Measles Eradication: The Role of the Anthropologist

Abstract

been given to preventive medicine and particularly to
immunizations. The number of available vaccines is
multiplying rapidly, and research directed at developing an
even wider range of prophylactic agents is accelerating.
Infectious disease continues to be the most important
public health problem in the developing world, and vaccine—
preventable disease is a cause of significant mortality
and morbidity in these areas. Because the World Health
Organization has called for the provision of immunizations
to all of the world's children by 1990, it is likely that
more anthropologists will be called upon to facilitate
community acceptance of such programs. In addition to
functioning as community mediators, anthropologists have
other responsibilities with respect to immunization theory
and practice. These include evaluating cost analyses,
considering the legal and ethical aspects of immunizations,
and examing the consequences of changes in epidemiological
patterns in an evolutionary framework. It is also important
to study the development of Western disease theory and
associated practices in cultural and historical contexts.