Measles outbreak hits Europe, most cases in France; WHO blames lack of vaccinations

In the "it was bound to happen" category, I present you with this story.  It is sad that such a preventable disease is gaining a foothold, and in areas of the world that are considered "civilized" or first world.  This is not an area of the world with no infrastructure, or no access to healthcare, but nations very much like the US (and in terms of access to healthcare, actually much better off).  And this is something that can be laid directly at the feet of the anti-vax pro-disease nutters.  I hope they are happy (because clearly remorse is not something they would ever feel because they think they are right).

GENEVA — Europe, especially France, has been hit by a major outbreak of measles, which the U.N. health agency is blaming on the failure to vaccinate all children.

The World Health Organization said Thursday that France had 4,937 reported cases of measles between January and March — compared with 5,090 cases during all of 2010. In all, more than 6,500 cases have been reported in 33 European nations.

“This is a lot of cases, to put it mildly. In past years we’ve had very few cases,” said Rebecca Martin, head of WHO’s office in Copenhagen for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization.

“There’s been a buildup of children who have not been immunized over the years,” she said. “It’s almost like a threshold. When you have enough people who have not been immunized, then outbreaks can occur."

READ REST OF STORY HERE.