Editing Measles (section)

===Vitamin A and measles prevention===
"Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a major public health problem in low- and middle-income countries, affecting 190 million children under five years of age and leading to many adverse health consequences, including death."<ref name="Cochrane2022"/> Vitamin A deficiency is rare in the United States.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Office of Dietary Supplements - Vitamin A and Carotenoids |url=https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/ |access-date=8 April 2025 |website=ods.od.nih.gov |archive-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212224704/https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A meta-analysis of clinical trials conducted in countries where VAD is prevalent concluded that when children were supplemented with vitamin A, there was a 50% reduction in incidence of contracting measles.<ref name="Cochrane2022">{{cite journal |vauthors=Imdad A, Mayo-Wilson E, Haykal MR, Regan A, Sidhu J, Smith A, Bhutta ZA |title=Vitamin A supplementation for preventing morbidity and mortality in children from six months to five years of age |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=CD008524 |date=March 2022 |pmid=35294044 |pmc=8925277 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD008524.pub4 }}</ref> By way of comparison, vaccination with two doses of the measles vaccine in childhood provides 97-99% protection at preventing measles.<ref name="cdc.gov" /><ref name="ACIP2013" /><ref name="Bester2016" /> Vitamin A supplementation is not thought to reduce the risk of death from measles.<ref name=":8" /> Children given high doses of vitamin A from supplements or [[cod liver oil]] can accumulate to toxic levels and this can lead to [[hypervitaminosis A]] and [[Liver disease|liver damage]].<ref name=":8" />

In the [[2025 Southwest United States measles outbreak]], centered in [[West Texas]], some families continued to refuse vaccines and instead opted for giving vitamin A supplements or vitamins A- and D-containing cod liver oil to their children after [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]], promoted vitamin A as prevention and treatment.<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite web | last=Rosenbluth | first=Teddy | title=For Some Measles Patients, Vitamin A Remedy Supported by RFK Jr. Leaves Them More Ill | website=The New York Times | date=25 March 2025 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/health/measles-kennedy-vitamin-a.html | access-date=26 March 2025 | archive-date=25 March 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250325225627/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/health/measles-kennedy-vitamin-a.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Multiple children hospitalized for measles at Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock also showed signs of [[liver damage]], a symptom of vitamin A toxicity.<ref name=":8" /><ref name="NYTimes" /><ref name="Davies2025">{{cite web | last=Davies | first=David Martin | title=West Texas children treated for vitamin A toxicity as medical disinformation spreads alongside measles outbreak | website=TPR | date=28 March 2025 | url=https://www.tpr.org/public-health/2025-03-27/west-texas-children-treated-for-vitamin-a-toxicity-as-medical-disinformation-spreads-alongside-measles-outbreak | access-date=28 March 2025 | archive-date=19 April 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250419192912/https://www.tpr.org/public-health/2025-03-27/west-texas-children-treated-for-vitamin-a-toxicity-as-medical-disinformation-spreads-alongside-measles-outbreak | url-status=live }}</ref> As of May 2025, regardless of such serious side effects—and possibly resulting in increased disease spread—Kennedy, in his role as [[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|Secretary of Health and Human Services]], has nevertheless continued to endorse vitamin A during the measles epidemic, along with other unscientific, non-vaccine measures, a response for which he has been widely criticized.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fischman |first=Josh |date=May 5, 2025 |title=Do 'alternative' measles treatments touted by RFK Jr. work? |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-alternative-measles-treatments-touted-by-rfk-jr-work/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=Scientific American |language=en}}</ref>