Photo: Courtesy Josh Nerius
There is no scientific link between vaccines and autismaccording to the Centers for Disease Control.
Amid thecontinuing measles outbreakin Washington state, Joshua Nerius — whowas never vaccinated himself andcontracted the disease as an adult in 2016 — is encouraging all parents to make safe decisions about their children’s health.
In an interview withCNN, Nerius, now 30, shared that he contracted measles during his sister’s graduation from Northern Illinois University College of Business in May 2016.
“It’s sobering to think if the timing had been just slightly different, how many people I could have infected,” he shared.
In a statement at the time, theIllinois Department of Healthconfirmed that another guest, who had traveled to the graduation from outside the United States, had tested positive for the disease.
Nerius went on to tell CNN that it took him months to recover, and that while he was sick he lost 25 lbs., and was so weak at one point that he couldn’t walk without assistance.
Although Nerius doesn’t blame his parents, who made the decision not to vaccinate him, he says the current outbreak in Washington “makes me so angry.”
“The science on this has been settled. It’s been solved. When I look at where we are today, with people who are willfully deciding to ignore the facts, it really frustrates me,” he said. “I just don’t understand the mindset of people whowant to spread fear.”
RELATED VIDEO: Michigan Mom Is Jailed for 7 Days After Refusing to Vaccinate 9-Year-Old Son
In January, health officials in Clark County, Wash.,declared a public health emergencyover a measles outbreak.
To date, there are now 70confirmed casesand one suspected case of the highly contagious virus in the town near Portland, Ore., according to Clark County Public Health. The majority of cases are in children aged 18 and under, and at least 61 cases are known to be people who are unimmunized.
Because measles is among the most highly contagious of all infectious diseases, it flares up in areas with low vaccination rates, Peter J. Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, previously told theWashington Post. The outlet reported that 7.9 percent of children in Clark County were exempt in the 2017-2018 school year from vaccines required for kindergarten entry, making it a hotspot for outbreaks.
Measles, which wasdeclared eliminated in the United States in 2000thanks to vaccination, is now seeing a resurgence due to people choosing not to vaccinate. Cases are up30 percent worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, which last month named vaccine hesitancy — the “reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability” — as one of thetop threats to global healthin 2019.
source: people.com
