Bio report on Vaccination against measles

Why is it an issue?
Parents who dont vaccinate their children because of personal views may be putting their
children and others in danger. The graph below shows cases of measles, an easily
preventable virus. Measles are a virus that can easily infect children. Of those who
contract measles, one or two in a thousand die (cdc.gov). Before vaccinations were
available for children there were an estimated 2.6 million deaths from measles each
year. Now only 122,000 thousand deaths will occur each year, with a lot of these in
underdeveloped countries (who.int).

Biological concepts and processes

When people are vaccinated they are given an imitation form of the disease. This allows the
body to be exposed to the disease when they are at their most vulnerable stage (childhood)
so they can form a natural immunity. They disease invades the body and is attacked by the
bodys cells. First the white blood cells, known as macrophages, swallow up as many
disease microbes as they can. The macrophages can tell via marker molecules on the
microbes whether they are harmful and need to be destroyed. If they are harmful they have
antigens which are how we can form vaccines. Once they have been destroyed by the
macrophages the antigens are kept so they can recognize the disease or virus so next time
they can identify and attack the disease more efficiently.
Lymphocytes such as B-cells and T-cells are also in the body to help attack viruses. B-cells
create molecular weapons called antibodies. If they are compatible they coat the disease
microbe to render them useless. The body has millions of B-cells on hand so if there is a
disease the correct compatible antibody can be found. The antibodies stay in the body to
find disease microbes left over. The antibodies signal macrophages to come attack the
microbe. Most vaccines simulate the work of antibodies.
T-cells can either be defensive or offensive. The offensive cells dont attack the disease
microbes but destroy the human cells that have been affected. The T-cells work in advance

to protect the human body by secreting chemical signals to help other immune systems. The
helper T-cells work is called the cellular immune response.
After the body rids the disease some T and B cells are converted to memory cells. If the
same disease occurs again the immune system can quickly recognise how to stop the virus.
(niaid.nih.gov)

http://influenzavirus.wikispac
es.com/How+Vaccines+Work
Vaccines teach the immune system by mimicking an infection. Vaccinations have a 90-99%
success rate of protecting children. People who want to have a natural immune system risk
dying if they have a lethal infection.

Biological implications
The vaccinations give babies immunity to lethal
diseases. If a large community are all vaccinated
then if a disease was introduced they would all be
protected. This is called herd immunity. Children
who cannot be vaccinated (for medical reasons or
they havent been vaccinated yet) will be
protected from the disease as it wont be passed on
to them (Phyllis Freeman, 1997). If more children
arent being immunised then the disease will be
more likely to spread.
Vaccines can eradicate disease and prevent serious
illness and death. Vaccinations have heavily
decreased the amount of infantile deaths from
lethal diseases. According to researchers at the
Pediatric
Academic
Society,
childhood
vaccinations in the US prevent about 10.5 million
cases of infectious illness and 33,000 deaths per
year (Zhou, et al, 2003).
The MMR vaccinations can cause small side-effects such as fever, rash or the swelling of
glands. More serious allergic reactions can occur although very rarely. The benefits do
outweigh the side-effects. If a child is allergic to vaccinations than the child will rely
on herd immunity and will not be able to travel to less vaccinated countries (cdc.gov).

Social implications
Many celebrities and parents are spreading the word about the supposed dangers of
vaccinations. Anti-vaccination supporters are also believed to be behind the antivitamin shot given right after birth (yahoo.com/health).
In 1998 after the MMR (measles, mumps, rubuela) vaccination was released for public use a
doctor named Andrew Wakefield published a deceitful report about how the
vaccination would cause autism and bowel disease in children. The report has since
been discredited as not only have there been multiple studies that disproved the
hypothesis but Wakefield also used unethical medical procedures on children and had
accounts of misconduct and dishonesty. After the paper was published there was a
large peak of unvaccinated children and caused epidemics and deaths. Today the
myths about vaccinations causing autism are still strong and outbreaks can still occur
amongst unvaccinated children. (en.wikipedia.org)
In the recent outbreak in some North Island schools had to be shut down to prevent further
outbreak. Since December there has been 263 measles cases reported. Currently there
is no measles treatment only prevention. Deaths from measles are normally only from
other complications such as pneumonia. New Zealands vaccination rate is only 77%
of two year olds are vaccinated. This means that 23% that arent vaccinated will be at
risk of easily preventable diseases. The NZ government has made a target that 95% of
children will be being vaccinated. (health.govt.nz)

Economic implications
In New Zealand vaccinations are free for babies, children and adults. Immunisations are one
of the most cost-effective ways of preventing disease and lowering the cost of
healthcare. If an outbreak occurred this could be very expensive. Hospitals would be
needed for treatment and quarantine can cost nz millions.
The flu vaccination is offered for free for about 13% of the population for at risk patients.
Our government spends roughly $18 million a year for influenza immunisations. The
ministry of health has said that this has saved millions each year in hospitals for
patients with influenza. (nzherald.co.nz, 2013).

Environmental implications
Measles are a very contagious respiratory virus. Living in underdeveloped countries,
children are often malnourished, lacking in vitamin A, suffering from HIV or AIDS
and can not afford vaccinations or medicine. The death toll of measles is very high in
Africa, one child will die every minute. (unicef.org).
Currently the Earth is overpopulated by humans. We dont have enough resources or land to
sustain the rapidly increasing population. Because of our advanced medical
technology more and more people are living through diseases that once could kill of
whole towns. Maybe the opposing team is right and vaccinations are unnatural and
against gods will. Selection pressures such as disease are meant to keep our rising
population in check so maybe our healthcare and free vaccinations are simply going
against natures way.

Ethical implications
It is also ethically complicated if vaccinations are made compulsory. People should be able
to make their own decisions about their childrens health and if they believe no
vaccinations are better then they should allow this choice. On the other hand if their
decisions are impacting on their childrens and others health than maybe they should
be allowed to make their own choices.
Personally I believe it is selfish if parents decide to put their children at risk of illness and
death because of personal, philosophical or religious beliefs. Babies are not old
enough to make any decisions about their health. Vaccinations are a proven safe
procedure that parents should be giving their children.

Opposing opinions
Against: Some churches such as catholic fundamentalists, religious science, 7th day
Adventist are against vaccinations but in New Zealand this is not as strict as some
other countries. Parents who have been led astray from talk of mouth and incorrect
internet articles may end up making the wrong decision against vaccinations. Some
anti-vac groups have said that large pharmacy companies such as big-pharma are only
using vaccinations to receive money.

For: People who dont want to be infected with easily-preventable diseases. Everyone
should really be for vaccinations. They save millions of lives each year and allow
children to grow up safe and healthy. Doctors, Governments, Hospitals, WHO and
CDC are all for vaccinations.

Now what?
Parents who dont immunise their children are uneducated and arent making the best
choices for their children. Vaccinations have been proven to not cause autism or brain
damage and any major side effects are very rare. The deadly diseases the vaccinations
fight against outweigh any side-effects. Researching and educating yourself about the
truth behind vaccinations is a step in the right direction. Being swayed towards
extremely bias reports doesnt help.
Organisations such as UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund)
and GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) are working towards
vaccinating more and more children in underdeveloped countries. They bring cheap or free
vaccines to rural areas that are known to be affected by serious diseases. We can help by
donating or volunteering for these organisations to help children become vaccinated. These
processes have already worked brilliantly. Since 2000 more than 1 billion children in
underdeveloped countries have become vaccinated. These vaccines have been proven to
work and are saving at risk children.

Bibliography
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/vaccines/understanding/pages/howwork.aspx (national
institute of allergys and infectious diseases, 10/07/2014)
Zhou, et al., "Economic Evaluation of Routine Childhood Immunization with DTaP, Hib,
IPV, MMR and Hep B Vaccines in the United States," Pediatric Academic Societies
Conference, Seattle, Washington, May 2003
Phyllis Freeman, "The Biology of Vaccines and Community Decisions to Vaccinate,
Public Health Reports, Jan.-Feb. 1997
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-07/popsci-guide-anti-vaccine-claims (popular
science, 10/07/14)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10868799 (nzherald
newspaper online 31/07/14)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/ (world health organization 31/07/14)
CDC.gov (www.cdc.gov) is your online source for credible health information and is the
official Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (31/07/14)
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm#mmr (31/07/14)
https://www.yahoo.com/health/anti-vaccination-movement-could-be-prompting-parents-to93230779252.html (31/07/14)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield (Wikipedia article on Andrew Wakefield
1/07/14)
http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventative-healthwellness/immunisation/immunisation-coverage (nz immunisation rates 31/07/14)
http://www.unicef.org/immunization/index_why.html (why underdeveloped children are
dying 2/08/14)