Red Cross Saves Lives Every Month with the Measles and Rubella Initiative
By Mary Jo Blackwood, American Red Cross Public Affairs Volunteer
Many people believe that actually having the measles will create immunity to future bouts of the disease. However, researchers want us to know the sobering truth that having measles or rubella is much worse than preventing it. The more we know about these diseases, the more bad things we are finding that having those diseases can cause:
- Many of the deaths attributable to measles virus are caused by secondary infections because the virus infects and prevents our immune cells from fighting other germs.
- While measles symptoms of a fever, cough, runny nose, pinkeye and a red, rash that spreads to the rest of the body, may seem somewhat minor, they aren’t. If the virus infects the lungs, it can cause pneumonia. Measles in older children can lead to inflammation of the brain, called encephalitis, which can cause seizures and permanent brain damage.
- Rubella, also known as German measles, has a fairly mild effect on most children. But if a pregnant woman gets rubella during the first three months of pregnancy, she has up to a 90 percent chance of giving birth to a baby with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) if the baby survives at all. CRS leads to multiple birth defects, such as blindness, deafness, a heart defect, or brain damage. More than 100,000 babies are born with CRS each year.
This is obviously not a small problem. Each year, measles infects over six million people and it kills 300 children a day. It is the leading cause of death in children under age five worldwide. Measles and rubella are very contagious. Nine of 10 people exposed to measles will get it. But that doesn’t have to happen. A safe and reliable vaccine for measles/rubella exists and is making significant headway in the fight against this unnecessary loss of life and birth defects.
The Measles and Rubella Initiative
When the Initiative was launched, its founding organizations included the American Red Cross, the U.S. CDC, UNICEF, the United Nations Foundation and the World Health Organization on board to wipe out this deadly scourge. This global partnership has nearly all countries involved to eliminate measles. Today, the American Red Cross is helping to coordinate Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in their fight through getting local volunteers and communities on board, strengthening local immunization systems in countries all over the world and mobilizing fundraising efforts to pay for these vaccines.
Here’s where we stand:
- Since 2001, 2.9 billion children have been vaccinated in 88 countries, saving over 21 million lives
- We saw an 80 percent reduction in global measles deaths between 2000 and 2017.
- Then we got complacent and measles cases increased from 2017 to 2019 with outbreaks in previously measles-free countries, leaving about 20 million people unprotected from measles and rubella.
- With the outbreak of COVID-19, some governments have paused preventive immunization programs, making it likely that measles and rubella infection will continue to climb, something the American Red Cross is trying to prevent, so children get this lifesaving vaccine as soon as possible.
We can all help make sure these lifesaving vaccinations continue, through our donations to the Measles and Rubella Initiative. Each vaccination costs less than $2. To donate to this worthwhile initiative visit us at www.measlesrubellainitiative.org.