Vaccinate at all costs, mom says, after son dies of measles

NICOLA MILTZ

Ruth Kusner Beinart, 48, went to shul on Purim to hear the reading of the Megillah, when she answered a call from her beloved son in hospital saying that his blood-test results revealed that he had measles.

“Measles was the last thing we expected,” she told the SA Jewish Report this week.

She immediately dashed home to check the booklet containing his medical immunisation history, knowing he was up to date with all his vaccinations.

Dylan Beinart a Grade 11 student at King David Victory Park, turned 18 on 15 February.

A month later, he passed away not from complications caused by a liver transplant performed years earlier or from the removal of his colon in January, but from an illness that’s entirely preventable.

“He was doing so well. He was healing beautifully and coping with his new reality of living without a colon. Then suddenly, he got sick. We thought it was his liver,” she said.

When Dylan was five, he was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a long-term progressive disease of the liver and gall bladder.

At the age of 14, he had a liver transplant.

Ruth said last year was particularly difficult for Dylan, as doctors tried everything to save his colon, causing him to become severely immuno-compromised from heavy medication.

In December, however, he was well enough to go to Habonim camp with his friends, which he loved.

By late January, his body was taking strain, and the doctors were forced to remove his colon.

Dylan fought hard to make it home in time for his 18th birthday, a goal the determined youngster set for himself.

He was recovering well at home, his immunity was improving, and he took extra precautions, only going out a few times to the shops with permission from his healthcare providers, said Ruth this week. Life was returning to ‘normal’, and things were looking good.

Then out of nowhere, he contracted measles, a disease she laments shouldn’t exist today.

“It’s unbelievable to hear of someone dying of measles in this day and age when there is a vaccination to prevent it,” she said.

On Facebook, a distraught Ruth blamed her son’s death on “anti-vaxxers” – those who choose not to vaccinate their children.

According to the World Health Organization, the measles vaccination prevented an estimated 23.2 million deaths between 2000 and 2018. Sadly, there were more than 140 000 measles deaths reported globally in 2018 in spite of the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.

Parents worldwide are opting to forgo vaccinations for their children, citing alleged medical risks including autism as the potential consequences of being vaccinated. There is also the belief that since these diseases have been eliminated, there’s no need for vaccinations.

Professor Barry Schoub, a retired virologist, the emeritus professor of virology at the University of the Witwatersrand, and the founder of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), said failing to vaccinate children was irresponsible.

“Would that we had a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 right now! And yet we do have a very effective and very safe vaccine against measles. It defies belief that in this day and age, there are still parents who believe totally discredited myths and misinformation about vaccines generally and measles in particular. Parents who believe these mischievous conspiracy theories are either ignorant or negligent, and are guilty of endangering the health – even the lives – of their children as well as other children who may be especially vulnerable because of underlying ill health.”

The global incidence of measles dropped dramatically once the vaccine became widely available. But measles control was set back by the work of Andrew Wakefield, which attempted to link the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine to autism. Wakefield’s study was debunked, causing him to lose his medical license.

According to the NICD, scientific evidence shows that the measles vaccine doesn’t cause autism or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and that all children should be vaccinated at a young age.

There is no legal requirement to vaccinate your child if you live in South Africa. However, most South African schools ask for proof of immunisation on enrolment.

Ruth described Dylan as a “quirky, intelligent, smart kid who had an incredible sense of humour”.

“He loved gaming, computers, playing guitar, and cooking,” she said.

“He was a curious child, very inquisitive, and knowledgeable. I joked that I always needed to sleep with one eye open because he was always up to something.

“Dylan never moaned a day about being ill,” she said. “He just got on with things. I never wanted him to be known as ‘Dylan the sick kid’ or to be defined by his illness. He got on with his life.”

His school described him as “a truly inspiring young Parker”.

In a tribute to her friend, Dina Kay said, “In spite of everything he was going through, he was always jolly, always smiling, and always asking how others were doing.”

Ruth’s message is to immunise your children, and “stay home” during this intense time of COVID-19.

“It’s a virus just like measles, and by going out for only a few minutes, it could prove fatal for someone like Dylan. Also, it’s responsible to vaccinate your children.”

Dylan wanted to be an organ donor, and was growing his hair to donate to cancer patients.

“Measles ended this dream. It’s such a waste of a beautiful life. It just isn’t right, especially after all he went through.”