Residents of the Nizhny Novgorod region became infected with measles en masse – according to the regional Rospotrebnadzor, 93 cases of infection were recorded there. Infectious disease specialist Vladimir Nikiforov spoke about whether the country faces the spread of infection and the threat of a measles epidemic, as well as the causes of the outbreak, Lenta.ru reports.
According to the doctor, if anti-epidemic measures are quickly implemented now, the outbreak of the disease will fade away. The algorithm of actions in such situations is well developed – Rospotrebnadzor carries out emergency vaccination prophylaxis, isolates sick people and contacts. Nikifirov is confident that there cannot be a measles epidemic in Russia, because the majority of the population is vaccinated.
He explained that when treating a disease, therapy is not aimed at destroying the virus itself, but at blocking the pathological processes that it causes. According to the doctor, measles is transmitted to a person from a sick person only by airborne droplets. Vaccinated people are not at risk of infection.
At the same time, Nikifirov added that today there is a vaccine that can practically eliminate measles, but in order for a vaccine to destroy any disease, at least 95-97 percent of the population must be vaccinated. However, it is never possible to vaccinate such a number of people. In the entire history of mankind, a vaccine has been able to eliminate only one disease – smallpox, the doctor explained. He added that it is not possible to vaccinate everyone and defeat measles due to wars and migration. In addition, Covid has disrupted the vaccination process and the situation is complicated by improper handling of the vaccine. According to the professor, it must be stored at a certain low temperature. If the “cold regime” is violated, the vaccine loses its properties.
Source: Rosbalt
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