What I came to appreciate— what I hope to communicate here— is that measles isn't just one more childhood disease. It is the quintessential human pathogen. Measles does more than cause fever and a rash. It teaches us about ourselves— our capacity to learn, remember, and forget. It moves through crowds at astonishing speed. It has shaped and continues to shape our history. We have a vaccine to prevent measles, one that is battle-proven to be able to eliminate the disease from whole countries, even continents. However, what we've accomplished with that vaccine isn't just an example of scientific triumph, as the persistence of measles also provides evidence for our ongoing failures to reckon with poverty, inequity, racism, and the myriad legacies of colonialism.
“What I came to appreciate— what I hope to communicate here— is that measles isn't just one more childhood disease. It is the quintessential human pathogen. Measles does more than cause fever and a rash. It teaches us about ourselves— our capacity to learn, remember, and forget. It moves through crowds at astonishing speed. It has shaped and continues to shape our history. We have a vaccine to prevent measles, one that is battle-proven to be able to eliminate the disease from whole countries, even continents. However, what we've accomplished with that vaccine isn't just an example of scientific triumph, as the persistence of measles also provides evidence for our ongoing failures to reckon with poverty, inequity, racism, and the myriad legacies of colonialism.”