S. since 1994, when 963 were reported. Measles was once common but gradually became rare after a vaccination campaign that started in the 1960s.

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