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WATCH: Rise Of Measles In Malta Due To European Anti-Vaxxers, ​Health Superintendent Warns​

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Malta may become victim to a worrying trend among young, foreign parents who believe that vaccinating their children may lead to their child becoming autistic.

Dr Charmaine Gauci, the Superintendent of Health, has raised concerns over the potential of a measles outbreak in Malta due to “vaccine hesitant parents” leading to measles being “imported” into Malta.

“We have to be careful – this year we had five imported cases of measles, and we’re not looking very far away,” she said. “We’re looking at Italy, we’re looking at the UK, we’re looking at Germany, so these are all countries where they have measles. We are seeing vaccine hesitancy – some parents are afraid to vaccinate their children.”

This growing international scepticism stems from a new-age type of belief that, among other things, promotes “natural births” in the middle of forests or jungles, away from modern medical facilities.

Dr Gauci was clear about her opinion on the idea that vaccinations may lead to autism in children, calling it a “20-year-old story”

“This has been shelved, this is a fraud – in fact the doctor behind it has been excluded from the UK medical register,” she said.

“If you have a person who is not vaccinated, and his immunity is low, and he comes into contact with a case of measles, he will bring measles to Malta”

“Vaccine-preventable diseases are very important, and the advantageous situation is that we have vaccines that can prevent,” Dr Gauci explained. “The vaccines that have been developed are safe. The MMR vaccine is safe, and parents should give the vaccine to their children – having measles can be deadly, so vaccinate your children. However, unfortunately, we are in a situation where we are having some hesitancy from the population.”

She noted that this anti-vaccination hesitancy is leading to a rise in illnesses such as measles around Europe, as well as a number of deaths. However, Malta is still in the green, maintaining an eradication situation for measles.

“Up until now we haven’t had a sustained transmission through concentrated efforts to battle it,” Dr Gauci noted.

In Europe, however, vaccine hesitancy has been proven to be the cause of measles outbreaks. “There are pockets of unvaccinated populations which are transmitting measles,” Dr Gauci said. “Until now, the cases in Malta have been imported cases.”

Dr Gauci is concerned that the trend may reach a breaking point, with fears that other illnesses, such as chicken pox, which can be very serious in adults, could begin re-emerging: “With the trend of people afraid to vaccinate themselves, I am afraid we will start having other vaccine-preventable diseases re-surging.”

She had some advice for parents who were sceptical about vaccinations

“Parents, my recommendation is please, do not go to the internet and go to certain un-reputable sites, don’t listen to social media, please contact your healthcare provider, they are the best person with all the knowledge and will be able to give you the best advice for your child,” she said.

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Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]

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