2023-09-14 15:21:56
Cologne – They are trivialized by calling them childhood illnesses, but they are serious illnesses. So severe that children and adults have to go to the clinic depending on how the infection progresses. Those affected can suffer from secondary illnesses that can be difficult and – although rarely – fatal. Measles, chickenpox, whooping cough and the like are spreading once more, primarily measles, and primarily among young people and adults. There is currently no end to this development in sight.
It is wrong to assume that you can protect yourself if you are just careful enough. The visible danger on two legs is not the one sitting in front of you covered in red pustules and feverish eyes, but the one with red eyes, a barking cough and a runny nose.
A cold can be the first, highly contagious phase
What looks like a bad cold or flu can be the first and therefore highly contagious phase of a measles infection. And you usually get them where you least expect them: in the waiting rooms of doctors’ offices, as happened in Cologne, on buses and trains, department stores, bistros, on door handles, handrails or taps and on the journey to the long-awaited vacation.
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You have to be vaccinated once morest measles.Ralf Hirschberger/dpa-Zentralbil
Prof. Michael Weiß, chief physician at the Amsterdamer Straße Children’s Clinic: “Children today are vaccinated twice in the first two years of life. Adults born in the 1970s have typically only been vaccinated once morest measles once. As a result, there are holes in the protection.” And especially for those who have not been vaccinated and have so far been spared from a measles infection.
The highly contagious viruses can cause consequential damage
It particularly affects the age group from 20 to mid-40, and particularly many men. The highly contagious viruses can permanently damage the immune system, cause complicated respiratory and middle ear infections, and even brain damage.
Even if the majority of those affected cope with measles and other viral or bacterial infections such as chickenpox and whooping cough relatively well, they can be fatal for family members. “There is a higher risk of complications for elderly parents or grandmothers, for immunologically weakened patients,” says Weiß.
The immune system of older people gets older along with them, weakens and is unable or only insufficiently able to defend itself once morest the attack. Prof. Gerhard Wiesmüller, who heads the infection and environmental hygiene department at the Cologne Health Department, reports new cases of measles every day.
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Fake study
The claim that a measles, mumps and rubella vaccination increases the risk of developing autism or Crohn’s disease cannot be eradicated, although it has long been refuted. This rumor was spread by doctor Andrew Wakefield and other scientists in England in 1998 through a study. The study results were fake. Wakefield lost his license to practice medicine. The study was withdrawn and has long since been refuted.
Refresh your whooping cough vaccination
If an adult has whooping cough and comes into contact with children, it can be life-threatening for the child. Children are vaccinated once morest the bacterial infection in the first two years of life. As a young adult, you should get vaccinated because the antibody protection only lasts a maximum of ten years. Prof. Michael Weiß: “But what happens between the ages of 20 and 90? You should refresh the vaccination in good time.”
Virus infection & vaccination protection
Children are among the groups that become ill with measles particularly quickly.dpa-tmn
Once more than 95 percent of the population has been vaccinated once morest measles, the disease is considered to have been successfully controlled and eradicated. Germany is a long way from this goal. Measles viruses preferentially attack cells of the immune and nervous systems. Ten to 14 days pass between infection and the onset of the disease.
The measles virus is transmitted through coughing, sneezing and speaking and enters the body via the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and the conjunctiva of the eye. Infection is possible even from several meters away. White spots in the cheek mucosa are an early and clear indication of measles. A rare complication of measles infection can cause brain tissue breakdown in children under five. The gradual destruction of brain cells is fatal.
Anyone who is not vaccinated or is insufficiently vaccinated can become infected with measles, chickenpox and other dangerous viruses and bacteria. Anyone who has only been vaccinated once morest measles once does not have absolute protection. The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) still recommends a single vaccination for adults. Therefore, health insurance companies usually do not pay the costs for the second vaccination. There are exceptions – you should check with your own insurance company.
If unvaccinated and healthy people have had contact with a measles patient, vaccination within three days can prevent the outbreak of the disease. Anyone who has already had the first vaccination can get the second one. There is no age restriction. If you don’t know whether you have been vaccinated or how often, you can get vaccinated. There is no risk of an overdose. (mas)
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