The ongoing measles outbreak in South Carolina is causing serious, even life-threatening, health issues for some unfortunate children.
This week, the South Carolina Department of Public Health issued its latest update on the outbreak. Officials detailed that at least 19 people in the state have been hospitalized for severe measles complications, including several children who developed brain swelling, or encephalitis, as a result of infection. There have been nearly 900 cases documented in the state since last October.
“These are complications we hope to prevent. And increasing vaccination coverage protects those who cannot be vaccinated like young infants, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems,” said state epidemiologist Linda Bell in a press conference held Thursday by the department.
Measles encephalitis
Encephalitis is a well-known, if rare, complication of measles, estimated to occur in about one out of every 1,000 cases.
The condition can be triggered by the virus reaching the brain during infection or by a wayward immune response to brain cells that emerges after the initial illness fades away. An even rarer form, called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), is caused by the persistent infection of a mutated measles virus; SSPE can take up to a decade after exposure to appear, and it is nearly always fatal within one to three years of the diagnosis.
Measles encephalitis isn’t the only grave health problem being encountered during this outbreak. Bell also reported that some children have developed pneumonia, while some pregnant women have been potentially exposed to the infection. These women have received prophylaxis (in this case, donated antibodies to the virus) to reduce the risk of serious illness to them or their fetus.
Since early last year, there have been around 3,000 reported cases of measles in the U.S., with outbreaks in nearly every state. The South Carolina outbreak, with 876 cases currently, is now America’s largest measles outbreak recorded in the past 25 years. Three people have died from measles, while hundreds have been sent to the hospital. And though it’s not certain yet, the continued local transmission of the virus is threatening to torpedo the country’s official measles-free status, first obtained in 2000.
A growing crisis
These outbreaks are largely the result of lagging vaccination rates in certain parts of the U.S. (the national rate remains high, though it has declined slightly as of late). But the current Trump administration has attempted to dodge any accountability for the crisis.
Earlier this week, CDC principal deputy director Ralph Abraham argued in the Wall Street Journal that the return of measles isn’t an American policy failure, because other countries like Canada have experienced similar recent resurgences, too. He also tried to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the measles vaccine by misrepresenting his agency’s own data.
The man currently in charge of the country’s public health, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is a longtime anti-vaccination proponent who has regularly misled the public about the safety and effectiveness of the measles vaccine. During his reign as HHS chief, he’s personally fired senior officials who refused to support his anti-vaccine policies. And during the West Texas measles outbreak (now the country’s second largest) last year, he recommended unsupported treatments like cod liver oil that likely further endangered some children.
