Measles Killed them but Rubella will be on the Death Certificate

By William H Harriss. 3/25/2024. [email protected]

Rubeola, also known as measles, is a type of infectious disease. It is caused by a virus that is transmitted via person-to-person contact and airborne spread.

Measles is becoming a new age problem, just as it was a past age problem prior to the great vaccine routine in childhood vaccinations in the 1960s and 1970s that almost eliminated it.

The number of countries using rubella vaccines in their national programme continues to increase steadily. As of December 2018, 168 out of 194 countries had re-introduced rubella vaccines and global coverage was estimated at 69%. Reported rubella cases declined 97%, from 670 894 cases in 102 countries in 2000 to 14 621 cases in 151 countries in 2018.

Ref: WHO www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rubella

But now, in 2024, the problem of measles is on the rise again because the vaccine program has been relaxed, and parents are allowed to decide not to vaccinate their children. When vaccine use goes down, Rubella numbers go up.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to man. If one person has it and they are in a room full of people, up to 90% of people close to that person or almost everyone in a small room who are not immune can or will almost certainly also become infected without being in direct contact with the carrier or touching anything the carrier touched. Infected individuals can spread measles from four days before through four days after the skin rash appears.

Measles can be spread through the air from respiratory droplets and small aerosol particles. The virus can live for up to two hours [floating] in an airspace. Ref: Leung AK, Hon KL, Leong KF, Sergi CM. Measles: a disease often forgotten but not gone. Hong Kong Med J. 2018 Oct;24(5):512-520.

The measles virus spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, sneezes, or talks. It may also spread through direct contact with fomites or secretions from the infected person's nose and throat.

Due to its mode of transmission and its ability to remain airborne for a prolonged period, individuals become easily infected. Ref: Strebel PM, Orenstein WA. Measles. N Engl J Med. 2019 Jul 25;381(4):349-357

Its high contagiousness and its inherent infective efficiency result in continued yearly multiple outbreaks worldwide, especially in the unvaccinated. Ref: Ibid.

When exposed to measles, the individual develops clinical manifestations and is at risk for various complications. It continues to be a leading cause of death in children less than five years of age worldwide, and survivors are at risk of neurologic, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal complications. Ref: Ibid

Ref: Stein CE, Birmingham M, Kurian M, Duclos P, Strebel P. The global burden of measles in the year 2000--a model that uses country-specific indicators. J Infect Dis. 2003 May 15;187 Suppl 1:S8-14.

[Once contracted], there is no specific antiviral therapy to treat this condition; only supportive care exists. Ref: Strebel PM, Orenstein WA. Measles. N Engl J Med. 2019 Jul 25;381(4):349-357

It is most important that the hotelier like the clinician, needs to understand their role in prevention. This includes appreciating the nature of this disease, recognizing its presence locally and internationally, and understanding its pathophysiology to reduce the risk of spreading this disease.

Hoteliers who now allow pets and dogs to sleep in their hotel rooms will be pleased to know that animals, including dogs, do not carry, transmit or become infected with measles. However, in theory, if a dog owner has measles and strokes the dog and then some other unprotected person also strokes the dog, they may catch the virus. We must always remember that we should never say never, and a possibility is always a possibility.

There are lots of other pathogens that dogs can and do leave in hotel rooms on unsterilized bedding. Participating dog-friendly hoteliers must sterilize dog beds on departure and between every new arrival. Currently, like pillows, dog beds never get sterilized.

So now we know Rubeola [measles] is a highly contagious viral infection that primarily affects the respiratory system. It becomes obvious that besides being in the air and surfaces of your hotel rooms, it can be passed through unsterilized pillows and bedding.

What is also becoming very obvious now is that the people vaccinated in the 1960s and 1970s are not necessarily still immune to measles. If someone who is not immune gets measles, the wild-type measles virus causes the infection. Scientists divide wild-type measles viruses into genetic groups called genotypes. Of 24 known genotypes, the World Health Organization (WHO) lists 5 genotypes that are known to circulate currently and are most commonly seen: B3, D4, D8, D9, and H1.

The MMR vaccine protects you against all those different types of measles.

We think of measles as a minor viral infection of kids that causes fever, rash, and a runny nose and goes away without major complications. Unfortunately, that is not always so. It can be and is a child killer. It also has some other horrible effects, such as nervous system disease, which is a particular problem. SSPE occurs as a late, fatal measles complication in one out of 1,367 measles cases in children younger than 5. One out of 1,000 children with measles gets an infection of the brain (encephalitis) early in the course of measles. About 15% of children with measles encephalitis die.

Children's brains can also develop an allergic reaction to the measles virus several weeks after infection. This is called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). Children seem to recover, then get fever, confusion, headaches, and neck stiffness. Like SSPE and measles encephalitis, ADEM occurs in about one out of 1,000 measles cases. It is fatal in 10% to 20% of patients. Survivors of measles encephalitis and ADEM often have epilepsy, brain damage, or developmental delay.

Measles has other serious complications. During pregnancy, it causes miscarriages. Measles can infect the cornea and was once a common cause of blindness. Ear infections and hearing loss are frequent. The measles virus also infects the lungs, causing pneumonia in 3% to 4% of cases. Measles weakens the immune system for at least two months. Sometimes, patients die of other infections immediately after they recover from measles. In a measles epidemic that killed more than 3,000 soldiers in the US Army in 1917–18, bacterial pneumonia was the major cause of death.

I do not want to get too technical here because I am writing to caution the lodging industry and not for scientists and doctors who are far more learned than I am on the subject. However, no study has been done to determine just how long the rubella virus can remain active in a pillow or a damp pillow. So, there is a dangerous and serious problem of us being ill-informed. Like other pathogens, it may stay in the pillow for weeks.

I am going to suggest to you the hoteliers and cruise ship medicals, we know that currently most pillows are not being sterilized. We also know that most pillows are packed with dozens of bacteria and viruses, which is a serious risk to whoever puts their head on your pillows. Would it not just be a duty of care to your clients and guests to sterilize pillows but also to the whole world to act in a way that protects your employees, guests and the general public? Can you all continue sitting on your hands? Can you continue to ignore the truth forever?

If you want to discuss what I know and how I can help and advise you, I am here waiting for your contact. I do not charge for initial consultancy, and whatever we discuss will be a secret between us and us alone.

Here is one of the most important studies on the subject -https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557716/

Regards

William