Disneyland was recently identified as the vector (geographic source) for an outbreak of measles that spread across California and from there to 14 states.

How can a disease, all but disappeared because of the development of a vaccine in the 1960s come roaring back?

Pretty easy, actually. There are two factors. Take a world-class theme park bringing millions of tourists from countries where vaccinations may not be available. These tourists bring seemingly healthy children to visit, but may leave with disease in their wake.

Two, take the hubris of a society where absence of communicable disease leads some to the bizarre conclusion they don’t need to vaccinate their children. Their unvaccinated children pick up the disease at Disneyland or other public place and spread it.

Interesting in a recent Pew survey: Young adults are more likely to decide not vaccinating their children is either safe or a “personal choice” two which they have some “right.” They apparently never saw a polio outbreak or the terror that ensued.

That some politicians encourage this line of thinking should only reinforce our skepticism about politicians. I give credit to Hillary Clinton who stated unequivocally, “The earth is round, the sky is blue and vaccines work.” Good for her.

The science behind vaccines is well established. The track to establish a vaccine is so difficult (average 10-15 years of tests and trials before approval) that to suggest vaccines are other than safe and effective is to engage in “flat-earth” thinking.

What some parents claim, without knowing the backstory, is “vaccines cause autism.” That tough-to-kill chestnut is attributable to a paper published in 1998 that purported to establish a link between the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine (MMR) and autism. That is what people heard.

What they didn’t hear was the study was subsequently discredited and seen as fraudulent. The MMR vaccine was then and now safe and effective.

“Well,” say some parents (and Rand Paul), “it should be my choice whether to vaccinate my child. If he/she becomes ill it doesn’t affect anyone else.”

First, parents who would risk their child’s health to a disease to satisfy their personal, self-congratulatory stance on how “principled” they are to exercise their “rights” need to turn in their children and buy some goldfish. Experiment with them.

Second, there are children in this country who legitimately cannot be vaccinated because of allergies to the vaccine. Those families are depending on others to vaccinate so their child will be safe from the spread of measles, meningitis or polio.

Equally regrettable is the practice of “delay” — putting off vaccinating until a child is older. The youngest children are the most vulnerable and the risk of complications — chickenpox leading to pneumonia, polio leading to permanent paralysis, mumps leading to deafness, etc. — are highest.

There is no excuse for not vaccinating a child on a physician-recommended schedule. To those parents so excited about not vaccinating their child, I suggest a trip to Indonesia and not getting vaccinated for Hepatitis A,B, C or cholera. Or go to Africa and not getting vaccinated against yellow fever.

In reading about the building of the Panama Canal, I read about the death yellow fever offers: “The virus incubates in the body ... followed by infection that can occur in one or two phases.

“The ‘acute’ phase usually causes fever, muscle pain with prominent backache, headache, shivers, loss of appetite and nausea or vomiting. A second, toxic phase occurs within 24 hours. High fever returns and several body systems are affected.

“The patient rapidly develops jaundice and complains of abdominal pain with vomiting. Bleeding can occur from the mouth, nose, eyes or stomach. Blood appears in the vomit and feces. Kidney function deteriorates. Half of patients who enter the toxic phase die within 10 to 14 days.”

This description doesn’t do this disease justice. It’s far more awful. But not to worry about the agonizing, drawn out death this might be, the anti-vaxxers won’t be deterred. Good.

This column won’t persuade the anti-vaxxers to change their minds. But I hope this column finds its way to our legislators and public health officials to close the loopholes that allow exceptions to mandatory child vaccination and make the penalties for not vaccinating a child severe.

It is a different form of child abuse and anti-social behavior, to be dealt with accordingly.

Bill Schroer is principle of the W.J. Schroer Co. in Battle Creek. He lives in Bedford Township.

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