Measles outbreak in Minnesota’s Somali community tests public health outreach as vaccine fears persist
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota health officials racing to contain a measles outbreak centered in Minneapolis’ large Somali community are confronting entrenched vaccine fears stoked by long-running myths about autism and the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) shot.
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Fourteen measles cases have been confirmed statewide since February. About half are in Somali children, six of whom were not vaccinated and one of whom was too young for shots, according to state officials. All but one case has been linked to an unvaccinated Somali infant who returned from Kenya in February. None of the patients has died; eight have been hospitalized. For most of the past decade, Minnesota recorded zero or one measles case a year.
The surge has unfolded alongside fresh visits to Minneapolis by Andrew Wakefield, the former British physician whose 1998 paper alleging a link between the MMR vaccine and autism was retracted and denounced as fraudulent. Wakefield’s meetings with Somali parents have alarmed local physicians and health leaders who say his presence risks deepening mistrust.
“Unfortunately a lot of the media thinks he’s saying ‘Don’t get vaccinated.’ That’s far from the truth. He’s basically encouraging people to get vaccinated but do your homework and know the risks,” said Wayne Rohde, co-founder of the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota, which helped arrange Wakefield’s appearances at the request of Somali parents. About 100 people attended his first Minneapolis event in December; roughly 15 met with him privately on March 23, Rohde said.
Public health officials counter that the science has been clear for years. Numerous well-designed studies — including research into thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative once used in vaccines — have found no link between vaccines and autism.
“There is still a significant level of concern in the Somali community, and deservedly so,” said Minnesota Department of Public Health spokesman Buddy Ferguson, noting scientists still don’t know what causes autism. “What we can tell people is that numerous attempts have been made to test the idea scientifically that there’s a link between vaccines and autism using large, well-designed studies. They’ve never been able to find a link.”
Measles is highly contagious and can be severe, especially for infants and people with weakened immune systems. While the disease has been all but eliminated in the United States, it still causes about 200,000 deaths worldwide annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Minneapolis, outreach has struggled to match the pace of misinformation. A weekend vaccination clinic run by Children’s Hospital prepared 600 doses but saw only 24 people — 20 children and four adults — and just three were Somali, said Patsy Stinchfield, director of the hospital system’s infectious disease program.
Some Somali parents say their skepticism grew as autism diagnoses appeared to rise in their community. A 2009 review by the Minnesota Department of Public Health found young Somali children in Minneapolis public schools were overrepresented in autism programs, but cautioned that finding alone did not prove a higher autism rate. The CDC and National Institutes of Health are working with the advocacy group Autism Speaks on a more systematic study, though critics say progress has been too slow.
“He’s using a vulnerable population here, mothers looking for answers,” said Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed, a Minneapolis Somali family physician who contends Wakefield’s claims have fueled global hysteria that has cost lives. “He’s providing a fake hope.”
Wakefield did not respond to requests for comment. In a January statement, he stood by his work and called for more research into whether environmental triggers, including vaccines, cause autism, saying, “Any medical professional, government official or journalist who states that the case is closed on whether vaccines cause autism is jumping to conclusions without the research to back it up.”
Within the community, some minds are changing. Hodan Hassan of Minneapolis stopped vaccinating her four children after her daughter, now 6, was diagnosed with autism at about 1 year old. She attended Wakefield’s talk and initially considered him a hero. After a physician friend urged her to review the evidence, she is now getting her children up to date on shots. Minnesota requires schoolchildren to be immunized against measles and other diseases, though parents may opt out for “conscientiously held beliefs.”
As the virus exploits vaccination gaps, health leaders are redoubling efforts with Somali community partners to provide accurate information and expand access to shots. The immediate goal: stop transmission before measles gains a wider foothold.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
