Roald Dahl on His daughter getting measles in 1962. Written in 1984 Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember...
Roald Dahl on His daughter getting measles in 1962.
Written in 1984
Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn’t do anything.
“Are you feeling all right?” I asked her.
“I feel all sleepy,” she said.
In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead.
The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was twenty-four years ago in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her.
On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunised against measles. I was unable to do that for Olivia in 1962 because in those days a reliable measles vaccine had not been discovered. Today a good and safe vaccine is available to every family and all you have to do is to ask your doctor to administer it.
It is not yet generally accepted that measles can be a dangerous illness. Believe me, it is. In my opinion parents who now refuse to have their children immunised are putting the lives of those children at risk. In America, where measles immunisation is compulsory, measles like smallpox, has been virtually wiped out.
Here in Britain, because so many parents refuse, either out of obstinacy or ignorance or fear, to allow their children to be immunised, we still have a hundred thousand cases of measles every year. Out of those, more than 10,000 will suffer side effects of one kind or another. At least 10,000 will develop ear or chest infections. About 20 will die.
LET THAT SINK IN.
Every year around 20 children will die in Britain from measles.
So what about the risks that your children will run from being immunised?
They are almost non-existent. Listen to this. In a district of around 300,000 people, there will be only one child every 250 years who will develop serious side effects from measles immunisation! That is about a million to one chance. I should think there would be more chance of your child choking to death on a chocolate bar than of becoming seriously ill from a measles immunisation.
So what on earth are you worrying about? It really is almost a crime to allow your child to go unimmunised.
The ideal time to have it done is at 13 months, but it is never too late. All school-children who have not yet had a measles immunisation should beg their parents to arrange for them to have one as soon as possible.
I didn't know much about measles except that I (and my family) are vaccinated for it. But the effects described are pretty sobering, including 1 in 5 children hospitalized and 3 out of a 1000...
I didn't know much about measles except that I (and my family) are vaccinated for it. But the effects described are pretty sobering, including 1 in 5 children hospitalized and 3 out of a 1000 children dying. Also, it is extremely contagious compared to things like flu or COVID. For people in affected areas, I wanted to highlight that the vaccine can still confer benefit if administered after exposure, but there is a limited window.
I wish vaccines were not controversial, but I know a lot of people have been exposed to bad information and (as is the case in Florida) let down by their public health officials. I'm curious what other Tilderinos take on this is. Also, what experiences have you had dealing with (or being part of) the antivax movement?
I really like Dr. Jetalina's work through the pandemic and beyond. She focuses on the science, provides concrete data, and promotes bringing people together to taking positive steps forward. Excerpt follows, but there's lots more good information in the article.
We have measles outbreaks all the time (although the rate is increasing due to vaccine hesitancy), but this one came with a new controversy. The Florida State Health Department released a letter with a surprising new recommendation that contradicts standard of practice guidelines for measles outbreaks in two big ways:
Isolation. It stated that unvaccinated kids who were exposed to measles could continue to attend school. This is unprecedented. Those with no prior immunity need to isolate for 21 days.
Vaccination. It failed to recommend kids without immunity get vaccinated. Many parents don’t know that unvaccinated kids can still get protection from a vaccine within 72 hours of exposure. (Also, the standard of care is that if they get vaccinated within 72 hours, they can return to school as long as they don’t develop symptoms.)
....
Bottom line
Measles is not a new virus. We have been studying it for more than a century. There are reasons we have standards of practice, and it’s a slippery slope to think otherwise. Measles is no joke, and containing it should not be up for debate.
We hope parents and the community are paying attention. It takes a team approach to stop infectious diseases. This can mean strengthening immunization requirements or asking for bills requiring transparency about which schools have lower vaccination rates so parents can make informed decisions. The scary question is: What happens when community responsibility breaks down? We hope this is not the road we are headed down.
Roald Dahl on His daughter getting measles in 1962.
Written in 1984
Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn’t do anything.
“Are you feeling all right?” I asked her.
“I feel all sleepy,” she said.
In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead.
The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was twenty-four years ago in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her.
On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunised against measles. I was unable to do that for Olivia in 1962 because in those days a reliable measles vaccine had not been discovered. Today a good and safe vaccine is available to every family and all you have to do is to ask your doctor to administer it.
It is not yet generally accepted that measles can be a dangerous illness. Believe me, it is. In my opinion parents who now refuse to have their children immunised are putting the lives of those children at risk. In America, where measles immunisation is compulsory, measles like smallpox, has been virtually wiped out.
Here in Britain, because so many parents refuse, either out of obstinacy or ignorance or fear, to allow their children to be immunised, we still have a hundred thousand cases of measles every year. Out of those, more than 10,000 will suffer side effects of one kind or another. At least 10,000 will develop ear or chest infections. About 20 will die.
LET THAT SINK IN.
Every year around 20 children will die in Britain from measles.
So what about the risks that your children will run from being immunised?
They are almost non-existent. Listen to this. In a district of around 300,000 people, there will be only one child every 250 years who will develop serious side effects from measles immunisation! That is about a million to one chance. I should think there would be more chance of your child choking to death on a chocolate bar than of becoming seriously ill from a measles immunisation.
So what on earth are you worrying about? It really is almost a crime to allow your child to go unimmunised.
The ideal time to have it done is at 13 months, but it is never too late. All school-children who have not yet had a measles immunisation should beg their parents to arrange for them to have one as soon as possible.
Powerful and tragic. Thank you for posting this.
I didn't know much about measles except that I (and my family) are vaccinated for it. But the effects described are pretty sobering, including 1 in 5 children hospitalized and 3 out of a 1000 children dying. Also, it is extremely contagious compared to things like flu or COVID. For people in affected areas, I wanted to highlight that the vaccine can still confer benefit if administered after exposure, but there is a limited window.
I wish vaccines were not controversial, but I know a lot of people have been exposed to bad information and (as is the case in Florida) let down by their public health officials. I'm curious what other Tilderinos take on this is. Also, what experiences have you had dealing with (or being part of) the antivax movement?
I really like Dr. Jetalina's work through the pandemic and beyond. She focuses on the science, provides concrete data, and promotes bringing people together to taking positive steps forward. Excerpt follows, but there's lots more good information in the article.