By John Smith •
Updated: 28 Nov 2024 • 12:55 • 1 minute read
According to a statement from the Robert-Koch Institute (RKI) Measles have come back to Germany, with the number of cases recorded in 2024 reaching 614 so far.
Measles is a potential killer yet an increasing number of children in Germany have been diagnosed as suffering with the virus during 2024 There seems to be a rash of common illnesses returning to European countries possibly caused by three main reasons but in the case of measles and Germany, there is a legal requirement for all children to be inoculated otherwise parents face a €2,500 fine.
With a large number of immigrants arriving from countries which do not offer ‘jabs’ for vaccine-preventable illnesses, there may simply be a lack of knowledge about what is available and this is underwritten by the fact that many German health employees don’t speak a second or third language. In addition, it is perfectly feasible that a number of immigrant children are actually suffering from the measles virus when they arrive in Germany which then gives one explanation for the sudden rise in diagnosed cases.
Effects of Covid19 pandemic create resistance to measles vaccination
Since the pandemic and the apparent controversy over vaccines (which actually weren’t), there appears to be a growing scepticism over vaccinations generally, which may be in people s minds when considering having their child inoculated against measles. Because the number of infectious diseases fell during the pandemic, possibly helped by masks and social distancing, this sudden jump could be due to a simple rebalancing but as well as measles, Germany is also experiencing an increase in the number of cases of Hepatitis B and whooping cough.
It is likely that the German health authorities will issue a range of pamphlets explaining the dangers of measles which claimed more than 100,000 young lives worldwide in 2023 and this will no doubt persuade those who are ignorant of the dangers, or are ‘sitting on the fence’ to have their children inoculated but there is a hard core of anti-vaccine individuals who will not change their position.
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Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica.
Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene.
Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development.
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