Answers
(To view the the questions page, press on the answer number)
 |
|
Recently, 180 Swiss naturopaths and homeopaths claimed that infection with measles in
childhood is very important because it helps the immune system to develop in a natural and
healthy way. They claimed that measles vaccine does not provide the same kind of
stimulation and will weaken the immune strength of the population.
But it is not true that infection with measles is needed for normal development of the
immune system. No infection acts as a general stimulus to the immune system. There is no
scientific evidence that infection with measles or any other germ is necessary or important
for natural and healthy development of the immune system. In fact, what we know of
measles makes it extremely unlikely that measles plays any role whatsoever in the normal
development of the human immune system. For example, we know that measles cannot
survive among small groups of people, like those living in isolated tribes in the Amazon rain
forest or on islands. Yet such people have perfectly normal immune systems.
For most of human history, we were without measles. It became common only after the
development of agriculture and the rise of cities, as measles thrives only in highly populated
areas. Because the infection is so contagious, it spreads rapidly to all susceptible members of
a group. In a city, there are always new, susceptible individuals entering the group as a result
of large numbers of births. In a small tribe on an island, the measles virus would quickly die
out.
Natural infection with measles does not provide a general form of stimulation of the immune
system. It stimulates immunity to measles only. In fact, measles infection results in marked
suppression of many parts of the immune system, which lasts for several months. During
this time, the child is more susceptible to a number of other infections. This suppression of
the immune system caused by measles actually leads to the high rate of other infections that
complicate measles.
Thus, measles does nothing good to the immune system other than stimulate immunity to
measles. Infection with measles not only results in a severe illness, which has a high rate of
complications and general impairment of health, but it also suppresses the immune system
for several months.
Other infections may produce similar types of immune suppression, but to a lesser degree than measles. |
|
|
 |
Posted by the Canadian Paediatric Society, July 1997. |
 |  |  |