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Bangalore-based Rashmi Vasudeva's journalism has appeared in many Indian and international publications over the past decade. A features writer with over nine years of experience heading a health and fitness supplement in a mainstream Indian newspaper, her niche areas include health, wellness, fitness, food, nutrition and Indian classical Arts.
Her articles have appeared in various publications including Mint-Wall Street Journal, The Hindu, Deccan Herald (mainstream South Indian newspaper), Smart Life (Health magazine from the Malayala Manorama Group of publications), YourStory (India's media technology platform for entrepreneurs), Avantika (a noir arts and theatre magazine), ZDF (a German public broadcasting company) and others.
In 2006, she was awarded the British Print-Chevening scholarship to pursue a short-term course in new-age journalism at the University of Westminster, U.K. With a double Masters in Globalisation and Media Studies from Aarhus Universitet (Denmark), University of Amsterdam and Swansea University in Wales, U.K., she has also dabbled in academics, travel writing and socio-cultural studies. Mother to a frisky toddler, she hums 'wheels on the bus' while working and keeps a beady eye on the aforementioned toddler's antics.
Measles In Europe: How A Fraudulent Study And Russian Trolls Are Driving The Anti-Vax Movement
The current measles epidemic in Europe is exactly the kind of disaster that health professionals have been warning against, and it's owed at least in part to the anti-vaccination movement that has recently gained great currency. To make matters worse, it seems Russian trolls and bots have added to this self-inflicted mess.
According to WHO, more than 41,000 people in Europe have contracted measles this summer, and 37 have died. The highest numbers have been recorded in Ukraine and in the Balkans. Though measles is among the world's most contagious diseases (because it spreads in the air), it is also one of the easiest to prevent by vaccination.
For those who have been following the 'anti-vax' movement, this latest outbreak does not come as a surprise. What may come as a shocker though is that vaccination rates in Europe have fallen below those of countries such as Burundi and Senegal. Outbreaks have repeatedly occurred in Italy, France, Greece and Germany. This so-called movement began largely due to a now widely debunked research paper published 20 years ago by British doctor Andrew Wakefield, who linked the MMR vaccine to autism.
Wakefield was stripped of his medical licence in 2010 for 'dishonest and irresponsible' research, but this fact does not seem to have percolated down to the vaccine haters. Apart from the fear of autism, children are being kept away from immunization due to rising religious and philosophical concerns.
To add to the mix, Russian trolls have apparently been spreading misinformation about vaccines to create "social discord and distribute malware", according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
A professor from Johns Hopkins University says vaccination was being used by trolls as a 'wedge' to play both sides, erode public trust and ultimately expose children to the risk of highly infectious diseases. This is extremely unfortunate, considering that scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of immunization.
