There is a reason why the measles vaccine was developed. In the not-distant past, it was common for people to die — or survive with lifelong disabilities, when they contracted the disease.
In Canada, we are fortunate to have records that tell the story. According to Statistics Canada, between 1921 and 1960, an average of 277 people per year died from measles. The number of cases — and subsequent deaths — have fallen significantly since the introduction of measles vaccines in 1963-64 and the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine in 1970s. In the entire decade from 2001 to 2010, only three measles deaths were reported in Canada. Young parents today do not remember a time when deaths from communicable diseases were common.
As a random example, in 1940, significant numbers succumbed to typhoid fever (224), measles (168), scarlet fever (125), whooping cough (628), diphtheria (213), influenza (2,789), poliomyelitis (48) and tuberculosis (5,789). The numbers varied from year to year, so don’t assume that measles were less deadly than some of these other diseases.
Our health system keeps these and other diseases under control but only if we do our part by making sure our children are vaccinated and that we take precautions when travelling outside Canada.
Marion Smith, Richmond
The editorial pages editor is Gordon Clark, who can be reached at gclark@theprovince.com. Letters to the editor can be sent to provletters@theprovince.com.
