| "Measles: A Dangerous Illness" | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Roald Dahl in 1988 | |
| Created | 1986 |
| Presented | July 1986 |
| Commissioned by | Sandwell health authority |
| Author(s) | Roald Dahl |
| Purpose | Promotion of vaccination against measles |
"Measles: A Dangerous Illness" is an open letter written by the children's writer Roald Dahl in 1986 in response to ongoing cases of measles in the United Kingdom at that time despite the introduction of an effective measles vaccine in 1968.
Dahl, whose daughter Olivia died in 1962 from measles, told his doctor Tom Solomon that the figures relating to continued cases of measles in the UK bothered him. After listening to a physician discuss vaccine hesitancy among parents on the radio in 1985, Dahl composed a letter to encourage parents to get their children vaccinated. It went through several drafts before it was issued in 1986. He addressed it to children and aimed it at their parents. The letter was distributed to Sandwell's family doctors, health visitors, school nurses, and parents of small children before being issued to other areas in the UK.
Two years later, the letter was republished, and it has continued to be quoted after subsequent measles outbreaks. The narrative in his letter reminds of the power of storytelling in tackling vaccine hesitancy and refusal.