Italy experiencing measles epidemic after fall-off in vaccinations

Italy has announced that it is experiencing a measles epidemic following a fall-off in vaccinations, as the United States issued a warning to visitors about the outbreak of the potentially fatal disease.

The Italian health ministry said on Wednesday there had been almost 1,500 registered cases of measles so far this year against some 840 in all of 2016 and some 250 in 2015.

“Italy and Romania have an epidemic at the moment,” said Walter Ricciardi, president of the Higher Health Institute, adding that he understood why the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory this week.

Ricciardi told Radio 24 that unlike in Italy, the United States had launched a large campaign to convince parents to vaccinate their children.

The Higher Health Institute says only around 85% of two-year-olds are being vaccinated against measles at present, well below the 95% threshold recommended by the World Health Organisation to block the illness.

The centre-left government has accused the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) of spreading concern among parents by questioning the safety of some vaccines and by loudly denouncing efforts to make vaccinations mandatory.

“Vaccinations have played a vital role in eradicating terrible illnesses … but nonetheless, they bring a risk associated with side-effects,” the M5S founder Beppe Grillo wrote in 2015, saying mandatory vaccination represented a gift for multinational pharmaceutical firms.

A leading M5S politician, Andrea Cecconi, suggested last month that the jump in measles cases might be part of a natural cycle for the illness rather than a preventable epidemic.

Renewed concern over measles came amid fury among doctors over a programme on the state broadcaster RAI that highlighted the possible side-effects of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which protects against cervical cancer.

The M5S defended the report, but health officials accused RAI of being unnecessarily alarmist.

“It is very serious that a TV programme, which is supposed to be at the service of citizens, spreads fear by telling lies and giving credence to the anti-vaccine lobby,” said Giuseppe Mele, chairman of the Italian Society of Paediatricians.

Italy experiencing measles epidemic after fall-off in vaccinations

Experiencing Trump image overload | Brief letters

The news section of the Guardian on 14 January contained four pictures of the US president-elect (pages 6, 26, 28 and 41), not to mention the political cartoon rendering on page 29. It seems to me this is helping to create an icon. As I admire and appreciate the excellence of the Guardian, I wonder how you determine when enough is enough, or in this case, too much.
Tom Miller
Stromness, Orkney

• Surely if NHS hospitals didn’t have to pay business rates (Rates pain for hospitals, 12 January) the problem of NHS funding would almost be solved. Or perhaps they should declare themselves a charity, as private hospitals do, and ask for an 80% rebate. I suggest the Guardian starts a petition to stop this anomaly.
Moira Robinson
Kidlington, Oxfordshire

• I have a question for your anonymous correspondent (Letters, 16 January). If the job of a GP is the cushy number, why do so few medical graduates want to make a career in that branch of the NHS?
David Nove
Duffield, Derbyshire

• I remember from my childhood 65 years ago that my mother had a Weetabix butter spreader (Letters, 16 January) which I believe she had inherited after my grandfather died. It was a short knife with a rounded bulbous blade end which was cross-hatched (presumably to aid the spread of hard butter on crumbly Weetabix) and bore the legend “Weetabix Spreader”.
Judith Kent
London

• I used to note that, during interviews, politicians began their answers with “clearly”, while scientists began with “so” (Letters, 16 January). “Clearly” has all but disappeared, while “so” is widespread. Evidence that we have stopped listening to politicians?
Jennifer Gale
Littleham, Devon

• I would suggest a fourth cause of finger cuts that need hospital treatment (Letters, 14 January) and that is the one after the ceremony of the corned beef tin and the key.
Linda Gresham
Birmingham

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Experiencing Trump image overload | Brief letters

Experiencing psychological illness created me a far better politician

South London and the Maudsley NHS psychological health believe in has recently been the subject of a Television series and a guide by Catherine Arnold both referred to as Bedlam. I have taken a personal and specialist curiosity in these studies since I am in the uncommon place of being a former patient and now the chair of the nearby overall health scrutiny committee overseeing the trust’s function.

Strolling into the addictions unit, exactly where I went for assist more than five years in the past, to talk to their brilliant lead Dr Mike Kelleher about services variations reminds me of how far I have come thanks to the assist I obtained from them, and other folks.

Although my encounter gives me insight it also can make me vulnerable since in all parts of our society the stigma around mental unwell well being is strong. Not like a physical ailment, psychological issues are often regarded as a signal of a flawed character, weakness or a lack of self-control. These are not perceptions that get people elected or promoted and so, understandably, most politicians do not publicise their own experiences of psychological ill health.

Getting open about my personal history of depression and dilemma consuming has been comparatively effortless because I perform for a psychological health charity, the National Survivor Consumer Network, which allows me to use my encounter as an asset. That is not to say being an “out” councillor is always easy as I was reminded when I gave an NHS Expo presentation on alcoholism last month. The event’s publicist tweeted helpfully: “@EdDavie talks about how he drank cider in graveyards and wasted taxpayers’ income.”

That won’t be going on my election leaflets this May and when the message was retweeted a couple of occasions I had a horrible vision of it going viral. Revealing all on a nationwide newspaper internet site returns the electrical power to me and it is that feeling of losing handle and becoming unfairly labelled that, I believe, stops other politicians becoming open about their own problems.

This does look to be changing and a couple of months ago I wrote about the first meeting of the nearby authority mental wellness champions in which Dorset county councillor Michael Bevan talked powerfully about his depression and suicide attempt. MPs like Charles Walker and Kevan Jones have also exposed their personal mental health problems whilst Alistair Campbell has really pushed the boundaries and shown what a driver for change mental health expertise can be.

These days I virtually come to feel like a fraud speaking about myself in these terms as it has been a long time given that I had a drink, medicine or counselling. Nevertheless I think the expertise of hitting rock bottom, of utilizing psychological wellness companies and of becoming open about it has produced me, for good and ill, the man or woman and politician I am right now. By admitting I essential assist and getting supported to take management of my life I am now happier and healthier than ever.

Individuals of us in positions of electrical power need to have to make certain that we assist stop future generations building psychological health problems by tackling poverty, supporting expectant and new mother and father and mandating emotional and social education in colleges. The latter has been proven to save £84 for each and every £1 invested and but the Division for Training eliminated wellbeing from the Ofsted inspection regime with the then colleges minister Nick Gibb describing such interventions as “ghastly” and “peripheral”.

Politicians also need to assistance efforts like Time to Adjust to reduce stigma while making sure that companies which enable men and women to take control of their very own lives and fulfil their possible are accessible all over the place they are needed, not just in Bedlam.

Edward Davie is chair of Lambeth council’s overall health and grownup social services scrutiny committee.

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Experiencing psychological illness created me a far better politician

Asthma sufferer experiencing "nightmare"

Mr Connor described how, throughout periods of poor air quality, he is a “prisoner in his personal house”, unable to go out and socialise.

Millions of individuals with health troubles and the elderly are becoming warned not to overdo it as the Uk continues to experience large ranges of pollution.

Individuals with lung and heart problems should stay away from strenuous activity outside even though individuals suffering signs and symptoms of pollution – which includes sore eyes, coughs and sore throats – ought to minimize down the sum they do outside, overall health authorities explained.

Asthmatics may need to have to use their blue reliever inhalers more frequently as they could be prone to attacks nowadays and in excess of the up coming number of days. Around two-thirds of the 3.six million men and women with asthma find that air pollution makes their condition worse.

The suggestions, from Public Wellness England (PHE), Asthma Uk and the Division for Environment, Meals and Rural Affairs (Defra), comes right after a warning that components of England are experiencing the highest level of air pollution recorded by Defra.

Asthma sufferer experiencing "nightmare"