2024-04-24 06:24:36
In Marseille, in two weeks, the Olympic fire risks not to be the only one burning. After security issues and traffic headaches, a third problem is entering the podium of concern for the Olympic Games: measles! In Paris, where million visitors are expected for the eventbut also in Marseille, which, after welcoming the flame, will organize the sailing events at the end of July, imported cases and mixing of the population can quickly spread this disease… much more contagious than Covid. In fact, one patient can be the cause of contamination of 15 to 20 other people!
The risk is all the more serious as measles is on the rise worldwide. last February, The World Health Organization (WHO) was concerned about the rapid spread with more than 306,000 cases reported in 2023, i.e. + 79% compared to the previous year. This increase also affected Europe with 2,361 reported cases. In France, the 2023 epidemiological report indicated an increase in cases by a factor of 8, highlighting the existence of “pockets of individuals who remain susceptible to the virus, particularly among youth and young adults“.
Already as many cases in 2024 as in the whole of 2023
Last year, 117 cases of measles were declared in France (including 27 hospitalizations), compared to 15 in 2022 and 16 in 2021. No deaths have been reported, but measles is a potentially fatal disease in complications. In 2017, a 16-year-old girl, unvaccinated, died in hospital Nord after acute measles.… Also Public Health France (SPF) warns: “At the start of France welcoming millions of foreign visitors, while measles epidemics rage in Eastern Europe, the risk of imports increases.“In Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, more than 130 cases have been declared since September, compared to just one in 2021 and just one in 2022.
It is in this context that health personnel in our region, such as pharmacists, are put on standby: “The current situation raises fears, given the high risk of infection of the disease, wider distribution on the national territory during the coming months and also when the big summer gatherings approach (Olympic Games 2024)“, indicates a “urgent“sent on 5 April by the Ministry of Health, asking health personnel for a”increased vigilance“. On our territory, the regional health agency has registered nine cases since the beginning of the year: “This is as much as for the whole of 2023“, emphasizes Alaa Ramdani, “surveillance and security” manager of ARS Paca.
The measles virus is spreading of respiratory droplets and through direct contact with secretions from the nose and throat of an infected person. Most often benign, it manifests as a rash preceded by rhinitis, conjunctivitis, cough, accompanied by very high fever and great fatigue. “But respiratory or neurological complications can occur, especially in children under one year of age and adults over 20 years of age.warns Alaa Ramdani. One in 1,000 unvaccinated adults will develop acute encephalitis, which is fatal in 30% of cases. Rare cases of panencephalitis, 100% fatal, can occur four to ten years after infection.“
84% of people vaccinated in Paca
The vaccination (carried out in two doses at 12 months and between 16 and 18 months) could, according to the WHO, eradicate this disease if the coverage rate reached 95% of the population. In France, where the obligation is mandatory for infants born since 2018, this rate reaches 86%, according to figures published this Tuesday by the SPF, and 84% in Paca. Note the following : “Some people, who believe they are vaccinated and therefore protected, actually have only an incomplete vaccination schedule, warns Christine Zandotti, medical biologist at to AP-HM. In the past, some babies only received one dose or received their first dose before they were 12 months old, making the vaccine less effective. They must therefore resort to a third dose.“For adults who have never been vaccinated, it is strongly recommended to vaccinate with two doses at least one month apart.
The MMR vaccine is reimbursed on presentation of the Vitale card, with 65% for those over 18 and 100% for children aged 1 to 17. According to the WHO, measles vaccination prevented 56 million deaths between 2000 and 2021. However, even if a safe vaccine exists, an estimated 128,000 deaths from measles will occur worldwide in 2021, deaths occurring mainly among unvaccinated or undervaccinated children under 5 years of age. age…
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