2026-09-24
In my day it was normal to have measles. Not especially pleasant, but normal. Just a childhood rite of passage, like chicken pox.
In fact, I was asthmatic prior to catching it, and for most purposes not asthmatic afterwards. Although prolonged exertion would still make me breathless, it actually seemed to improve my health.
Walking the 30 mile Tanners Marathon (Leith Hill, Ranmoor Common and all) within 10 hours became a regular annual feat.
As a student I even joined the local TA.
So I don't buy the "measles is deadly" tale whatsoever. Of course if you are in poor health anyway and your immune system is in bad shape then almost anything may become serious. But I never heard of anybody I knew dying of measles.
"The 1963 campaign was not protecting American children against a lethal disease. The disease had stopped being lethal a generation earlier"
And how exactly is a "case" identified anyway?
The more you look, the more elusive the answers seem to be ...
