How Was Measles Managed In The 60’s?

How Was Measles Managed In The 60’s?

Measles used to be and is still one of the killer diseases in the world. It used to be feared so much that it got the nickname of ‘the school disease’. Once it attacked one child in a family, it easily moved to another. It used to claim many lives.

Measles was more deadly than HIV/AIDS. By then diseases like Ebola and Hepatitis B were not known. Diseases of the likes of High pretension and Diabetes were little known.

The control of measles was a very big threat to society. Doctors by then were still working on immunization of the disease. Vaccines had not been discovered. That is what was happening in the 60’s. That was a pathetic situation in the making.

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The management of the disease in the village was worse. In my village for instance, A twig was planted in all the paths that led to the homestead that had a measles patient. This was to deter anybody to move into and out of the homestead. Going to the shops and the river was a problem to the members of the family.

The village headmen insured that the rules were obeyed. In such all family members who had not been sick with measles caught the disease. It is known that measles does not attack twice. In case somebody died in the family, it was the duty of the family members to bury him. Other members of the village never assisted in the burial.

Treatment of measles was always done traditionally. Cannabis sativa leaves boiled in water and used to wash the sick was the treatment used. There were other herbs too but their effectiveness was minimal.

Many died of this disease. Though vaccines have been discovered and the disease is almost managed, reports from WHO indicates that the war is not yet over.

How was measles managed in your area? Was it a problem in the 60’s?

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