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Health Check
Measles spreads in the Americas
Mar 12, 2025
Patricia Pestana Garces, a neuroscience lecturer at King's College London, discusses alarming trends in public health. She highlights the resurgence of measles in the Americas, driven by falling vaccination rates. The conversation also touches on the ten-year retrospective of the Zika virus epidemic, focusing on increased birth defects and ongoing research challenges. Additionally, the potential inaccuracies of continuous glucose monitors in measuring blood sugar are explored, revealing discrepancies that could impact health management.
26:29
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Quick takeaways
- The Americas risk losing their measles elimination status due to declining vaccination rates and increasing vaccine hesitancy among parents.
- Research upon the Zika virus highlights the role of maternal nutrition in the severity of congenital defects like microcephaly.
Deep dives
The Impact of Measles and Vaccination Rates
Measles is highly contagious and can lead to severe health complications and death, as evidenced by recent cases and fatalities in the Americas. The region faces risks of losing its measles elimination status due to declining vaccination rates, which need to reach 95% for effective herd immunity. The spread of measles has been attributed to vaccine hesitancy among some parents, reflecting a broader global trend with significant outbreaks occurring worldwide, primarily in Africa. The necessity of vaccination is highlighted, as it remains the only effective way to prevent the disease's transmission and protect the population.
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