The best gift for children is the vaccine against measles

Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by the mixuvirus.  Some of its symptoms include a fever between 38, 5°C and 40, 5°C, skin rash that starts in the face and spreads to all the body, cough, nasal secretions and a severe conjunctivitis.

There is a 90% risk of acquiring the disease by having contact with someone who is infected if protective antibodies have not been provided, if immunization has not been given or if the disease has not attacked before.

The vaccine that is given is very effective and protects more that 95% of the individuals who receive it. It is live attenuated, that means it contains a small amount of the virus that grows in the individual who is vaccinated; this provides a good, safe, long term response against manifestations.

"The problem with the vaccine is that since it is life attenuated, it has to be kept at 4°C or it suffers alterations or does not work. For this reason it has to be refrigerated in good conditions", asserted Manuel Antonio Vargas, Professor and director of the Microbiology Department of the Faculty of Medicine of Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

The specialist mentioned that several times people do not vaccinate their children due to false information that is on the media. As an example, the expert explained that some people rely on the information from the internet, which in some cases is not true. "For instance, the vaccine has been associated to autism. Mothers do not vaccinate their children and those children become susceptible to many viral diseases," asserted Vargas.

Besides, displacements of children are also a problem since they do not have access to the vaccine. When these children reach big cities, they meet other children and become susceptible to the disease.

Each time an outbreak of the disease occurs, the coverage of the vaccine has to be revised since it is very dangerous for children and let them exposed to other severe infections, especially pneumonia and problems of otitis media.

"Through vaccination, the behavior of this disease has been changed, but people forget that this is a very serious disease for children: three of every 1,000 children can suffer from viral encephalitis. There are long term complications related to neurological problems associated to people who have had measles. This virus is so severe that it can affect children"s normal growing or cause mortality," explained the specialist.

For this reason, children"s vaccination status has to be checked, and they have to be provided with the best gift that is vaccination. Apart from the immunization that has to be given when children turn one year, a second reinforcement dose has to be provided in preschool (five years) and a third one in the adolescence. If an adult has never had measles or has never received the vaccination, this individual must act immediately.